The Kia Forte K3 - It's Like Cheese Tofu with Truffle Oil
Some of you may remember when Korean cars first reached our shores. They were purpose-built machines for getting people from point A to point B, without the fuss. Never mind the falling bits of brittle plastics, the funny driving positions, no rear legroom and…. well the list goes on. They were cheap like tofu, and sure handled like tofu. The Italian styling of some of them did little to save their reputation.
While the 6-speed transmission is willing to work, upshifting smoothly, the engine comes across as a little tired. With 128bhp on tap, the car does the century sprint in 12.1 seconds, a full second slower than its Elantra sibling. Maximum torque of 157Nm comes in at 4,850rpm, power delivery is very linear, but you will need to work the engine to get results. Vibration in the cabin is very minimal, with only a hint of it when pushing the engine higher up the rev-range.
There is a drive mode selector, but you are better off with using the steering wheel-mounted pedal shifters to quicken up the shifting up and down, than depending on the 6-speed doing the kicking down for you. Dropping a gear or two with the paddle shifters helps in slowing the car down and prepping it to exit the corner at a higher rpm. And no, there will not be a blipping throttle note to follow. Seriously, just leave the drive mode as normal, work the pedals do the job when you need to, and then it switches itself back to auto mode.
The drive select mode does a few things, provides more sporty transmission behaviour, with gears shifting up later, and yes, the steering becomes more firm in sports mode. While having said that, the steering is very artificial, with minimal road feel coming through to the driver. Very similar to the one found on the Hyundai Elantra.
Taking corners on the Kia needs some time getting used to. While the car may hold its composure around the bends, there is plenty of bounce from the suspension, as it is after all set for comfort. And comfort you will get when travelling for long distances, with the K3 soaking up the bumps.
Ride comfort is excellent with the Kia, and with enough glass to provide all-round visibility, this is quite a good car for daily use.
As with other Korean models, the K3 has plenty of features, while driving the car, it does still feel like tofu, this time with cheese filling. The quality of the dash and materials used, the surface luxury appointments that come with the K3 (just like truffle oil poured on top), makes this proposition a very attractive one, and perhaps a car for you… Just like adding truffle oil to the mix of cheese tofu, funny combination, but quite nice really! I did try some if you may ask.
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