[Silver2010]

This is a good looking car, which probably figured strongly into people buying one.

It looks like a little Audi...no surprise, because Peter Schreyer of Audi took over Kia design in 2006. This car, and the Koup, look more European than Asian.

I especially like how clean it looks with no typical cheezy add-ons that Toyota and others slap on the body work of their cars. Also, look at the minimal wheel gap on the Forte, even those with 15" wheels. That adds to the overall sport look.

 

[Boom_King]

I agree, the Forte arguably has the best exterior styling of the vehicles in its class. With the revisions to the interior, I would also argue that it boasts one of the best looking interiors as well. To me, only the new Mazda 3 has an interior that is on par or even slightly better.

The story behind the Forte's exterior styling is an interesting one. There was a video made by Kia on the internet floating around during the Forte's launch date. It described how they conducted focus group studies with the public to assess how favourable the styling was being perceived compared to the Civic, Corolla, and Ford Focus (I don't believe that they included the Mazda 3 in that group, although since then the Mazda 3 has new styling which many critics do not feel is an improvement over the last gen). Initially the studies were done with a debadged Forte, meaning there were no Kia symbols on the car. In all the studies, the public rated the Forte as having the most attractive styling. Kia then decided to do the studies with Forte badged with all the Kia emblems (remember, until the Soul and Forte were launched, Kia vehicles were not really perceived by the consumers as stylish vehicles). Even with the Kia badges, the Forte was still rated as the most attractive.

 

[sturmgewehr]

I park next to a new Mazda 3 in the parking garage at work. His car is new also so we both park as far away from others as possible. I have to say..... that dude got screwed, that is one ugly automobile now.

 

[Silver2010]

The Mazda 3 used to be a really good looking car. Now it's hideous because of that silly front grill.

 

[Silver2010]

I agree, the Forte arguably has the best exterior styling of the vehicles in its class. With the revisions to the interior, I would also argue that it boasts one of the best looking interiors as well. To me, only the new Mazda 3 has an interior that is on par or even slightly better.

The story behind the Forte's exterior styling is an interesting one. There was a video made by Kia on the internet floating around during the Forte's launch date. It described how they conducted focus group studies with the public to assess how favourable the styling was being perceived compared to the Civic, Corolla, and Ford Focus (I don't believe that they included the Mazda 3 in that group, although since then the Mazda 3 has new styling which many critics do not feel is an improvement over the last gen). Initially the studies were done with a debadged Forte, meaning there were no Kia symbols on the car. In all the studies, the public rated the Forte as having the most attractive styling. Kia then decided to do the studies with Forte badged with all the Kia emblems (remember, until the Soul and Forte were launched, Kia vehicles were not really perceived by the consumers as stylish vehicles). Even with the Kia badges, the Forte was still rated as the most attractive.

I heard the same thing about the focus groups. The only competitor styling I like is the Civic.

Look out for the next Ford Focus though...it's coming from Europe. Will look good and be a terrific car. It's going to up the ante bigtime in the compact class. Designed in Germany!

 

[Boom_King]

I've always thought that Ford execs really missed the ball with the North American version of the Focus. Even currently, the European version of the Focus looks and performs much better than its equivalent North American sibling.

Don't forget as well, the rumored 2011/2012 Hyundai Elantra. It will be built on the same platform as the Forte and will feature much more aggressive styling than the current Elantra. From the spy shots released, the interior also looks very refined for this class, even more so than the Forte. Things will definitely get more interesting the next year or two in the compact segment.

 

[copperhead]

These Forte's may be the only ones we get. The N & S Korean's are at it again.