There's also a Forte Hybrid with lithium polymer batteries (first in the world to use it). About 21.5 km/litres. Can any Japanese car beat that?

For safety, the Forte has 63% high tensile steel and should get a 5-Star NCAP rating.

The design is by Peter Schreyer. As Audi´s chief designer between 1994 and 2002, he was credited with revamping the Audi brand with a number of revolutionary new auto designs. From 2002 to 2005, he was the chief designer for Volkswagen and since 2005 has been the head of advanced design for the Volkswagen group, earning critical acclaim for several crucial product launches, featuring a range of unique design concepts.

His outstanding creative work has led to many national and international awards, including the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany and the world famous red dot award. He has also won the German National Design Award several times for helping to propel the German auto industry in new directions with his sporty and innovative designs.

PETER SCHREYER DESIGN TRACK RECORD

Volkswagen Design / Projects:

Concept Cars:
* Concept 1 (New Beetle)
* Concept C (Eos)
* Concept R (Roadster)
* Concept T (Buggy)
* GX 3 (Three Wheeler)
* Microbus
* Ragster

Passenger Cars:
* Golf IV & Variant
* Jetta
* Passat B 5 & Variant
* Lupo & Seat Arosa
* New Beetle
* Golf V & Golf Plus
* Golf GTI & Golf R32
* Jetta
* Passat B 6 & Variant
* Eos
* Compact SUV

Commercial Vehicles:
* LT 2
* LT 3
* Constellation (24 ton truck)

Racing:
* Race Touareg


Audi Design / Projects:

Concept Cars:
* Quattro Spider
* Audi TT & AUDI TTS
* AL 2 & AL 2 open end
* Steppenwolf
* Allroad Quattro
* Avantissimo
* Rosemeyer

Passenger Cars:
* Audi A2
* Audi A3 & A3 Sportsback
* Audi A4 & A4 Avant + Audi Cabrio
* Audi A6 & A6 Avant + Allroad
* Audi A8
* Audi TT & Audi TT Roadster

Racing:
* R8 racing car LeMans

Lamborghini Design / Projects:
* Murcielago
* Gallardo

Of course, when Kia is mentioned they'll always bring up 'RESALE VALUE' but conveniently leave it out when Alfa Romeo, Benz, BMW, Audi, Fiat, etc. are mentioned. Malaysia Boleh!! Forget it lah lowpro, better if these guys DON'T buy Forte, better get a City/Vios/Civic/Altis and they can feel they've 'made it' in life and have excellent resale value.

This post has been edited by BikerVoodoo: May 11 2009, 09:43 AM

On the contrary, my company did a survey of Spectra5, Optima and Sportage spare parts - fast moving, medium and accident repair compared to Japanese equivalents. The Kias were CHEAPER!

The Optima's GEMA engine is used in the Mitsubishi Lancer, Jeep Compass, Peugeot 4007, etc. but NO ONE talks about FC when other brands are used.

No point convincing the Kia haters. Let them buy Japanese makes and be happy with their 'Resale Value' and PERCEIVED 'lower priced' spares! For them, perception and speculation is more important than doing research.

I think they're quite serious about it as they've brought some local journos to Namyang R&D Centre to drive the Forte and Koup.

http://paultan.org/archives/2009/04/28/kia...yang-rd-centre/

http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2008/07...tions-released/

This report says about 14.1 km/l for the 1.6L Automatic. Thats around Honda Jazz level I think. I remember driving a Jazz once with similar FC recorded on the dash. Kia will definitely save the 2.0L for the Koup for ASEAN region.

I believe the rated 1.6 AT figure is 7.1 litres per 100km. Very impressive!

But I really like the Forte. I've joined the 'Kia Forte' fan page on Facebook even.

This post has been edited by BikerVoodoo: May 11 2009, 03:11 PM

On the contrary I think they will have a high grade version with lots of specs put in. The latest Optima high grade for example has almost all specs the V6 Optima has - stability control, Infinity audio system, subwoofer, electric seats, in dash 6CD changer, motorised seats, Nappa leather + suede upholstery, 17" wheels, Michelin made in France tyres, etc.

I seriously doubt they can achieve that sort of price for the 1.6L Sedan, as it's a Mazda3/Civic/Corolla competitor. I'd say high 80s to high 90s minimum. Must be pricier than the Latio, at least. Kia ain't cheap no more.

But for the Forte they need to pay more for Peter Schreyer's design. Hehehe.

HKS did a Genesis Coupe. Hopefully HKS can play a part in the aftermarket development of the Koup as well.

http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/category/kia-forte/ <--- More stories here.

The Forte Koup uses the GEMA Theta II engine, of which you can view more info here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Engine...turing_Alliance ... it's shared with Mitsubishi and Chrysler!

Well, if it has a Kia badge, Malaysians will complain too expensive. Slap on local badge and bring down, they'll complain about the badge. Willing to pay RM10-20k more for the Kia badge? A Forte is still a Forte.

Put on 2.0L they'll say too big. Put in a 1.6L DOHC CVVT with 124PS output and they'll say too small (but no complaints with 1.5Ls in the Vios/City).

Quality - nothing specific but just speculation. They've not inspected CKD New Optima, Sportage or Spectra5, no knowledge of how to benchmark. But as always, speculation is top priority for Malaysians! Have they compared Optima side by side with an Accord or Camry? Observed panel gaps, etc.?

http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/category/kia-forte/

This post has been edited by BikerVoodoo: May 15 2009, 01:09 PM

Check this out! http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/category/forte-koup/