I am more of a honda supporter. But lets look at this from a price prespective.

The 2.0 Forte goes for 90k ish and its the direct competitor to the Honda Civic in regard with size / capacity .

Comparing it to a Vios and a City, both which are 1.5 small sedans isnt even fair.

You definitely get your money's worth with Forte. But I test drove all the cars above and I definitely liked the power and the handling of the city more than the forte.

It all comes down to personal preference and driving style.

I have a heavy right foot, I need a reasonable power to weight ratio. The honda city delivers in that aspect with its i-vtec engine.

But like I said, it comes down to personal preference, and I opted for city's bigger brother with the 2.0 i-vtec engine

Drive the forte, the build quality is there, and alot of fancy gadgets that you will never find on a 90k japanese car, hahaha.

However, I felt that the 2.0 Forte had a very unresponsive engine, the steering wasnt giving back much feedback and driving it on the road was a chore.

If you are willing to go higher, maybe take a look at the civic . The 2.0 with paddle shifter is a joy to drive.

This post has been edited by omnimech: Mar 8 2010, 09:50 AM

I just test drove it this weekend before making my decision on the civic .

I may have driven the 1.6 SX instead, but I was pretty sure it was the 2.0 SX .

Remotely remember seeing 2.0 at the back, but like I said, may be wrong.

Why I say this, is because I walked into the naza dealer ship and there was a car outside. I asked if I could test drive it and was on my way. The SA was singing praises about it.

But I wasnt really enjoying it.

I wasnt paying attention to the cruise control on the steering wheel. was more focused on the handling and power.

I test drove a couple of cars that day. And my memory kinda fails me cause I definitely sat in a car with leather seat. but not sure if it was when i was viewing the car.

Ill be dead honest with you and say, I already had my heart set on the civic, was just test driving it for the heck of it, to tell myself i gave other cars a chance.

From my pov, a mugen body kit on a 2.0 civic is sexy. ahahaa . Biased towards civic too much that I may not have given the forte a chance. But I definitely had some reservations about it.

Nonethe less =) I feel its a good car, but just not too my liking. Maybe 5 yrs down the road when I change my car, Kia would have changed enough for the better that I may consider getting one of their cars instead .

But if I had the cash, I would definitely be going up market and getting a beemer or a merc cause currently, im a freshie and just started working.. civic is the only price range i can afford.

If not i would have gotten the type - r . LOL

Maybe should clarify a bit.

I saved up quite a bit from my scholarship money and etc. I am actually taking a loan to pay of < 50% of the car . My salary is nearer to 4k, and my repayment is 1k for 5 yrs.

eod, im paying off my loan at about 27% of my current salary (after socso and epf cuts)

But I am due for an increment in sept, so from my calculations, im all set.

I did make some illegal investments when i was younger. football and the such. hahaha. made quite a fair bit of money over the years.