http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2010/01...ge-images-leak/

New Sportage... looks like a mini Sorento...

http://www.oneshift.com/articles/article.php?artid=644

Our southern neighbours review the 2.0 Koup...

I almost got this.... until common sense, practicality and functionality, ear ache from nagging, and $$$ (AUD2000 premium over the sedan) made me end up with 4-door Cera.

For those who has a Titanium Silver Forte:

Does anyone feel that the Titanium Silver actually has a bronze tinge to it? It looks like more like dark brownish-bronze especially when viewed under bright sunlight, compared to the dark silver of other makes such as Mazda 3.

Somehow I feel that the Titanium Silver should be called Metal Bronze instead, while the current Metal Bronze be named Dark Brown or Oak or something like that.

Or maybe my Cera just needs a wash and polish to get rid of the dirt and dust.

What I meant was the shade of the "grey" that Titanium Silver is supposed to be. It has that golden tinge instead of looking like normal metallic grey. Not quite champange gold, not brownish Metal Bronze either.

haha... who cares... of course we are syok sendiri with our rides... why buy a car which we don't like?

Mine does The window defrosters are lovely to have during winter... The last time I drove a car in winter it was near freezing outside... couldn't even see anything beyond 1m and need to constantly wipe the mist off the inner windows.

For Cera the window defrosters work by turning the air con off and directing air front, sideways, and back towards the windows to cool the interior side for preventing fog up. Side mirrors have their own heaters to melt frost during winter, while the rear window heater works via those heated wires, the exact same way as any other cars in the tropical region.

One thing to ask:
What is the purpose of having rear fog lamps? I tried it out tonight and realised that normally when the front lamps are on, only the outer rear red lamps light up; the inner ones will only light up if the rear fog lamp function is switched on (showing an amber sign beneath the tacho). Why not just light them all up at once?


This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Jan 21 2010, 08:01 PM

Of course, but I was wondering why didn't Kia just make the inner rear lamps switch on whenever the front lamps are on. The rear fog lamps aren't like the front pairs where it's located low at the bumper to illuminate the road surface; it's just a pair of normal rear lamps. Not that I mind the rear fog lamp function, it's just something which I've noticed.

LOL... I was driving with those rear fog lamps on tonight on my way back.... pitch black on the highway though, hopefully no one was dumbfounded by it

The red lining around the grill looks pretty good... like MKV Golf GTi....

If you shift at the correct rpm it won't jerk. The Forte's manual mode is pretty smooth shifting and since it's under your control, you can override the auto's biggest flaw i.e. upshifting from 2nd to 3rd far too early at approx 2k rpm, where at 2.2-2.3K would have avoided the torque dip.

Checked my tyre pressure for the first time and indeed the dealer put it at 38Psi instead of the recommended 32.

After dropping it to 32, Cera now sticks more to the road and the steering feels heavier like the Civic. The ride is more comfortable now, but the downside is the car feels less zippy compared to before although I can get used to it.

It actually doesn't look as nice as it should be on the sedan... kinda like Peugeot 307CC's polka dotted lamps.
The Koup's LED lamps look nicer.


Anyway... ebay has them should you feel like buying.

Can also get from our southern neighbours.
http://www.radicargarage.com/?page_id=13&category=17

Maybe I should get some bling for Cera when I go back to JB sometime... but how to carry to Aust? T_T
Most of the accessories don't look nice either... stock Forte looks the best.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Jan 25 2010, 08:08 PM

Which new car did you end up purchasing? IINM you did mention 308 before, or maybe it was someone else...

Sad to know that Naza messed up the handling of 2.0s in M'sia... Oh well 1.6 isn't too bad I guess, at least it's not as thirsty as its larger sister. Cera drinks like crazy, I'm using approximately a tank a week with 70km daily on working days and around 30-40km on weekends.

Hm... 407. One question about it... is the glovebox really obstructed by the fusebox like the Australian version?

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/47374/200...ad-test-review/

We've got a 308 Turbo back at home. Can't wait till my holidays where I can go back and test it out... will compare that to Cera then. But according to my parents' experience, they didn't like the suspension which is something that's also mentioned in many reviews.

From JB Working here now... needed a car to work tso did extensive homework last year. The i30 was my second choice as they were both around the same price with similar features, but the i30's Beta is less refined and has poorer NVH compared to the Forte.

I'm not sure what's the best way to calculate FC, but my crude estimation is also around 8-10L/100km. Mostly highway at the moment where the computer always show approx 8, and I suspect heavy urban use would be around 10-ish or even more.

http://media2.paultan.org/i/kia-forte-specs.gif

Titanium Silver is actually far from being grey... something which I didn't really notice until I purchased Cera.
It looks like an intermediate between bright silver and metallic grey, with a faint golden tinge when looked under bright sunlight. Most of the showroom pictures of the Titanium Silver Forte are taken under whitish fluorescent lights hence it looks more like light gunmetal.

Just a head's up from a 2.0 Forte driver Torque numbers are just for show... it's not very frequent that you rev beyond 4K rpm to attain the max Nm.

The numbers may seem good on paper, but the 4 speed auto is the main factor that's limiting the performance of the ThetaII. In automatic mode, the 2.0 Forte does not seem to be able to smoke anyone on the roads; in fact the 1.8 Civic "feels" faster. The gearbox upshifts too early from 2nd to 3rd gear the moment the tacho hits 2k rpm, resulting in a torque dip at low speed (approx 50kmh).

There's two ways to solve this - (1) push the lever to shift-tronic mode and control your gears manually (2) ECU tweak as mentioned in some foreign forums.

The 3 feels more nimble and zippy on the roads, but the main downside to the Mazda is the interior cabin space. The rear is horrendously narrow and feels claustrophobic when seating 3 adults. Material quality is also a letdown (although the Forte too also has some poor plastics).

Forget about the Avante/Elantra. Old and unrefined. If you're looking for a Hyundai you're better off with the i30, although its pricing in Malaysia is somewhat unattractive.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Feb 4 2010, 01:34 PM

Can't comment on the 1.6 Forte... No experience with that.
I've never tested the Avante but I did check out the i30 which has the same 2.0 Beta engine. It's not a bad engine to be honest, but it's much less refined and you can feel the strain when you step on the gas hard. Another annoying thing about the Avante is the rather ugly looking centre console which looks like a washing machine control panel, but of course aesthetics is subjective.

i30 is an underrated (overpriced) car in Southeast Asia. It's very well build, drives rather superbly, and has won COTY in its segment in Australia for 2 consecutive years. Had Kia not released the Forte I would have bought the i30 instead. The reason why I chose the Forte is because of the newer , more powerful ThetaII and a quieter interior. i30's BetaII tends to roar too loudly for my liking.

If you're looking for space and comfort the Latio is actually a good choice. Interior is HUGE, especially rear leg room; and the seat cushions feels more meaty than the Forte/i30. Don't expect an exciting drive as the car rolls a lot during corners due to its narrow width but tall height; yet the engine (1.8 here, I have no experience with the 1.6) is a very smooth operator. The worst thing about it? The steering... No weight at all. Some would love it but it gives the feeling of driving an arcade machine.

Can't compare the torque with the 308 turbo After all, it has a turbocharger.
Slyphy is too dated like the Avante and the uncle design can be a turnoff for some people. And seriously drum brakes?

Don't bother about him. He can love his Vios as much as he wants... We love our Fortes and that's all that matters.

The bulbous nose.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Feb 4 2010, 02:12 PM

i30 sedan would look really gawky... imagine a VW golf sedan UGH.
The i30's best angle to view at would be the rear 3/4. Front looks a bit tame but it's still pretty good.

Not really sure about the technicalities of ECU tweak, but simplistically speaking it's just a remap of the engine's and gearbox's computer controls. Maybe reprogramming it so that the auto tranny upshifts at a higher rpm.

When I use the shift-tronic I usually upshift at around 2.2-2.3K rpm... rarely would I go past 2.5K unless overtaking at high speeds. Petrol mahal lah...

Yes I was referring to the Latio when I mentioned anaesthesised steering.

The Forte's steering at low speeds is heavy like the Civic. At high speeds however it becomes a bit light although this could be a subjective matter. The Forte is still a relatively heavy sedan so don't expect go-kart like precision like those hot hatches or super minis.

Me.

I've started jotting down the numbers on the odometer in order to calculate the FC manually. Hopefully by mid-next week we'll be able to know the answer. The trip computer, however unreliable it is, is showing around 7.4 - 7.8L/100km for now. I drive on highways at 100km/h every day; city driving is only during the weekends. The lowest FC shown on the computer is 6.9 but I don't trust it to be so low.

The "distance to empty" calculation by the computer always shows around 540-550km when I pump Cera to full tank, which if it's reliable refers to approx 9L/100km. I think that's a reasonable but again not necessarily the most accurate estimate for a 2.0. Way off the 7.9 claimed by Kia but no car ever achieves the manufacturer's numbers.

The Cruze is selling better here in Australia, judging from the number of Cruzes seen on the roads. I've never driven a Cruze as it was never in my shopping list to begin with. Most reviews claim that the Cruze has a better interior, but condemn the weak engine and relatively high FC. How true this is, you'll never know until you try it out.

Unfortunately you have to explain to them it's Naza who is screwing things up that made you change your mind, not because Kia made a bad car.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Feb 5 2010, 06:27 PM

LOL... not like you're very senior compared to them also

Speaking of FC, I don't know how the review team of TMR managed to get 6.2L/100kmh on the highway. That's absolutely excellent, although I think they were using a manual. Surprising to know that they needed 2.8K rpm to get 110 kmh while Cera only needs 2.5K.
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/43035/200...-review-part-4/

Anyway, it's a shame that Naza doesn't offer light graphite. It's easily the most beautiful colour choice for a car. Cera would have been draped in graphite if I had my way but according to my SA they can only get that colour in Feb'10.


Oh well I love Titanium too.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Feb 5 2010, 06:38 PM