Well, tell me how much the Honda City, Honda Civic, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla cost in AUD & then compare to Malaysia's price. Sure pengsan!

its only paper rebate lar looks good only cannot makan one.............

If u change to Forte 2.0, instead of downgrading, u are upgrading actually..at least in term of specs & power

CVT to 4 speed u call downgrade? I dare u go track racing with your CVT .....  oh by the way most mechs can kautim 4 speed but CVT good luck ok.......

Don't compare selective items ok..
Pls compare every features that provided by these 2 cars..u say downgrade or upgrade??
And also don't compare brands...

Blinded by myopia and old perception. Sure, it is a 4 speed autobox but please look at the overall package that Kia is offering rather than just the gear box. For daily urban driving, 4 speed and 5 speed has negligible difference. If you're merely looking at the gearbox then surely changing from Lancer CVT to the old Jazz with 7 speed overdrive  is an upgrade?
If you have decided to buy the Forte, don't bother about what your friends say. The Forte's specs are much better for any other rivals in the same segment/price bracket, and once you drive it they will be more surprised about the improvement in Korean cars than to bash it.

Having said that, I don't understand why you would want to trade in a your Lancer for the Forte. You're already losing money on the 08 Lancer which is probably still in mint condition, unless you thrashed it before.

LANCER > FORTE
.
Engine => Upgrade (same family but enhanced version  i believe)

U sure?both are the same, just add the CVVT/MIVEC even power wise, almost the same, if any, the mitsu has more torque

Gearbox => Downgrade
Airbag => Upgrade
Safety => Upgrade (for me this is one of critical factor with TCS, etc)
Looks => Downgrade (depends, but for me lancer slight better look)
Seat => Upgrade (not sure bout this. dunno lancer seat)

Lancer's seat is nappa leather..

Service Center => Equal (Naza vs EON?)
Steering => Upgrade (some people might prefer hydraulic but still motor driven i think is upgrade. btw, is there any diff between motor-assisted and motor-driven PS?)
Other Upgrades =>  cruise control, chromic mirror, keyless start, price
dunno bout you but as a package, its definitely an UPGRADE. hope all info above is correct.. hahaha... no expert here....

before this i'm also eyeing for lancer...    but when forte out, without hesitate book forte 2.0...   bcoz too long, DOWNGRADE to 1.6....   but now considering to UPGRADE to 2.0 back depending on delivery...   

To be frank, you are blinded by brand name.
Look at Toyota recent massive recall, you still believe Toyota always the best?

Whether 4 gears or CVT doesn't really make much of a difference if urban driving is your main priority. You'll hardly go up to 5th anyway if you're stuck in the city most of the time. Of course, for long distance travelling it's always good to have as many gears as possible to keep the rpm down.

Nobody is saying that the Forte is the best car ever. As much as I love my Cera, I have pointed out the cons of the Forte umpteen times so that people who are interested in purchasing can make a good decision. I personally believe that no car is perfect, and in fact the little imperfections are sometimes the reason that a particular car is unforgettable.

But for the price it's selling in M'sia it is the best value for money; where else can you get a full spec 2.0 with fancy gimmicks for less than RM100K? The new Vios Desirable is asking for more $$ without any real enhancement over the outgoing model, it only highlights how good the overall package the Forte offers.

The various Jap/Korean C-segment rivals are more similar to each other than they are different. The best way to find out which one tickles your fancy would be to test drive them and see which one fits your budget the best. Over here in Australia, the base model Lancer is actually cheaper than the SLi (SX) Forte with fairly similar specs (only lacking in rims, USB jack, and tweeters). The base model Forte S however sells even cheaper although it's so bare metal that you're better off spending a wee bit more on the SLi.

Yaa..i have to agree that the CVT gives better comfort & fuel economy. but IMHO, CVT got nothing to do with the power. in fact the CVT ability to variably change the 'gear' ratio to a specific engine rpm (in which the torque is higher) that makes we feel more 'power'. In fact if we compare the engine power directly for both cars, Forte got 1ps more than Lancer . i guess bro bbear can explain better about this CVT matter.

& as far as Lancer GT is concerned, the extra kerb weight & the use of hydraulic steering will compromise the 'power' & fuel economy that the Lancer GT should has as compared to Forte 2.0