Well, as per above..

which one do you prefer?

I'm torn in between also, since both pricing nearly the same. 80-90k.

Inspira
Pros
spacious
engine and exterior material = mitsubishi
price worth the money spent

Cons
after sales service = proton
compromise on the interior quality

Forte
Pros
Price worth the money spent on the features offered
support by kia (assuming better than proton)

Cons
smaller compare to inspira
heard will consume more petrol after few years if no tuning done to the engine
lower resell value compare to inspira

wow, i am away for a day and so many responses from you all...

thank you, thank you for giving me your own thoughts...some are constructives, some based on personal experiences, and etc..

actually i do agree with some of the points, eg.

Kia engines makan minyak - YES, but i think that was last time. few of my friends driving new Kia models now and it's pretty ok (maybe not as FC saving like Toyota, but really much better compare to last time.

Proton material sux - YES, but i think since the new CEO comes over (from perodua), slowly and gradually the quality is improving, though i know it wont happen overnight. but the efforts are there. And if compare to Inspira now, besides the interior difference, i think majority are the same with Lancer right?

So, like most of you all said, everything got pros and cons. The one that I'm having 2nd though now is that Proton after sales services still bad (i know because my family stil drives proton cars), but I heard Kia after sales service not alot better than proton either...and kia resell value is lower and proton?

Pls dont bash me if my facts are wrong, but these are the things that i observe and hear myself, without much concrete proof.
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Anyhow, like most of you all said, test drive myself and then determine it later...i agree to this point. and i'll definately go try it out later. before that, let me ask you all few more questions.

My criteria of owning a new car are :-

Comfort driving - whether it's City or highway, and usually 2-5 people in my car most of the time (family). If drive highway at 110km/h, usually my existing proton/perodua will give some noise outside, so, a quiet car and comfort will be good.
Good FC - well, petrol price increasing worldwide, we'll never know when is the next hike. I'm considering between Forte 1.6 and Inspira 1.8.
Good resell value - I'll only sell my car after 5-7 years of driving, not the type that change my car periodically.
Speed, good pickup, sporty, not really my main criteria, but good to have if any.

So if based on the criteria above, which is betta?

When i create this thread, it's for my own reference only, didnt meant for ppl to shoot each other or something like that.

i'm not very familiar when it comes to car, can say i'm a noob...been driving either perodua/proton RM50k and below my whole life (same goes to my family). so i'm thinking to get some hearing from those who have drive lancer/inspira/forte and come share wit me so that i can have a better judgement later.

test drive wise, i'm quite clueless if the engine is good, since i rarely speed. tat's why as long as it's comfort, spacious, FC good, practical and good resell value later, that is what i want to get end of the day.

earlier, i gave 3 criteria to select the car, but i've missed out something...

1) Comfort & spacious
2) Good FC (auto only, not interested in manual)
3) Good resell value after 5-7 years
4) Good after sales service (at least during the maintenance period)
5) Reasonable spare parts (in case after warranty gone)

Well, basically i like both design. i'm trying to get one that is suitable to bring a family of 5 driving around.

i know end of the day it's my money, so i can pick anything i want. but rm90k is not a small amount also, so i want to hear all thoughts before making a decision. after all, i'll be driving it for the next 5-7 years, before i upgrade my car again.

thanks again for your inputs

dont get me wrong, i'm not trying to ask ppl to criticize inspira nor forte..

jst want to hear all the pros and cons, and from there, use it as reference and make the decision myself later.

after reading so many comments, based on my own observation, i realized some of the pros and cons of both cars now.

Spacious - Forte has bigger inside space compare to Inspira
Driving leisure - Because of the tuning of lotus engine, Inspira should have a better driving leisure in city/highway compare to Forte
Comfort - I guess this one i need to go to test drive the car myself to see which one offers better comfort
FC - Heard from many, and seems like Forte offers more fuel savings (but if i'm going for Forte, guess will wait for the 6 gear auto to come in next year [if they ever come in]). Then again, not a true comparison since forte=1.6 and inspira=1.8.
Resell value - At this moment, hard to say as both cars are relatively new. Have to wait few years and see.
Spare parts - Inspira wins as Kia spare parts tend to be more expensive.
Pickup speed - Seems like Inspira wins, but this is not my criteria, so does not really matter.
Brake system - Forte wins, because Inspira does not have the traction control system.
Safetyness - From both video clips, Inspira looks tougher abit compare to Forte, but then again, I think both also within my expectation.
After sales service - Have unpleasant experience with Proton all the while, till today. But then again, in this thread, I heard that Naza is not much better also.

Well, appreciate most of your comments and feedback so far. It gives me a much clearer picture now on both car choices. Will go test drive soon.

sorry guys, i've been busy for past days.

i havent got a chance to visit the showroom for both inspira and forte. so have not decided to go for which car.

but with so many recommendation and comments, I guess my own gut feelings are going for Forte (future release with 6-gears), despite the voting results. But then again, have to test drive to see how comfort is the seat and driving leisure later.

Anyhow, i saw the Avante clip. Awesome. hope to see the real car in the PWCC expo later and decide if I can wait that long before getting a car.

so thanks again to all for your valuable inputs and sharing thoughts.

just went and test drive Forte 1.6 last weekend. love the spaciousness in the car.

driving wise - ok ok to me only, feels the car abit heavy.

but one thing i really like, the sales lady told me that until now, all forte are still fully import from korea. only when they reach malaysia, they change the front logo to naza only. wow, still imported car...

will test drive inspira soon.

so meaning what the SA said is false?

she even said that new forte tyre also from Korea...tat's how we can differenciate if it's local assembled or fully imported...

wow, thanks for the info xioncity. at least what the sales lady told me is true.

i guess if i'm not in hurry, i might as well wait till 3rd quarter of 2011 and see by then forte will release the 6spd GB or chk out the Hyundai Avante 2011 huh...

Anyhow, cant wait to test drive inspira also.

finally, tested Inspira. I think like what most of you folks said, inspira does give me a better driving pleasure compare to forte.

overall, i think both cars are good (besides, IMHO, both after sales services also sux at the moment and can be further improved).

anyhow, that aside, for the price I pay, I decided to go for forte end of the day. I know that the 2nd value might not be there and the spare parts are pretty costly, but hey it's still an imported car with rich features and reasonable price.

well, that's just my opinion. for time being, will wait and see if the 6-gearbox forte will release or not in the market before I decided to make the booking.

On a side track, wanna ask if you guys know any diff between a campro and a turbo campro engine? Does turbo campro gives higher performance with more fuel savings?

I'm thinking to get a MPV as well. Exora is my bet, but when I know it's Campro engine, it turns me off.

wow, this thread is very much alive and kicking eh.....

it's really fun to read and know what is each person's preference and how they view both cars (bashes aside).

my friend jst booked a Forte 6speed auto and will have to wait till after CNY to get it.

as for me, if i were to choose after test drive both cars, i'll choose FORTE 6speed also. the car is really super quiet, IMHO.

even though the resale value might be bad for now, i hope given enough time, e.g. 3-5 years down the road, FORTE/Avante/Sonata can bring up the korean cars value. but it's a big gamble i guess.

anyhow, i decided to go for MPV, rather than forte or inspira due to my new requirements.

thx for all the valuable inputs so far.

GONG XI FA CAI

This post has been edited by luckykid5: Feb 6 2011, 11:35 AM

cant believe this thread is still alive. haha