Hi, went to test drive Forte 1.6SX 4spd (they did not have 6spd test unit) & Honda City 1.5E yesterday. This is my opinion on the seats:

Forte: Good front seats, really comfortable for driver and front passenger. Yes, rear sear bench is slightly short but if you have tested the new Honda Insight, you will they are the same. Anyway, I have 2 primary school kids so I dun think they will be making a lot of noise sitting at the back. As for the uncomfortable middle seat due to the hard armrest, just buy a cushion & let the guy sitting in the middle use it. Cheap solution to a small problem.

Honda City: Short front seats with poor lumbar support. It is like sitting on the Forte back seat!

In summary, Forte good front seats & City good rear seats. Anyway, the one who is always driving & paying for the car must have the best seat in the house.... the rest want to sit, sit if not go take the bus, taxi or LRT!

Hope this helps. Will be sitting in my new Forte in a few months time.... no other car within this price range can make you speechless like Forte!

Hey, you guys really made me speechless! I was just comparing seats for forteseeking's knowledge. Of course the driving experience makes the difference and that is why I am going with this car... if not, my nickname would not be such.

Hi 070, I did the test drive at Sunway Damansara branch. They do not have the new 6spd for test but there is about 10 units in the car park waiting for delivery to customers.

Can you let me know where I can test the 1.6 6spd? Thanks a lot.

Hi yeowa, glad you are enjoying your ride. For me, I will be getting a 1.6SX tho a 2.0 would be better but to pay 12K more for power seems a bit much (leather seats, MDPS, cruise control not so important for me).

Only thing is that if I want more power, then have to change rims to 16 inch. I think Kia has done a good job of getting the max power out of this engine mainly through relocating the exhaust headers from the front of the engine to the rear side to shorten the exhaust flow.

BTW, which branch did you get your car? Garmin GPS is a good goodie! :-)

If you guys want to change to 16 inch rims, the best would be changing to lighter rims & also getting a space saving spare tyre. It would bring down the weight thus raising the power to weight ratio.

Price of 17 inch tyres (214 45R17) ranges from RM300 (Falken, Federal, etc.) to RM450 (Michelin, Bridgestone, etc.) so you can choose from budget to high end to suit your pocket. :-)

Airbags great to have but hope never to be used at all if you know what I mean. :-) I have been driving a Toyota SEG for the past 15 years with no airbags, no ABS, no EBD, no CBC, no EBD & no TCS! :-)

Hi, appreciate if you guys could share your experiences on the following:

1. For those owning 2.0, how is experience with the leather seat? Comfortable? Do you get "butt burns" after parking the car under the sun on a very hot day?

2. For those who have changed from 17" to 16", any significant different in pickup & comfort?

These 2 items I am looking to mod my ride. Thanks a lot!

Korean Forte with nice rims & shark fin antenna!


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Hi, is this what you want? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...RK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

You may buy a big sticker sheet locally and then cut to size just like what they are selling....

You should ask if Honda Insight will kong after 5 years, not Forte gearbox kong after 5 years. Hybrid technology still new & with a complicated IMA engine, do you think fixing it will be cheaper than a petrol engine? Anyway Insight warranty is only 3 years & battery is 5 years but if you want warranty for battery, you have to keep servicing in Honda for 5 years!

If you taking 9 years loan, I suggest you buy a Toyota.... boring but reliable. I have driven one for the past 15 years & it has proven reliable.

Hi, I have not booked my Forte yet but want to share my test drive experience. Last Sunday went to Sunway dealer to test the FL 1.6SX. When I stepped on the accelerator while pulling out of the parking spot, I was smiling from ear to ear!

The FL improvement is a big step up from the 4-speeder in terms of throttle pedal responsiveness. It had a bit more urgency compared to 4-speed which took some time to get going. Great job by Kia on this!

As for NVH, the engine seemed quieter so the noise you will hear is from the 17" Kumhos but the noise level is not as bad as Honda Civic 2.0 wearing 17" Michelins. To get around this, either change to better tyres, add soundproofing or downgrade to 15".

Hi CyberKewl, I agree with you since I am driving a manual car now before I change to a Forte in the coming months.

Also, the engine in a test drive car has not clocked up the necessary mileage for it to "loosen" up. Thats why some people will find that their car has better pick-up after say 10k of driving.

IMHO, the performance of a Forte 1.6SX having to drag around a 1300 kgs using 17 inch rims is acceptable for the 6-speeder. Guess you'll have to look at other cars to give you better performance. Cheers!

Hi, if you want warranty then you have to service on time regardless whether you have reached the mileage or not. That is how the company makes back some money from you in order to pay for the parts that you will be claiming later.

If you do not service on time, they will use it as an excuse and blame you when you want to claim parts ..... "You never come service on time, that's why the parts fail la, sorry cannot claim!" :-)

Hi, glad you are happy with your Forte. I have just booked my 1.6SX White coming in May.

Would any members here like to share their "regrets" of getting the Forte? I suppose if they were, they will not be visiting this forum anymore.