2014 Kia Sedona Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chevy, Kia and Jeep win 2020 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year

Although the Detroit Auto Show is moving to the summer, the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards were again announced in January. The car of the year is the 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray. Utility of the year is the 2020 Kia Telluride. Truck of the year is the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. None of these choices was particularly surprising. All of these cars were major releases that delivered on style, performance and functionality. That being said, the runners-up in each category were noteworthy, too. You can see the full list of finalists below. Car Chevy Corvette (Winner) Toyota Supra Hyundai Sonata Utility Kia Telluride (Winner) Hyundai Palisade Lincoln Aviator Truck Jeep Gladiator (Winner) Ford Ranger Ram HD Follow any of the inline links above to read our reviews on the winners and finalists. Related Video:    

2020 Kia Forte GT Road Test | Budget-friendly sport compact

It’s slim pickings out there for sport compact buyers. Just a decade ago, inexpensive sporty cars were relatively plentiful. Now? Not so much. If thereÂ’s any silver lining, itÂ’s that the few remaining small enthusiast sedans and hatchbacks are by and large quite decent little cars, this 2020 Kia Forte GT included. They also seem to be coming from the darndest places. Back when Mazda and Mitsubishi were still building cars like the Mazdaspeed3 and the Lancer Ralliart, Hyundai and Kia were effectively nowhere to be found in the sport compact segment. Yeah, the Tiburon existed; what more do you want us to say? Today, these Korean juggernauts are producing several affordable, enthusiast-friendly models. While itÂ’s no Stinger, the Forte GT boasts some reasonably credible specs. For starters, itÂ’s powered by a 201-horsepower, 1.6-liter turbo-four that also produces 195 pound-feet of torque. It can be ordered with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The GT also gets bigger brakes up front (12-inchers rather than the 11-inch discs on the base car) and larger wheels with optional Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer performance tires. Plus, it ditches the base ForteÂ’s twist-beam rear suspension in favor of a multi-link setup, which improves both ride quality and handling. ThereÂ’s a weight penalty to all this added kit, of course. The GT checks in at 2,989 pounds with the six-speed and 3,079 with the dual-clutch unit, amounting to about 300 pounds of added heft compared to a plain-Jane Forte.  The dearth of alternatives in this segment makes it somewhat difficult to put these numbers into context, but the best analogs (aside from the equivalent Hyundai Elantra) would be the VW Jetta GLI and the Honda Civic Si. Volkswagen and Honda have been in this game for decades, and it shows; the GLI has the Forte GT beat by just about every measurement save one – curb weight. The VW is as much as 300 pounds heavier depending on equipment, which is noteworthy considering their dimensions are otherwise just about identical. The Civic is lighter but otherwise goes pretty much spec-for-spec with the Forte GT. The HondaÂ’s edge comes from a helical limited-slip differential and an adaptive suspension, neither of which is found on the Kia. We sampled a loaded-up 2020 Forte GT with the dual-clutch automatic, and for better or worse, we found its real-world performance lined up just about perfectly with its spec sheet.

2014 Kia Forte

Kia Tries Yet Again To Prove That Compact Sedans Are Its Forte
For those keeping track, the introduction of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan marks the second time in five years that Kia has completely redesigned its compact sedan offering. Put another way, car shoppers have now had three entirely different options in this category from Kia - the unloved Spectra along with two generations of the Forte - in the same period of time that Toyota has been building the current Corolla.
If nothing else, it's clear that Kia is committed to making as big of a dent in the compact class as possible. That said, none of Kia's entries have come close to challenging the dominance of the aforementioned Corolla, Honda Civic or Volkswagen Jetta, domestic offerings like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze, or even the Hyundai Elantra, its slightly older and more subdued Korean sibling, in the race for market share.