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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.

Recharge Wrap-up: Kia Soul EV wins MotorWeek award, Virgin Hotels offering Tesla Model S rides

The Kia Soul EV has been awarded a MotorWeek's Drivers' Choice Award. Winning the honor for Best Eco-Friendly Vehicle, "The Kia Soul EV is the perfect EV," according to MotorWeek host and executive producer John Davis. "It has more power and range compared to other affordable all-electric vehicles. Plus, its funky style makes driving the Kia Soul EV really cool." The Soul EV has a driving range of about 93 miles on a single charge, and offers an interior roomy and comfortable enough to earn MotorWeek's praise. Read more in the press release below. Virgin Hotels will provide its Chicago guests car services in the Tesla Model S. Guests can get rides to and from the hotel in a red, dual-motor Model S P85D. Virgin Hotels offers the EV services as part of its sustainability program. "Tesla is the hottest electric car on the road right now, and we're elated to provide our hotel guests with this chic house-car service while also helping to reduce our carbon footprint," says Virgin Hotels vice president of sales and marketing Doug Carrillo. "For Virgin Hotels it's important to provide services our guests desire but do so with the environment in mind whenever possible." Hyundai has announced the first lease of its Tucson Fuel Cell in Canada. Hyundai chose the Vancouver couple, Jennifer Ma and Clayton Crawley, as the first buyers in part because they live near both a dealership and a fueling station, the latter of which sources its hydrogen from a chemical company that produces the gas as a byproduct. Crawley, whose children love the beach, says, "Getting there while reducing our environmental impact will be awesome." Read more at Automotive News. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is providing $30 million in grant money for Proterra electric buses. Six transit agencies will buy 28 of the EV buses for a variety of projects. Proterra CEO Ryan Popple calls the funding a "tremendous validation for the company." In total, the FTA is handing out $55 million in grant money for the deployment of American-made electric buses. Four other agencies will receive buses from BAE Systems and New Flyer as part of the program. Read more at Charged EVs. Kia Soul EV Wins 2015 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Award Kia's First All-Electric Vehicle Wins Best Eco-Friendly Honor - Soul EV praised for funky style, power, range and roomy interior - MotorWeek's annual list of winners serves as a buying guide for the show's nationwide audience CHICAGO, Feb.

BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.