Question from Reader : Kia Forte SX or Honda City i-VTEC?

I received a fair bit of questions and e-mails (kiafortesx@gmail.com) from my fellow readers vide this blogsite. One of the more prevalent question was for my opinion on a comparison between different makes/marques as opposed to Kia Forte SX. And since the Honda City i-VTEC has surfaced in these recent questions for a few times already, let's take a look at this bread-and-butter model from Honda against the Kia Forte SX.

I have a few friends using the City i-VTEC and I would just state first and foremost that I have been a fan of Honda since ages ago- this can be evident from the fact that I bought into the brand since its Civic EG times of umpteen years back.

 
The current City is a handsome car (especially when compared back-to-back with the previous model)- and it was largely compared to the Transformers autobots when the model was last year.

It is a B-segment car, so you can't quite fault it for its lack of spaciousness against the Forte SX, which is a C-segment car. Even so, its ride and handling is remarkable for its price range (if you preferred a more sporty ride, that is- otherwise, you would find the Toyota Vios for comfortable and forgiving) but it's engine notes are a lil' coarse from the upper-mid revs onwards. That could be due to the lack of grunt being milked from the 1.5 engine coupled with a far-and-wide 5 gear ratios. However, it is a good city runabout and makes value-for-money when it was launched.

I made a few calls and got a City owner to meet me at Brothers for a lil' back-to-back test drive along the LDP and for both to examine each others' models' specifications for a more neutral feedback. He especially loved the remote control unit ("very slick!") and push-start ignition.

(Honda City's key looks bland next to Kia Forte's stylish keyless system)

Overall, it was agreed that the Forte SX beats the City in terms of pick-up, spaciousness, better specifications and driveability; although we were unable to have a consensual agreement on the design (as it was subjective given that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder- as the owner stated, "Your Forte looks nowhere near an Optimus Prime!") and brand snobbishness (I honestly thought that Kia was as good as a Japanese brand these days while he begged to differ).

 (Both displays sporty instrument panels)

That was why, given the RM85k all over again, I would still go for the Kia Forte SX while he would go for his Honda City i-VTEC. That would be a fair game then, as both cars attract its own fans and that is an important element for carmakers to continue improving their own car designs over time. A wasted review and bandwith then, since we failed to come out with a conclusive answer on which among the two is a better buy?

I would say, "No" and it is best that you test drive both cars before you come to your own conclusions. For me, both are good cars although I do think that one is better than the other.

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