A Tale of Moving Your @r$e Like A G6, and Then Meeting A Real @$$ Forte

Woah, found a parking right in front of Popeyes!

Last night, wifey wanted to have Popeyes; so we drove over to TTDI to have Louisiana's juicy fried chicken and fillet. The franchise in TTDI was a nice choice- there was parking aplenty (yup, we parked right in front of the restaurant!) and on seeing that we had a toddler and could do with a bit of privacy, the staff opened up the upstairs section (previously closed) so that we could all enjoy dinner minus the hustle and bustle of the crowd downstairs.

Like a G6!!!

So Alex and Sharlotte enjoyed a round of G6 dancing in our "VIP section" and it was a funny sight to behold- a toddler of 1+ year jumping along while seated on his baby chair as his mummy swung her seductive body to the grooves of G6 playing on the radio in the restaurant. Haha, had it been a full section, there was no doubt that this would not have seen the light of the day. Even the staff serving us joined in the fun and we all had a good laugh over dinner.

(Look out for the video on Youtube, if you can find its heavily-layered file :)

After dinner, we drove back home. The traffic light near the Naza TTDI showroom showed red, so we stopped our car (on the inner left lane) and so did the other cars on our right. As soon as the traffic light turned green, all the cars started moving along. And thank goodness that I have had defensive driving courses and always checked my rear mirror, for I saw a car racing along zig-zagging between several cars behind me.

Almost an accident if not for the drivers' quick responses!

As it passed by me, it was a very tight spot between me and the car on my right, but the idiotic driver decided to give it a go anyway. I braked and swerved to whatever spaces there were left on my left (no pun intended) while the chap on the right did an emergency brake; and the idiotic driver swerved past in between us by a cat's whiskers. I was wondering what Ah Beng car this was and alas, it was a slap on thy own face as it was an ebony black Kia Forte with an outstation no. plated *AS 848.

The driver on my right gave me a shrugged look and pointed at the idiotic Kia Forte; and I was initially all for going after the arse for endangering my family's life with its dangerous driving. But if I start driving like an arse like him, on a public road with my family in the car, then it would make me nothing but a shade of him.

High beams on the Forte's arse!

So I eased off on the throttle and saw the car continued zig-zagging in between cars with many cars high-beaming him/her and sounding their horn.

To the driver of the Kia Forte no. plated *AS 848, there is a fine line between driving enthusiastically, and driving like a nut and endangering the general public. And you looked very much like the latter.

Apologies for 2 Weeks of Absence : Let's Talk About Golf (the car, silly!)

Well, here it is then... from the e-mails that came in, you would have thought that I was the President of US of A and lost somewhere in the Pacific Ocean or so. So, thanks for the well-wishes and no, I am not missing in Banting, yes, I am still alive and no, I have not sold off the Kia Forte and switched over to the Golf 1.4 TSI.
 

The new faces of Volkswagen Das Auto!

Speaking of the MK6 Golf 1.4 TSI, anyone reading this blog would most probably be a car lover, or at least a car user, so you could do well to give the Golf 1.4 TSI a test drive to see what the hype is all about.

Make no mistake, this is not the MK6 Golf GTI that looks and takes-off like stink and costs some RM200k with the stupendous car import tariffs that Malaysians enjoy (the same GTI goes at GBP23k or RM118k in UK).

Without the horrendous taxes, you can have this GTI for a mere RM118k, less than what you would pay for a Camry 2.0!

The MK6 Golf 1.4 TSI, in retrospect, costs app RM150k locally (or although, had I still lived in UK, the same spec would cost a mere GBP13k or RM65k after conversion). For RM65k locally, you can't even get a re-badged Kia Forte 1.6 EX at the home front.

And the 1.4 TSI at RM65k would be a no-brainer decision!

The Golf 1.4 TSI is the more serene-looking and family-approved model in the Golf stable, yet fast-like-shite given that it is powered  by Volkswagen’s award winning EA111 1.4 liter TSI engine, making 160 PS and 240Nm of torque. That's serious ponies coming from a mere 1,400 cc "puny" engine and this is made possible by the engagement of twin-charging. How exactly does that works? Well, let's sample what Paul Tan explained :

"Twin-charging uses both an exhaust driven KKK turbocharger and a mechanical supercharger to operate at different engine speeds. The turbocharger is tuned to provide maximum boost at the upper rev ranges, but when you do this normally low end will suffer with turbo lag and slow boost kick in. How Volkswagen solves this problem is by employing a second forced induction device – a mechanically driven Eaton Roots-type supercharger."

What it all means that this Golf 1.4 TSI has plenty of torque at even low rpms, and is fair game for your everyday stop-look-go driving. And Kia Fortes, even in 2.0 SX guises, may well steer-cleared of this fire-breathing little monster.

Fast yet comfortable, the Golf 1.4 TSI provides another new entrant into the competitive C-segment car choices in Malaysia. Had only Proton secured the JV with Volkswagen last year, the Golf 1.4 TSI could have been another Forte-ed ride with a local price tag of app RM75k, competing squarely with the Kia Forte 1.6 EX.

The EX still looks good from all angles!

And had that happened, the Kia Forte 1.6 EX could no longer be as smug as Stuart Baggs in Week 7 of Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentice.

Stuart Baggs is so full of himself in Week 7!

Just for Laughs : Do you know your golf partner well?

Two old friends were just about to tee off at the first hole of their local golf course when a guy carrying a golf bag called out to them, 'Do you mind if I join you? My partner didn't turn up.'

'Sure,' they said, 'You're welcome.' So they started playing and enjoyed
the game and the company of the newcomer. Part way around the course, one of the friends asked the newcomer, 'What do you do for a living?'

'I'm a hit man,' was the reply.

'You're joking!' was the response.

'No, I'm not,' he said, reaching into his golf bag, and pulling out a beautiful Martini sniper's rifle with a large telescopic sight. 'Here are my tools.'

'That's a beautiful telescopic sight,' said the other friend, 'Can I take a look? I think I might be able to see my house from here.' So he picked up the rifle and looked through the sight in the direction of his house.

'Yeah, I can see my house all right. This sight is fantastic. I can see right in the window.' 'Wow, I can see my wife in the bedroom. Ha Ha, I can see she's naked!! Wait a minute, that's my neighbour in there with her...... He's naked, too!!!

He turned to the hit man, 'How much do you charge for a hit?'

'I'll do a flat rate, for you, RM1,000 every time I pull the trigger.'

'Can you do two for me now?'

'Sure, what do you want?'

'First, shoot my wife, she's always been mouthy, so shoot her in the mouth.'

'Then the neighbour, he's a friend of mine, so just shoot his d!ck off to teach him a lesson.'

The hit man took the rifle and took aim, standing perfectly still for a few minutes.

'Are you going to do it or not?' said the friend impatiently.

'Just be patient,' said the hit man calmly, 'I think I can save you a grand here.....'

Woohoo, we get to drive the new Forte SX police car first..!!!

Just for Laughs : New Forte Koup Owner

A new Forte Koup owner was out on an interstate for a nice evening drive. The sunroof was down, the breeze was blowing through what was left of his hair and he decided to open her up.

As the needle jumped up to 120 kmph he suddenly saw a flashing red and blue light behind him. "There ain't no way they can catch a new Forte Koup," he thought to himself and opened her up further. The needle hit 130, 140, 150 and finally 160 with the lights still behind him.

"What in the world am I doing?" he thought and pulled over. The cop came up to him, took his license without a word, and examined it and the car. 

"I've had a tough shift and this is my last pull-over. I don't feel like more paperwork so if you can give me an excuse for your driving that I haven't heard before, you can go!"

"Last week my wife ran off with a cop," the man said, "and I was afraid you were trying to give her back!" 

E-mail from Reader : Crazy Love for Kia Forte

"Dear KFSX,

Please forgive my language if I sound a little worked up as I was quite put off by my GF earlier. I had to go for a negotiation with my buyer, whom had refused to pay his dues for some time now; and there was indication that the negotiation may take a turn for the worst and snowball into a confrontation/fight. My GF advised me to go out earlier and settle the matter; and perhaps I could march into his place and seat myself there until a solution was worked out.

As my GF's and my cars were in tandem parking, I grabbed her Kia Forte keys and informed her that I would be taking her car out simply because hers was parked on the outside and thus, easier to drive out. She then chided me that I shouldn't be thinking of driving her car to the negotiation as things could turned bad and her car could be damaged in the process.

Her imagination had ran wild then and she was thinking that the buyer could chase me fast and furious-style and ram his car into her beloved Kia Forte. This was of course, not going to happen in reality. Logically-speaking, if I was there making an arse of myself in the buyer's pad with his mates over there, if things do turn bad, they would most likely beat the crap out of me in the pad itself. I don't think that they would be giving me the opportunity to go out of the pad, take the lift some 18-storeys down, retrieve the Kia Forte and then only come after me in their Mini Cooper S so as to ram their car against mine.

But it does feel pretty hurtful that she would be thinking of her car's safety, rather than mine; when I would be walking into a dragon's den shortly during that time. By the grace of God, all things worked out properly with no blows thrown about during the confrontation; but I felt really shortchanged.

Don't you think that that was some crazy love for Kia Forte?

Yours truly, CA Hurt"

Kia Forte SX's reply :

Dear CA Hurt, this is mainly a car blog; and I am not a trained social behaviourist so I am not going to make an arse out of you and me by trying to read into her action and come out with my own judgements, which may only make things worst. I am just glad that you are alright (least that I have one less reader if anything happened- btw, that was a tongue-in-cheek joke) and hope that things would work out fine.

The Forte does leave one speechless at times; and in this case, well, the case leaves us speechless. However,I am sure that she didn't mean you any harm and probably just used a poor choice of words leading to the current misunderstanding.

Any smart readers whom wanna assist to comment and hopefully draw some consolation for CA Hurt? I'll moderate the comments but leave the essence of the comments thereon. Thanks in advance!

US-based About.com Review : 2010 Kia Forte sedan test drive

Meet the all-new 2010 Kia Forte, which replaces the Spectra as Kia's entry in the crowded compact sedan segment. Kia claims the Forte represents the New Age of Kia -- top-quality cars that can hold their own against Toyota, Honda and Nissan while retaining Kia's traditional value equation (translation: cheap prices). 

That's a pretty tall order -- can the Kia Forte really deliver, or is this just more marketing hype? 

First glance: Promises, promises

When a second-tier automaker says they're going to build a first-rate car, I get all giddy inside, because I know that much hilarity is about to ensue. I've seen it before: Public-relations proclamations that this is the car that will launch them to the top of Consumer Reports' best-buy list and make Soichiro Honda roll over in his grave. The car turns out to be a noisy, tinny, plasticky piece of crap, and I get to write a knee-slapping review telling you not to buy it.


So when Kia said that the all-new Forte was going to give cars like the Corolla, Civic and Sentra a run for their money, I figured I could just sit back and let the jokes write themselves. Don't get me wrong -- I like Kia cars, but they aren't exactly keeping Toyota executives awake at night. A Kia that's as good as a Corolla? Comedy gold, my friends.


And then I drove the Forte...and it was a major disappointment. Not because it's bad, but because it's every bit as good as Kia promised it would be. Damn, I thought as I turned my first mile in the Forte, there goes my review.


Truth is, you could slap any one of a number of Japanese badges on the Forte -- Mazda, Nissan, maybe even Toyota if the light wasn't great -- and most people would believe it. It really is that good. The Forte is handsome, but not divisive; its feature list is long, but not excessive; its road manners are athletic, but not punishing. Like the best cars in this class, the Forte is solidly middle-of-the-road -- a major accomplishment from an automaker that has spent most of its time, metaphorically speaking, in the breakdown lane.

In the Driver's Seat: As good as anything else 

Inside the Forte, the plastics, fabrics and carpets are as good as or better than those found in competing cars. The controls are simple, the instruments clearly labeled, and visibility is great. All Fortes get a height-adjustable driver's seat and steering column; only the top-of-the-line SX model get a telescope (in-and-out) adjustment for the steering wheel, but even without it I found the driving position comfortable enough. Ditto for the back seat -- I had plenty of room back there, and even with the front seat adjusted all the way back there was adequate space for my feet. The trunk is huge -- 14.5 cubic feet -- but the opening is small.

Being a Kia, the Forte is heavy on value. The base model costs $14,390 -- $1,825 less than the cheapest Honda Civic sedan -- and comes with stuff the Civic doesn't get, like a Bluetooth speakerphone, CD stereo with USB input jack, and electronic stability control. You can add air conditioning for $1,500, but a better deal is to spring for the $16,490 Forte EX, which comes with A/C, power windows, mirrors and locks, remote keyless entry, cruise control, a split/fold rear seat, and other goodies. (For those keeping score, that's $1,675 less than a mid-level Honda Civic LX, and the Forte EX is better equipped). Top of the range is the $17,890 Forte SX, which, like the $19,610 Toyota Corolla XRS, gets a bigger engine and a sportier suspension. Tick all the option boxes -- heated leather seats, moonroof, automatic -- and the Forte SX tops out at a reasonable $20,535.

On the Road: A tale of two engines

LX and EX models are powered by a 2-liter engine. Its output of 156 horsepower sounds promising, but its old-tech automatic has only four speeds -- which means frequent flooring of the pedal to get at the engine's power. 

There are two fixes: First, save a thousand bucks and get the five-speed manual; second, spend an extra $600 on the Fuel Economy Package, which includes a 5-speed automatic that provides more flexibility (and better gas mileage, to boot).

What I like best about the Forte is that all versions come standard with a full load of safety features, including six airbags, antilock brakes and ESC, a life-saving technology that reduces the chance of the driver losing control in a swerve or a skid. Honda only offers ESC on the priciest Civics, but it comes free on the Forte. Bravo, Kia! Another good deed: Both engines are available in Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) versions for California-compliant states, with only a slight drop in power output.


Journey's End: Good news for you, bad news for me

The 2010 Kia Forte is an impressive car that does the job just as well as mainstreamers like the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, and Ford Focus. The Honda Civic's innovative interior and the Mazda 3's long list of creature comforts put them ahead of the Forte, but both are significantly pricier.  

The Forte SX does even better against big-engine compacts like the Toyota Corolla XRS and Mitsubishi Lancer GTS -- it's more fun to drive than the Toyota and has a better interior than the Lancer.

The Forte's best rival is the Hyundai Elantra. (Hyundai is Kia's parent company.) Like the Forte, the Elantra has a roomy interior and long warranty, plus it's good to drive and a great value. But base models don't come with ESC, and the Elantra is as bland-looking as the Forte is attractive. Advantage: Kia.

Resale values are a Kia weak point, but the Automotive Leasing Guide (ALG) has set the Forte EX's 3-year residual value at 50% -- 15% better than the outgoing Spectra and only 3% and 11% behind the Toyota Corolla LE and the class-leading Honda Civic EX-L respectively. (Other Fortes range from 46 to 54%.) And Kia backs their cars with a great warranty -- 5 years/60,000 miles on the whole car and 10 years/100,000 miles on the powertrain.

Bottom line: 

The Forte is exactly what Kia promised -- a first-rate car that can run with its mainstream rivals. It may not be best in class, but it's far, far, far from the worst. That's great news for car buyers, even if it's bad news for us writers.  

-- Aaron Gold

What I liked about the Kia Forte:

All models get the full load of safety equipment as standard

Handsome looks

Roomy, well-appointed interior

Decent to drive

Inexpensive price

What I didn't like: 

• Four-speed automatic puts a damper on power output  
• No center headrest for the back seat

Who should buy the Kia Forte:

Anyone looking for a good deal on a compact sedan


Who should not buy the Kia Forte:

Brand snobs

Details and specs:

• Body style: 4-door sedan
• Seating capacity: 5
• Trim levels: LX, EX, SX
• Price range (including options): $14,390 - $20,535
• Base engine: 2.0 liter inline 4-cylinder, 156 hp @ 6,200 RPM, 144 lb-ft @ 4,300 RPM (SULEV version: 154 hp @ 6,200 RPM, 139 lb-ft @ 4,600 RPM)
• Optional engine: 2.4 liter inline 4-cylinder, 173 hp @ 6,000 RPM, 168 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM (SULEV version: 165 hp @ 6,000 RPM, 161 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
• Premium fuel required? No
• Transmission: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 4-speed automatic, 5-speed automatic
• Driveline: Front engine, front-wheel-drive
• EPA fuel economy estimates: 25 MPG city/24 MPG highway (2.0 manual/automatic), 27/36 (EX with Fuel Economy Package), 22/32 (2.4 manual), 23/31 (2.4 automatic)
• Where built: South Korea
• Standard safety equipment: Front airbags, front-seat-mounted side airbags, two-row side curtain airbags, 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock control, electronic stability control
• Optional safety equipment: None
• Major standard features: AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with USB input jack, Bluetooth phone connectivity, variable-delay wipers
• Major options: Air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and locks, split/fold rear seat, alloy wheels, heated leather seats, moonroof, trip computer, floor mats
• Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper, 10 years/100,000 miles powertrain, 5 years/60,000 miles outer body rust-through
• Roadside assistance/free maintenance: 5 years/60,000 miles roadside assistance

Best rivals: Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Mitsubishi Lancer GTS

Kis Forte SX's Verdict : 

Choose your own poison- all these cars in the US C-segment category look the part and represents modern driving at the current best standards. While the prices do not differ much in the US market, we are lucky that the Kia Forte SX's price is much lower compared to these other rides, thanks to Naza doing a badge swap and then saving loads of import taxes by declaring that the Forte SX is a CKD effort. I have chosen to go with the Forte SX- have you been left speechless lately?