If you needed a car to judge how far Kia or the Koreans have progressed over the years, the Forte is it. When the Naza Forte was launched in late 2009, Malaysians were wowed by its combination of good looks, high-specs and most of all, affordable price. It was marketed as a C-segment car sold at B-segment prices and truth be told, it wasn’t far off the mark. Its only Achilles Heel was the rudimentary four-speed gearbox that gave it meagre performance and fuel economy.
Yet the Forte effortlessly sold in large numbers, with buyers lapping it up thanks to newfound confidence in the brand and its impressive service network expansion. Not content with that however, Naza Kia Malaysia, the official distributor of Kia Motors here have just launched an updated version of the Forte sedan with even more gadgets, plus the all important six-speed gearbox. As a brand-building exercise, they also unveiled the hotly anticipated Forte Koup, essentially a stylish two-door variant of the Forte sedan.
The Koup has long been rumoured to land here, and it finally does in its latest six-speed equipped form. Available in five striking colours and two interior trim choices (fashionable red two-tone option being one of them), the two-door coupé certainly looks the part as the brand’s halo car. The familiar 154bhp/194Nm 2.0-litre engine already available in the sedan powers it.
At RM112,678.10, the fully imported (from Korea) model represents good value for money as it is filled to the brim with stylish and high-tech features such as frameless-doors, 17-inch alloys, sunroof, leather bucket seats, paddle shifters, keyless entry and start, iPod and Bluetooth connections, auto air-con, cruise control, and gimmicky-or-not, awesome speaker mood-lighting.
As before, there are three variants for the Forte sedan - 1.6 EX, 1.6 SX, and the top of the range 2.0 SX. Aside from the new six-speed automatic gearbox, all models get a new front grille design and electrically foldable side mirrors with integrated LED turn signals. SX models now have paddle shifters, rear view camera (neatly displayed within the rear view mirror, just like the Bugatti Veyron), and Bluetooth connectivity.
The Forte 6-Speed 1.6 EX (now with 16-inch alloy wheels) is priced at RM76,714.50. while the 1.6 SX and 2.0 SX goes for RM83,432.50 and RM95,120,10 respectively. All models come with a five-year warranty with unlimited mileage. For more information on the Forte and Koup, visit www.nazakia.com.my.
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