Whoa, there. Kia’s the budget Korean automaker, right? Hyundai’s cut-rate cousin? The same people who brought us the Amanti and the Spectra? Forgive us for expecting more of the same mediocrity out of the 2010 Kia Forte SX. But this surprising compact sedan had us at its 67.3-mph slalom performance — less than 1 mph behind the benchmark Mazda 3 s. The Forte SX still packs plenty of Kia’s trademark value, but more than that, it’s one of the best-driving cars in its class.

Yeah, you heard right. The short list of entertaining economy cars has just grown by one Kia. The sportified SX is really something else — a driver’s car with a Kia badge on its grille. It also boasts standard Bluetooth, a spacious backseat, a reasonably smooth ride and slick styling that’s let down only by an uninspired dashboard design. Add it all up and you’ve got a satisfying compact sedan whose goodness needs no “…for a Kia” qualification.

Surveying the Forte SX’s competitive set, we don’t see much that compares. The aforementioned Mazda 3 s is the segment benchmark, but it costs considerably more, as does the capable Mitsubishi Lancer GTS. The Honda Civic EX and Toyota Corolla XRS are even pricier and lack the Kia’s performance. The similarly priced Mazda 3 i doesn’t have enough power or grip to keep up, and none of the above can touch Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. Think of the 2010 Kia Forte SX as an extraordinary compact sedan that also happens to be a great deal — that’s how far this formerly marginal company has come in a few short years.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 5:54 pm and is filed under Kia. Tags: driving cars, economy cars, honda civic, honda civic ex, korean automaker, mazda 3, mitsubishi lancer, toyota corolla, toyota corolla xrs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.