Kia / Naza Forte

Discussion in 'Adrian Wong' started by Adrian Wong, Jan 3, 2010.

  1. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    I just checked out the EX version of the Kia / Naza Forte this afternoon. That's the basic spec, with a 1.6L engine.

    IMHO, for the price, it definitely offers a lot more bang for the buck than "traditional" favourites like the Honda City and the Toyota Vios.

    Even this basic model comes with dual airbags, ABS, keyless entry system and an electronic chromic mirror. How can you beat that???

    For just RM 6,000 more, the 1.6 SX spec will give you these extras :
    - 17" alloy rims
    - rear disc brakes
    - Electronic Stability Control (ESC) which consists of Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), ABS and Traction Control System (TCS)
    - UV-cut glass windshield
    - leather-wrapped steering wheel
    - telescopic steering
    - Full Auto Air-Conditioning System (FATC)
    - Rear Parking Assist System
    - Button Start and Smart Key System

    The ultimate is the 2.0 SX spec which, for RM 12,000 more, gives you :
    - side and curtain airbags
    - leather seats
    - Motor Driven Power Steering (which they claim improves fuel efficiency)
    - a more powerful 2.0L engine, of course!

    The Forte looks about the same size as the Proton Persona and Honda City. But inside, it's remarkably spacious - there's a comfortable amount of leg room at the back, and the boot is cavernous for a car that doesn't look all that big.

    The downsides are its Naza marque (who doesn't hate it?), the use of hinges in the trunk (boot), the lack of an immobilizer and the lack of leather seats for the 1.6 SX model. Seriously, it's time to junk the hinge and use gas lifts!

    Changing the marque from Kia to Naza is like naming a beautiful woman Dorothea. Ughhh! What's with Naza anyway? If you want your name on a car, design and make your own damn car la... Slapping your name on someone else's car won't make your name worth a dime more! Worse still, it will likely reduce the car's resale value. :mad: :mad:

    Kia used coupled torsion beam for the rear suspension (a variant of the suspension used in tanks!) which allows for the phenomenally large and flat trunk (boot). However, just like the Nissan Latio which uses torsion beam rear suspension, the ride is likely to be a little harsh.

    Haven't had the chance to test drive it, but if I have to choose between the Honda City, Toyota Vios or this Kia Forte, I would take the Forte any day. Absolutely no competition when it comes to value for money.

    Of course, you will have to forget about resale value... This one will be a double whammy. 1 - Korean cars have always had lower resale value (for no logical reason). 2 - the Naza marque will shave the resale value further. However, it is possible that the Forte may be the first Korean car to buck the trend. It may be popular enough for resale value to be pretty good.

    Oh, one more reason to hate Naza. They are only offering you a two-year or 50,000 km warranty on the Forte, whichever is earlier. Unless you drive exclusively within a city / town, that really means the Forte comes with a one-year warranty. :mad: :mad: :mad:
     
  2. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Although torsion beam is semi independent, it's not necessarily uncomfortable. Latio is known to be a little harsh because it is tuned for the Malaysian market. SG version is a little softer.

    Slyphy and Cefiro are also famous for its comfy ride using torsion beam. Ride quality is really subjective.

    As for the gas lift boot, which other cars in the same range has it?

    Korean cars have poor resale value for a number of reasons:
    - poor fuel consumption
    - poor quality
    - brand recognision

    Well, some of them are not true anymore, but people will always remember the bad reasons. Just look at Toyota or Honda, regardless of models, it will always have better resale value.
     
  3. peaz

    peaz ARP Webmaster Staff Member

    yea. The Forte specs on paper sure looks impressive. But would have to test drive it for the ultimate test.

    As for ride comfort, in some ways, I kinda like the harsher ride of the Latio. More stable around corners. But I'd just have to be more careful over bumps for the passengers.

    Wanna go test drive the forte? :D
     
  4. goldfries

    goldfries www.goldfries.com

    Since the resale value isn't good, then getting a used unit would mean even more value for money. :thumb:

    Kia Forte here in Malaysia: amazing value for money

    hrmm.......... for 75k it certainly looks WAY better spec than the Vios J.
     
  5. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hmm.. Isn't the torsion beam one connected unit?

    LOL! Not even the D-class Honda Accord or Toyota Camry has them! But the thing is Korean cars like the Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima and if I'm not mistaken, the Hyundai Elantra (Avante) have been using gas lifts for years. It's just that I think hinges are so 1990s. It's time for everyone to switch to gas lifts.

    I think the poor fuel consumption perception was mostly due to the Kia Carnival (Naza Ria) - a real fuel guzzler. But I think that's mostly due to its weight and size and possibly poor aerodynamic profile. Of course, the engine and auto gearbox are probably not the best there is. But bad FC is also an issue for other cars - Volvo S40, I think, has an official FC of 8 km/L.

    Poor quality seems to be more of a QC problem, which means CBU units imported direct from Korea would have better build quality than CKD units made here. Of course, that depends on the management. You can have very well-built cars here if the management is anal about QC.

    Look at Honda. It looks like they are more interested in leveraging the Honda brand name to make more money, than actually delivering a good product. Quality control seems to be running awry at the local Honda plant.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2010
  6. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hmm.. That's true. The torsion beam do allow for phenomenally large and flat trunks too. :thumb:

    Haha.. Yeah, the driver will not notice it so much. :mrgreen:

    Oh, you are looking to switch to the Forte???? :mrgreen:

    The nearest showroom offering test drive would be the Naza showroom at TTDI. We can go have a look whenever you are free. Jason would probably come along too. :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2010
  7. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    According to the dealer, the price will probably go up as the government will be increasing the cost of AP by RM 10,000. :nuts:

    So will a second-hand Forte be significantly cheaper? I'm not sure... The Forte could change the status quo for Korean cars. If only they would remove the stupid Naza marque and call it what it is - a Kia.

    Yes, indeed. The Toyota Vios and Honda City look like overpriced, outdated cars compared to the Kia Forte... specs-wise at least.
     
  8. goldfries

    goldfries www.goldfries.com

    my circa 94 (i think) Satria is giving me about 12.xx km / l :D which I think is damn good already for an old junk.
     
  9. karhoe

    karhoe Newbie

    The most important question is the FC, and how durable would it be.
     
  10. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Many other Korean cars are not very fuel efficient, like the Hyundai Matrix (1.6), I heard Elantra 1.8 is not that great either.

    Yes, torsion beam is the one rod connecting together. It acts as a cheap version of stabiliser bar. The main reason is the create more boot space and cut cost. But Cefiro is not exactly a budget car. So I don't know why Nissan chooses torsion beam through out the range. Then again, Slyphy still comes with rear drum brakes.

    I think we have discussed this before. The matter of fact is, locally assembled cars are usually inferior to the CBU, whether you accept the fact or not, it's another matter. Most of the locally assembled cars are not using the same parts as the CBU.
     
  11. ZuePhok

    ZuePhok Just Started

    aha! the rojak car!

    don't u think the front is very honda city look alike & rear = a beemer arse?
     
  12. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    That's very good FC. My Hyundai Sonata can only do that on the highway.

    It can do even better if I shift to Neutral whenever I go downhill and shift back to Drive after that... but I think that's very bad on the gearbox. :think:
     
  13. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    The Hyundai Accent too, even though it's using a 1.5L engine. In fact, my cousin's Accent has poorer FC than my Sonata on the highway. :nuts:

    But as I understand, Hyundai and Kia's latest engines have finally caught up in that aspect. Not sure about their gearboxes though...

    With that said, I think some blame on FC should go to the drivers. As I mentioned before, when I started driving the Sonata, my God, its FC was just terrible. After I learned to drive it properly, my FC started improving... and now I do about 9.5-10 km/L in city driving and about 11.5-12 km/L on the highway. But when Jenny drives... the FC goes way up! :haha:

    Oh, I don't deny that locally-assembled cars are usually inferior to imported CBU cars. I'm just saying that if they want to properly build the cars, they can do so if they are really strict on QC. Obviously, most local assemblers can't be bothered.

    Yeah, you are right - most locally-assembled cars are not using the same parts as CBUs. Sadly, the resale value of a CBU Korean car is the same as its CKD cousin.
     
  14. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    I won't be surprised if Kia's engineers were "inspired" by other cars. Heck, Hyundai openly promoted the fact that they lifted the front design of the Sonata EF from the Benz E-Class and the rear design from the Jaguar. :haha: :haha:
     
  15. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    In Malaysia? Dream on. Just look at our politicians... :haha:

    I kinda like cars with poor resale value. That's why I buy them second hand! :haha: My car does 14km/l consistently with pretty aggressive driving on highway, although I don't usually go above 130km/h, but I do hard acceleration whenever possible.
     
  16. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    LOL!!! I know what you mean, but it also means we cannot buy them brand new! :haha:
     
  17. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Yes you can, buy Toyota or Honda brand new. :haha:
     
  18. karhoe

    karhoe Newbie

    Well

    1) What is wrong if the rear trunk does not use gas cyllinders?

    2) Nah, not worry much about resale value. If the resale value is low, just take it as the cost of the car is effectively higher as the recoverable amount is much lower. But if you were to sell it 10 years later, what would have been the value of say, 20k recoverable amount today? Probably much lesser
     
  19. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Sigh.. Too expensive. And the strong resale value is illusory. It may suffer a lower loss in percentage but in real monetary terms, the loss is greater than that of a Korean car. :(
     
  20. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    1. Nothing wrong actually. It's not a real deal-breaker, but gas lifts allow you to use the full space of the boot. The hinges intrude into the boot space when you close the boot and could damage your luggage.

    2. Actually, poor resale value is not a problem if you use the car for a long time, say.. more than 7 years. The resale value then would have dropped to a point (RM 20-30K) when well, it can't really drop much further.
     

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