Used 2011 Kia Forte Hatchback Consumer Reviews
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Canadian Kia Forte 5 EX Auto
canuck29, 12/30/2010
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
38 of 39 people found this review helpful
Purchased 2011 Kia Forte 5 as a commuter car for wife. Test drove hatchback two times and came away feeling it was a good combination of value, space, safety features, fuel ecomomy, performance and interior room. So far have put on approx 900 kilometers ( approx 540 miles) all in the city and have averaged about 27 miles per gallon. Engine and powertrain ( 6 speed automatic) provide good driving dynamics for the class of vehicle. Unknown is Kia service as I suspect new generation of Kia vehicles are probably ahead of the service in terms of quality. Will find out in time.
first 500 miles
walt35, 04/13/2011
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
21 of 21 people found this review helpful
I traded my three year old PT Cruiser... which I would have kept if it had not gotten such awful fuel enonomy.. So I wanted another hatch back. The seating position of the Forte is like a race car .. I have to get used to that and the smaller wheel.. but handling is precise and very fun.. The Korean tires are made with nylon rather than polyester which I think causes too firm a ride at times.. They otherwise handle just fine.. I had to pay a guy to put on painted body side mouldings.. KIA does not offer factory body side mouldings.. that was a small pain ... first tank of gas with mixed driving was 27.. that's good... Overall quite happy so far.
2011 Kia Forte for sale near you
Showing 3 of 67 listings
- SX 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $6,9952 mi away
- Koup SX CoupeMSRP: $5,99987 mi away
- EX 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $4,49998 mi away
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Forte SX hatch vs. Mazda 3 or Elantra Touring
rb7385899, 02/22/2011
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
15 of 15 people found this review helpful
We already have an 09 elantra touring. The Kia is a step up (173 hp, 6 speed auto) and better styled. We cross shopped it against the Mazda 3 (too little rear seat room) and Subaru Forrester (noisy, handles worse). After about 1,000 miles i'm pretty satisifed with the Kia. Returning about 26 mpg on my commute, and is fully loaded (leather, sunroof, power everything for $21K and change). Much peppier than the elantra, which I still love anyway.
Great Car Overall
john57110, 12/19/2010
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
23 of 24 people found this review helpful
I purchased this vehicle for commuting and as a safe reliable vehicle to pass on to my teenage son. So far I am mostly satisfied with my Forte. It is really comfortable for a small car and it is much quieter than any other small car I have been in. I have the technology package with the nav, backup camera and smartkey. The smartkey is a feature I never knew I wanted, now I can't imagine not having it. I am very pleased with the way this car drives on ice and snow due to the stability and traction control. My only real complaint is the fuel economy. I currently average 28 mpg, mostly highway driving and was really expecting it to be better. Overall I am satisfied and think its a good value.
Outstanding Value - Fun To Drive - Safety No. One
btatr, 05/07/2011
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
17 of 18 people found this review helpful
Our priorities ar safety, comfort, fuel efficiency, and the fun to drive quality. We bought a KIA 5 Door SX and love it! We think it's tons of fun to and the price was very reasonable. If that isn't enough, the warranty is fantastic. The Forte has a vast array of safety features such as Traction Control, Electronic Stability Control, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, etc. The silky smooth, powerful 2.4 Liter Engine in the SX model packs plenty of power and is far superior to the 2.0 Liter version in the EX model. Every day we can't wait to drive this car. Compare it with the 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback and see which one you prefer.
A good car, but not a great one
forte5, 12/17/2011
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6M)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
I have had my Forte 5 SX with manual for about 29k miles. It has been completely reliable. I find it spacious, get 30mpg with suburban driving, it's very quick, and the controls are easy to use. Negatives are a rough around town ride that smooths out on the highway, it can be noisy on rough road surfaces, the throttle it too light and aggressive - making it hard to drive smoothly.
2011 Forte review
txriverrat, 03/12/2011
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
We went into the Kia dealership to purchase a Kia !Soul for my husband and walked out with two cars, a !Soul and a Forte. I was happy to trade in a Mazda3 that never lived up to my expectations. The Forte is my perfect car - it's fun to drive, lots of pep!, stylish, and bluetooth is awesome. I plan to drive this car a very long time. The gas mileage isn't as good as I thought but on the other hand, I drive in city stop and go traffic, 15 miles to work and I'm happy with 23 mpg. Don't change a thing about this car - Kia Forte is a homerun!
Fast and furious
Paula, 12/19/2017
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Love driving the car. Steering is super easy and smooth, hugs the corners, glides right down the high-way and the power is there when you need it. I love the look of it... got mine in white, very girly. Cutest car in the universe. I find it extremely comfortable and so does my 120 LB Labradane. He's got plenty of room to stretch out in the back seat and is perfectly fine hopping in and out. Overall I love the car and look forward to driving it daily. Technology... Okay so maybe I am spoiled because I came from a 2015 automobile with all of the cool techie features. I mean the XM is good but options and sound quality is awful. Speakers are awful. Could have spent a little more for the navigation and back up camera. Since I got such a good deal on this car I have asked the dealer to upgrade the radio/system/speakers. Problem fixed.
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An car for people who have never driven a honda
bytes220, 09/28/2011
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
10 of 15 people found this review helpful
My car is a Kia forte SX hatchback. First let me start off by saying that if you're considering this car, Only buy it if you can get it with the six speed manual. The 2.4liter engine is completely unsuited for the 6 speed automatic. All the shift points are wrong meaning that you end up with a car that is 1.5 seconds slower to 60 than the manual and sucks gas like there's no tomorrow. My previous car was a 2004 Honda Accord EX-L with a manual 5 speed transmission. This car had an engine that had less horsepower and torque than the Kia and was quite a bit heavier and larger but it was substantially quicker and got 35% better gas mileage than the Kia. The Honda also handled better.
Wonderfully, Disappointing
juego, 02/06/2011
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
5 of 7 people found this review helpful
I would look at Mazda 5 again, but the Kia value as a 2.0 liter hatchback with the long warranties, roadside assistance, and all the standard features, likes Bluetooth, satellite radio, and safety equipment is hard to beat. Speaking about safety, I keep getting cruiser and volume controls mix up on the steering wheel. Hopefully, I will differentiate them before its too late.
250KMiles and going!
Jorge, 05/25/2020
updated 06/20/2022
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Bought 2 2011 Kia Forte SXs for daughters and one of them already has 250,000 miles without losing a step it runs awesome!, it has a 2.4L engine, only thing I have replaced is brakes/tires/engine/light bulbs/shocks @ 150kmiles ...other than that both cars are solid and seems they can last another 100k miles...I'm am very surprised on how reliable they turned out to be. I bought a Kia Sorento later on, which did not turned out as I expected it consumed too much oil and traded that in for an Acura RDX.
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KIa Forte 5 EX 2011
alfa0, 04/16/2013
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
I have Kia Forte 5 for 1 months, I loved hatchbacks before I had VW Golf so I wanted to try Kia.... I didn't read the reviews before I got my car. It is rough car. Every time I get in to not even surface it seems to me that car is going to break down cause of rough and noise inside. Poor gas saving. I like those toys inside for standard trim and fun to drive. If I knew that this car is so rough I'd never buy it.
Hard to beat at this price point
Dan, 03/30/2017
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Purchased EX 5 door auto new. Have 64K mile on it, and it has never seen a repair shop. Oil changes and one set of tires are only maintenance expense so far. Mileage is as expected, 29-31 in normal driving, 70/30 city/highway. Did get over 41 mpg one time when I held it at 60 on an interstate trip. Normally get 33-35 on the highway. Best features are the seating comfort, both front and rear, outward visibility, cargo capacity, reliability, and economy of operation. Worst features are the navigation and backup camera implementation. Navigation commands sound like broken, computer-generated English, making it difficult to understand which road to turn on at times. Backup camera has a design flaw, IMHO, where it takes 7-8 seconds for anything to appear on the screen after starting the car. So I start the car, immediately shift into reverse to back out of a parking space, then wait for 6-7 seconds for the image to appear. Kind of negates the purpose of having the camera. But, even with these 2 nits, the Forte is a very nice car.
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Minor glitches, not getting MPG advertised
sschultz, 02/12/2011
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
5 of 9 people found this review helpful
I bought the 2011 Kia Forte 5-door four weeks ago and already need to head into the shop. The clock quit working on a drive the other day, the key fab control for the hatch isn't functioning and the power outlet casing comes out when I try to remove my ipod charger. Relatively minor things - but it is a new car. Averaging 30MPG (not included in the trip computer, but a manual calculation) driving 60 miles highway every day. I'm not an inefficient driver so unclear on when I'm going to start getting 34MPG. Overall it's a fun car to drive but have concerns about the build quality and reliability of electronic components specifically.
My Kia Story
James Dennis, 03/01/2019
2011 Kia Forte SX 4dr Hatchback (2.4L 4cyl 6M)
2 of 8 people found this review helpful
Bumpy ride
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poor gas mileage
lucymo, 08/07/2012
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
4 of 22 people found this review helpful
I have owned it for a month. It has 20K miles on it. So far, it does 19 mpg 50/50 mixed. I am very disappointed in this. My other cars (a CUV and a wagon) give me 22 mpg/city!!!!
Nice car
Rick, 03/02/2017
updated 03/11/2021
2011 Kia Forte EX 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
Very important to have "quiet" tires. Purchased Michelin "Defender" tires and ride is great and QUIET. Does not have a "engine temperature" gage only an "idiot light". The electronic stability control (ESC) comes on after a bumpy road and must be "over ridden".
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