Used 2017 Kia Forte Sedan Consumer Reviews
My second Forte
Bought a 2010 Forte LX (5 speeds manual) back in 2010. 160K miles later, I had to trade it in for a 2017 Forte LX (manual 6 speeds). What an improvement ! First of all, not one problem, itch or snooze on my previous Kia. Never opened the hood. All oil changes done by professionals. I already had great mpg, but this new one ? Even better. Manual says 32 city/39 Highway. I get 41 city/45 Highway. Of course, my commute (120 miles per day - 20% city and 80% Thruway) is pretty much on flat road (no hills) and the temperatures are constantly over 40 degrees. Good dry conditions. Speed of 70-75 mph when Tach read 2,750 rpm. This car purrs and swallows the miles one by one. Comfort is what you can expect from a "small" car. Everything being new, you need some time to get used to it, or for the car to get used to you. Now, odd enough, no spare tire nor donut in the back trunk. Just some kind of fix-your-flat-yourself-kit with a plug-in pump (and patch?), enough for 50 miles to get to a station (?).The dash boards illuminates nicely and I still have not figured out why the outside temperature reading starts flashing when it get under 40 degrees F (or everytime it drops under 30, 20 etc...). Acceleration is nice, although there seem to be a soft spot when starting in 1st gear which obliges you to push and reach 4,000 rpm or shift into second very quickly. The sound is definitely not premium. Automatic windows is a nice upgrade from my previous Kia and the electronic lock/unlock is also a nice addition. I hope to have it last a long time. From previous experience, it will. Update after owning this Forte for 7 Months: Winter is over. No special tires, just the ones this car came with and no problem on the snow (and God knows that Rochester, NY, can have plenty of it). No sliding. Really happy about the mileage per gallon. Constantly hitting the 47.5 mpg, although this little car doesn't seem to like the rain (or the cold). At 2,500 rpm, on highway, you should easily get 50 mpg without pushing your gears too much (of course, no extra weight/passengers/luggage). Still a "dead spot" when starting in 1st gear and I suspect a "bad" electronic distribution, but not enough to put that car through computer testings. So far so good. Reliable it is. A year has passed. Mileage per gallon is still the same 47-48 miles per gallon, although I suspect that this will change with the cold weather coming. Still, no problem and hood is staying closed (besides oil changes done by pros). Still very happy with the purchase. Update - Dec 1st, 2018 Still very good car. Roughly 52K on it. No more long and evening long commutes (120 miles total). Found employment much closer to home (3 miles). Of course it changes my gas consumption. It dropped from 47 miles/gal to 32/34 mpg. Still one full tank will last a month. It is a very economical car. No problems with brakes. Put the car at the Dealership for its 50K miles inspections and even after a couple hoses were changed (they looked like they could have lasted longer), and this car's engine looked like a diamond. Again, if you're looking for no frills - no super gadgets, economical, safe... This is the car to own. Update June 2019. Forte still running strong. I will not change my ratings from last update. I still didn't open the hood. This is the car to own (great price, not expensive to maintain). December 2019 I want to write a negative update so bad, just to balance my enthusiastic mood of the past, but I can't. Still working and I still have to open the hood. No "engine light" at all. (Maybe that bulb is burnt). I am so please that I actually bought a KIA Sportage 2018 for my wife.
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Nice car to own and ride
I leased 2017 KIA forte LX for only 79$ per month for 3 yrs. I am very happy about the car. Fuel economy is great, interior is good and when it comes to exterior it does not look like a cheap car at all. Brake system exceeded my expectation. However,My comment on performance is different. Acceleration for this 2.0 L engine is weak. When it comes to merging into traffic make sure you have enough room with incoming cars because you are not able to speed up quickly! But overal it is such a good car to ride and worths every penny you spent.
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pleasantly surprised
first let me say tis is the first brand new car I purchased/leased since 2001. Until oct. 2014 I was driving a Chevrolet cavalier. in 2014 it was going to cost me over $4000 just to get it ready to pass inspection. surprising to mea s it only had about 80,000 miles on it. so I traded it in on a 2008 Hyundai elentra. very pleasant surprise. it got about 6 mpg more then the cavalier. had the elantra for about 2 and half years. had 78,000 miles on it. when I traded it in on the 2017 kia forte lx it had a little over 86,000 miles on it. as you can see I don't do a ton of driving in a year. decided to check out a deal I heard on the radio from a local Pennsylvania dealer. very misleading ad. in the ad they stated that they would guarantee $6000 for your trade and $9000 off list price of a new 2017 sonata. called the dealer as I did not want to drive over an hour for nothing. the salesman told me I had misheard the ad. it was either the $6000 trade in or $9000 off list price. I was not the only one who heard the ad the way I did. so I started looking at other Hyundai dealers. after talking with the sales people they informed that an elntra might be a better fit for me. as the incentives were better.got some ok deals. then remembered that kia was the sister company of hyundai so I called a couple of kia dealers and asked about the optima. but since I wanted to stay at roughly the same monthly payment I was at they recommended the forte. took one out for a test drive and found I liked it better than the 2017 elentra I had test driven. comparing the elantra and forte to me I found the forte better handling and as good a ride. the interior of the forte again to me seemed better quality. got the forte on 4/7/2017. have had it a month and I am very happy with it. I am getting over 30 mpg in what is basically local driving. would recommend this over the elantra. also have to like the 5 yr warranty.
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Amazing car
The car is more then i could ask for my wife and daughter loves it great on gas and a incredible ride and lots of room
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Love the car
I love my car. Was not aware when we purchased it that cruise control is not standard on all cars. Since we have had the car the front bumper and left headlight had to be replaced apparently due to shipping. They were both scratched up and not fixable without replacing them. Now at less than 2500 yes read that again less than "2500" miles the transmission has to be replaced!!! Apparently there have been 26 Kia Forte's that have had this problem and now I am # 27. I like the feel of the car, the color, all the Bluetooth options and the roominess but so far I have not been impressed at all with running of it. I have not even had this car 2 months and it has spent more time in the shop than I have had it to drive. Sorry Kia wish I could give a better review!
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Problems
I have a 2017 Kia forte. I have read about transmission problem and missing problems. I had these problems as well. My car has 78000 miles on it. I am a lift driver that is the reason I have so many miles on it. Anyways I don't know if this will help anyone. But I took it to the dealer and was told I needed a three point fuel claening. Had that done witch I am Shure I needed anyways. I changed the spark plugs witch looked real bad. Still trans and shaking continue. Kia kept checking into it. They told me it was the upper right hand motor mount. I still didn't think this would solve the problem. Went and picked up a motor mount and had it put in as a result it solved all the shaking and the transmission is fine. The car is running as the day in took it off the lot. Very happy. Thanks to Jack at Lincolnwood Kia. Hope this review is helpful to someone 😁
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I love my Forte!
My 2017 Forte is my second-ever car, following the Accord I'd had for 9 years. I love the interior of the Forte - the first time I ever sat in it, I felt like a CEO, and the feeling hasn't faded. It's just so classy - the display is so nice and I really love the design of the seats. The front seat has plenty of leg room and the back seat has plenty of space. I'm 5'8" and my boyfriend is 6'5" and we agree that the front seat is really comfy and accommodating for tall folk. I adore the outside of the car, too - the little front windows between the windshield and the mirrors (what do you call those?) are so charming to me. The only kind of off-putting thing about this car is that the display lights up even if your headlights aren't on. That took some getting used to, and I definitely accidentally drove with my lights off a couple of times the first week. I have the LX with the popular package and I think the technology is perfect - I really enjoy having a back-up camera and the displays are all really user-friendly and aesthetically attractive. I've only had my Forte since December but so far, I love her. BTW, everyone says the acceleration is lackluster but nah, it's perfect, especially if you have it in sport mode. Also, the fuel economy is really good! I can get 40 mph if I'm going a long distance without traffic, but around town I tend to get about 29, which still ain't bad.
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Lemon Forte
I bought this P.O.S Forte on May 27 2017 at first it was a good car then six months into owning it the car began to act funny I took it to the dealer they did nothing so a few months later it just went downhill. Some days it wouldn't accelerate good and it was not cranking right. Then on June 17 2018 the engine light came on and flashed six times which is a sign that something wasn't good. I took it to the dealer and they thought it was the ignition coils they changed them and I left the lot. An hour later the engine light came back on and I took it back wound up being the whole engine was useless. The cylinder misfire is common knowledge to KIA but they won't recall the car hopefully I will be getting rid of this car soon. I will never buy a Kia again.
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Check everything
The center armrest is to far back. The automatic driver window is not set up to go up automatically, To many unnecessary features (Turn signals 3,5,7.)Just use the signal and then turn off. The worst lack of feature "NO CD PLAYER".I don't have an I pad and don't plan on getting one. So , NO DISKS.....No daytime driving lights that go on when you start the vehicle. It has to be a manual operation. Radio is not easy to set up and hold desired stations.
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Kia Love!
I just purchased my 2017 Forte last month, but I love it already. I previously owned a 2015 and a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage, which professional reviewers hated. I never understood their complaints about those cars until I bought my Kia. I suppose when you test drive cars for a living, there is a huge difference in the ride of a low-end (cheap) vehicle versus a top of the line luxury car. But bottom line is cars all do essentially the same thing. Yes, I know that heated seats and navigation systems and leather interiors are nice, but they really are not necessary. The only thing I would be willing to pay more money for is a safer vehicle. (There is not one car out there that can guarantee I won't be hurt or worse in it, so nothing is worth the cost of a small house!) That being said, I got a lot of bang for my buck with this Kia. Great looks, nice ride, awesome gas mileage. I do see the difference in the handling vs my Mirage. I do now know why horsepower (or lack of) is important. Still, I don't need a Lexus or Mercedes to get a comfortable ride and nice interior. I'm definitely experiencing Kia love!
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