GT-Line Individual

In my opinion, the design of the 2023 Kia Forte GT-Line is lacking in sportiness. Especially compared to 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport, which looks the way better, the way more aggressive for me. However I couldn't purchase the Elantra. You know the story. I mean... I don't want to say that Forte is unattractive, there are just a few things that I would like to improve. I guess...

The first thing I would like to change is the rear badge. In Europe, this car is known as Cerato, in Asia it's K3 and here in the US it's Forte. But I don't like any of these names. I prefer to leave only GT-Line logo. When I purchased the car at the dealership, I asked them to remove the Forte badge for me, but they said it was screwed onto the trunk lid. Oh, really? So to remove this badge myself, I purchased a simple set of plastic tools from AliExpress.

With the help of glass cleaner, soft cloth and your fingers in 20 minutes the Forte badge was removed. I was also considering removing Kia logo, but I'm still unsure about it. So I decided to leave it, at least for now.

If you continue to browse AliExpress, you'll definitely come across another very popular thing - glossy door pillars. This is a great addition to my glossy black roof, so I decided to purchase them. At first glance they appear to be a high-quality product.

However, like many products from China, these are not perfect. The pillars between front and rear doors are not the same length. While the one can easily go under the rubber sealant, the other can end before it. As for the pillar between the rear door and rear window, if you look precisely at the pillar, you'll see that it is made of 2 parts (really don't know how to explain properly), but chinese made it a single part. As a result when you cover OEM pillar with the one from AliExpress, it creates a reflection with visible flaws.

To be honest, these imperfections are not visible from a two feet distance. However, if you're a perfectionist it could be a problem. So will see how long these things will last, but if you plan to do the same, I would recommend using simple glossy vinyl instead.

The last thing that I really don't understand is the lack of red accents or stripes on the body of the GT and GT-Line. Although the GT-Line has red accents in the grill and lines on the lower part of the front bumper, there are none on the sides and rear bumper, which, in my opinion, contradicts the overall style.

In addition, take a look at Kia ProCeed GT, Hyundai Kona N, Elantra N. Everybody has red accents on the sides and back.

So, I purchased the Oracal film and tape on Amazon to add more red accents. The idea is just to wrap rear bumper chrome decor to red and add the red stripe to the side skirts glossy part.

I selected the Oracal 651 color, which I believe the closest match to red stripe on the front bumper, which is about 3/8 of an inch thick. Unfortunately, there are no 3/8" thick tape available on Amazon, so I purchased 1/2 inch instead. Now, I think it would have been better to buy 1/4 inch tape, because on the side skirts the tape looks slightly thicker than the red stripe on the front bumper. Additionally, I think a darker shade of red would be better for the side skirts, as the 651 red appears a bit brighter compared to the red on front and rear bumpers. However, when you compare the tape and film side by side it's one color. I guess it's because of the view angle. Nonetheless the price is not so high, so I can always re-apply the tape later.

The highest part of the glossy side skirt is about 2 inches. Therefore, I decided to apply red tape 1/2 inch from the bottom. This way the tape visually divides the glossy part equally. And this is the result we've got.

Finally, I can say that the design of GT-Line is more comprehensive. Now, when I park my car I enjoy looking back at it. Front, side and rear parts of the car now have the same visual accent. Perhaps, in future, I can try ending red stripe on side skirts before the end of black glossy part. Who knows?

Thanks everyone for reading this and safe travels. Love your cars!

Total:

• Removal tools: $4.46
• Door pillars: $11.34
• Vinyl tape: $15.45

Costs: $31.25
Mileage: 1836 ml