Simply Clever: Kia Forte Edition

The European car manufacturer Skoda has a concept of practical features in their autos called "Simply Clever". The idea is to organize storage for small things which help to deal with different situations in life. Basically to have some useful items handy: pens, parking tickets, umbrella, etc.

Given that Volkswagen is a parent company of Skoda, some of these things can be found in many Volkswagens too. And I had a Volkswagen. Therefore I used to these little things that makes my car comfortable. So, I decided to put some of them into Kia Forte to enhance the comfort of the car. All these things unfortunately are not available in Kia Forte and I'm not sure about other models, K5, Telluride, EV6, etc.

Trunk umbrella holder

To be honest these hooks are not from Skoda or Volkswagen. I mean VAG offers the umbrella holder in the door compartments for some models and trims (Skoda Superb, VW Passat, Bentley Continental), but the one I've found on AliExpress is actually a modification of umbrella holder hooks from the SsangYong Korando. Koreans also pry into VAG.

Interestingly these hooks can be used wherever you want. In my case I used to store umbrella in the trunk. So I removed the trunk lid cover and found the place where I want these hooks to be. I tried to keep them to the center of the cover.

Next, I made 10 holes (5 per hook) on the back side of the cover using an awl. Then I inserted the hooks into these holes and secured them with nuts on the back side. Once this was don I installed the cover back to the trunk lid.

The result looks like OEM solution. Now I need the black umbrella with KIA logo to purchase.

Glove box net pocket

Previously I had wrapped the glove box with alcantara. It feels good, but still lacks of practicality. So let's enhance its organization slightly. To achieve this, all we need is the simple net pocket. Dimensions are 20 cm x 8 cm. The pocket can be disassembled into 2 parts. Now using flat head screws, we can attach it to the upper side of the glove box.

This simple addition, gives you some space for items like shopping cards, packs of gum, etc. Very useful.

Trunk floor handle

Like Elon Musk says: "Just one more thing..." Oh, wait... It's not actually Elon... Anyway, moving on to the next enhancement which is from Tesla Model Y (according to the info from AliExpress) - trunk floor handle. In numerous VAGs and other brands' cars I've seen the trunk floor handle which designed to facilitate the easy lifting of the trunk floor. No need to insert your fingers into the small gap between the floor and the plastic cover.

Initially I thought installing a trunk handle from Volkswagen. However the floor thickness is not enough for it. In addition the surface of the trunk floor is uneven. This prevents to align VAG handle in the center without braking the shape of the floor. The handle I've found just need 2 bolts and nuts for installation resembling the OEM solution.

Parking ticket holder

Last but not least is the parking ticket holder. Yes, sometimes, I need to place a paper parking ticket under the windshield. But why not to have a designated spot for it?

There is an OEM Volkswagen parking ticket holder available. It can be installed under the cover of the left pillar. But I'm not sure if Forte has a necessary place for it under the pillar cover. So I've found the similar solution at a negligible cost. The only adjustment I made was replacing the scotch tape to the black one, to ensure it remains inconspicuous from inside and outside. Here's is how it looks in action.

Well, that's it. These small additions are remarkably practical in everyday life. Thanks everyone for reading this and safe travels. Love your cars!

Total:

- Umbrella hooks: $9.44
- Net pocket: $2.61
- Trunk floor handle: $6.79
- Parking ticket holder: $1.68

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Ціна питання 21 USD, Пробіг 5144 км.