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Ще більше зручності! Миттєві сповіщення про всі актуальні події вашого профілю!
If you follow my blog, you might be aware of how particular I am about my cars. I believe this is a heavy "heritage" of soviet people, where cars held a special place as "family members". People would save money, sometimes their entire lives, to acquire a car. There is a joke from Mr. Ronald Reagan which illustrates this situation.
Of course I'm too young to remember how was it in Soviet Union, but my parents did. So I was upraising in love to care of valuable possessions. Hence, a car, for me, is more than just a means of transportation. It's my companion and a form of self expression. Even if it's just a Kia Forte.
So everything I do with my car I thoroughly track in a special mobile application. In this post I'd like to share some usage statistics gathered during the first year of owning this car since January 7, 2023, the day when I received the keys from the car. A year after the mileage is 8512 mi. In addition I will touch the pros and cons I've found for myself during this period.
Flaws
Although I'm into cars and respect Hyundai/Kia manufacturer in general, I fully understand that they do not produce flawless vehicles. Therefore I'd like to start by mentioning every disadvantage I've encountered in the car, during the first year ownership. So let's begin.
1. Lane keeping assist and auto high beam not enabled by default on start
The same issue has been present in all of my previous cars that were equipped with lane keeping and auto high beam assistants. I believe this is a precaution taken by the manufacturer. Each time you turn on the ignition, you need to manually activate these systems. But I'd prefer to drive with all assistants enabled by default. It would be great if such an option were available in the settings.
2. No auto-dimming rearview mirror
This is one of the questionable decisions made by the individual responsible for configuring trims in the US. Nowhere in Kia Fortes in the US can you find auto dimming rearview mirror in US. As far as I know, all US Fortes are manufactured in Mexico. It seems like US Kia management believes mexicans can't install such mirrors. Only manuals. Kidding...
Actually, when I had Volkswagen in Ukraine, I was wondering why european models are typically fully equipped with parking sensors, auto parking/unparking systems, auto high beams, rear window sunshades, blind spot assistants, etc., while US cars are empty. Don't american people want to have all these systems?
Returning to the Forte, the most frustrating aspect is that on other markets, Ceratos and K3s have auto dimming mirrors, even not in the top trims. Kia, fire that moron, who configured all these trims in the US.
3. No rain sensor
Having gone through the owners' blogs for Ceed, Sportage and Sorento I realized one thing. Those who have this sensor want to disable it, and those who don't, want to have it. Personally, I prefer the car to be fully packed, so It's better for me to have it. I can always turn it off if needed. Once again, the individual who composed the "top" GT-Line Premium trim seems forgot about this sensor.
4. Ambient light absence
Some say that there is an ambiance lighting available in GT. But not in the Manual GT... Only DCT GTs... Kia, once again! Fire that idiot who configured these trims!
My previous cars had this lighting package, and I got used to it. It adds extra level of luxury and helps me remember the color of socks I wear every day...
5. No cult/culture backed
Let's face it. Forte is an affordable car and never going to be fabulous or cult, even the GT. For most people, it's not kind of car they plan to keep for 10 years. It's kind of a transition to the next one, more luxurious/bigger car. Everybody knows it and therefore there are only a few interesting projects of Fortes over the internet in contrast to, i.e. K5, Veloster or even Ceed. And for me, the person who is into the cars, this is sad. As I like having a car with just a little of history, cult or background.
6. No rear vents
Same weird peculiar cost cutting from Kia. And no, this time it's not about the person who configured trims in the US. I've seen over the internet that many Hyundai/Kia lack rear vents in various markets as well. But, Kia., are you for real? It's just three tubes and a rear tunnel cover.
7. Limited front vent positioning
This is a clear illustration of where the manufacturer decided to cut costs on a specific car. When you purchase a Volkswagen, you can be confident that even in the lowest trims with climate control, you can adjust the air flows separately. What do I mean? I prefer to have the air flow directed to the windshield and front position, or to the windshield, front, and bottom position simultaneously. However, in the Forte, Kia decided to cut money by not installing separate motors for each air flow vent. As a result, you can't configure it to the positions I mentioned. To be honest, this issue also applies to higher hierarchy cars like the K5. I understand that not everyone may be concerned about this, but I do.
8. No parking sensors
Oh boy. it's a disaster in the US. I've seen so many cars without, at the very least, rear parking sensors! Jeeps, trucks... I can't imagine why cars in the US are not quipped with this simplest option by default. Parking sensors aren't just about beeping when you approach the obstacle, but park safety system often relies on the parking sensors. It can stop the car if you're about to collide with another vehicle. And no, the rear camera alone is not enough, because they usually works together.
Without parking sensors, it's impossible to implement self parking feature, where you just hit a button and the car parks or unparks itself. All you need to do is shift between R and D. I had these systems on my Volkswagen and Ford Focus and they worked flawlessly.
I have no issues with parking myself. Thankfully I haven't had any accidents (knocking on wood) when reversing, but give me my parking sensors!
Advantages
For some people, these flaws might not be critical. Honestly, I can live with them, especially considering that I plan fix some of them myself next year. So let's proceed with advantages which are significant.
1. Assistants
Even though the GT-Line Premium lacks some of the simplest features that could make daily commuting easier, the car is still equipped with most of the functionalities I had in my previous cars: adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot assistant, etc. Technologies come top down. It is really impressive to have all these assistants in a relatively affordable car.
2. Interior quality
Yes, I still can identify areas where Kia cut some costs, but this doesn't catch my attention. To be honest, Volkswagen caught in similar cost cutting practices. However, the overall interior is well designed. It retains physical buttons (hello, Volkswagen). My only desire is for more attention to be give to minor details, similar to what I did with alcantara lined glove box, arm rest, ambient lighting, etc.
3. Overall price
Sometimes, I find myself regretting not opting for the non Premium GT-Line trim. Honestly, I don't really need the adaptive cruise control and sunroof. In the same time non premium GT-Line provdes you mostly the same experience and feeling, saving $2000 in your pocket and offering an even better money-to-quality ratio.
4. Cheap maintenance
Well, to be honest, I've only had two oil services at the official dealership, so there's nothing to complain about. At the same time, this car doesn't strain my budget and withstands all my additions and retrofits. The spare parts' prices are quite affordable, which is good. Routine maintenance can be easily done on my own, even easier than on Ford or Volkswagen. Bravo, Kia!
5. Highly customizable multimedia
That's interesting as I never paid attention to this, but Hyundai/Kia have a great multimedia system in their cars. Finally, someone did the obvious thing, instead of reinventing the wheel, and developed a multimedia system based on Android. Ok, it's an old 4.4 version, but the speed, interface feedback even with Android 4.4 are better than in the newest Golf 8. Additionally, it feels very thoughtful in terms of customization. For example, you decide when to turn off the multimedia system: when the car engine is stopped or when the driver's door opens. You can even customize how many times the corner light will blink when you touch the switch, not turn it on. Usually, these things require reconfiguration in BCM or other modules (Volkswagen, Ford) with a special software and a laptop, but here you can customize everything through the car's multimedia system. Awesome! Some may say that nature sounds or quite mode are useless, but that were designed by a team who has kids. These two modes have already saved my nerves a couple of times.
6. Fuel economy
For all my previous cars, I leave this section for the end. Before we delve into the numbers, let me remind you that my car has a 2.0 liter MPI petrol engine producing 147 hp and 179 nm of torque. This engine has no turbo, and as all we know, "no turbo, no..." - you can finish this phrase however you prefer. But my driving style is super slow, I don't care about 0-60 mph acceleration time, I'm more into car look. I would say, I'm not driving, I'm chilling. Therefore, my fuel consumption numbers may not be relevant to everyone.
One more thing, I always refuel at one brand gas station and one type of the fuel. I decided to go with midgrade gas, even though regular is acceptable. I'm always refueling from a full tank to a full tank, because only in this case you can calculate the actual fuel consumption, not approximate. As I mentioned, I track all the spendings on this car with mobile application, so at every refuel, I note the mileage, fuel price, amount of fuel used. With my previous cars in Ukraine, I even saved all the refueling receipts, perhaps I'll get back to this practice in the US later.
Similar to all my previous cars, I've never topped up the oil level between oil services, and never experienced oil loss. Finally, let's have a look at the actual numbers for the period 01/07/2023 - 01/07/2024.
Fuel consumption:
Fuel costs:
Mileage:
The annual mileage is not big, because I mostly work from home and live within greater Boston area. I rarely use public transportation. Honestly, in Ukraine my annual mileage was higher. It's interesting as I expected it to be the other way around.
Other spendings on the car (tuning, service, wash, etc. excluding insurance and loan payments):
I exported all the spendings from the mobile application to a PDF file, so you can check for additional details.
As you can see, even with retrofits and additions, the total spending on the car is not significant. Essentially, for tuning parts, I spent only $515. If I had done the roof vinyl wrap on my own, I would probably have saved $200, as the vinyl itself costs around $50 for the whole roof.
Thoughts
Summing up all the aspects described above, I'm fully satisfied with the car. While it may not be a masterpiece, it serves me daily without any issues. It is spacious enough, pretty looking and drives well. Honestly, as the first car in the country, it's perfect. For sure I do plan to have another car in the future, and, one day, this one will be passed to my wife, once I can afford a better one. Until then, I have a lot of space for modifications, so stay tuned and love your cars!
