Kia Forte turns to Style to Outsell Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic

If we were to enjoy the use of bad puns, this situation might tell us that secrecy is not, ahem, Kia Motors particular forte. Forte sedan, that is.

Set to be released in the United States in early 2009 as a replacement for the long in the tooth Spectra sedan, the oddly named Forte looks to be a strong entry--style wise at least--in the compact segment. While this region has long been dominated by industry stalwarts like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, Kia has made significant inroads of late with its lower priced models.

Taking a gander at the leaked photos tells us, though, that style is apparently now going to be a big part of the showroom appeal for this little Kia. Its headlights are vaguely Civic-like while the rest of the body has a very unique and stylishly crisp tailored look about it. No Corolla style frumpiness found here. We guess the fact that Kia recently hired all of those ex-Audi designers is finally starting to pay some dividends. An Audi TT style piece of art work it is not. Classy and stylish in a subdued manner it definitely is.

The interior also shows that the little Korean car maker that could is trying its best to challenge the best in class. It isn’t willfully weird like the Civic, nor is it willfully boring like a Corolla. It is sporty, but not challenging to the eye. From the photos it looks like material choices have also gone up in quality significantly, probably not to VW levels but much better than in the Spectra.

The rumor mill tells us that up-market options like navigation with voice commands, Bluetooth and leather upholstery will all feature on the options list. If history is a guide, the majority of sales will more likely come in less well equipped models. But it is always nice to have the choice to, ahem, pimp your Kia.

Our view? Just looking at the photos of this new Kia sedan shows that the Korean automaker is taking another huge leap forward in making its models competitive with the best the world has to offer. If there is one thing we have learned in the past from this Korean manufacturer it is this. Constant improvement is definitely its forte.

via Motor Trend