2019 Kia Forte Revealed; Could Rival Corolla Altis And Octavia In India

Kia Motors has revealed the third-gen Forte at the 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) a.k.a the Detroit Motor Show. The outgoing model is also known as the Cerato in select markets, but is mostly referred to as the Forte. It is likely to go on sale later this year globally.

Kia will start retailing its cars in India from 2019 and has already promised a compact sedan and an SUV for that year. Although the segment the Forte belongs to isn’t doing too well in India, since the Forte is expected to share its underpinnings with the upcoming Cee’d-based SUV, Kia might plan to launch both these products in India in the future. If launched, the Kia Forte will go up against the Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Octavia and its own sibling, the Hyundai Elantra, among others in a similar price bracket.

At 4640mm, the Forte is longer than the Hyundai Elantra by about 70mm and almost as wide at 1798mm. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or Kia’s Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT). The powertrain is the first of the Smart Stream powertrains from Hyundai and Kia and is expected to develop about 147PS of maximum power for the US market.

The new Kia Forte’s design draws inspiration from its flagship sports sedan, the Stinger, and its swooping roofline reaffirms the same. The automaker says that the 2019 Forte has ‘a fresh approach’ to Kia's signature tiger-nose grille. Despite having the same shape, the new grille looks more pronounced than before thanks to a deeply recessed profile. Further, the grille is no more closely flanked by the headlamps.

Like its exterior, Kia has also redesigned the interior of the new Forte. The previously cluttered dashboard has been replaced by a sophisticated and modern unit that has an air of minimalism to it. The new Forte gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and also features LED headlamps.

Will it come to India? We wish it does. Hyundai, which owns Kia, already manufactures the current Elantra in the country and the new-gen Forte is expected to be based on the same platform. So it would be easy for the South Korean automaker to bring the Forte in India.

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