2022 Kia Forte Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Shop for a 2022 Kia Forte, and you’ll find six trim levels from which to choose: LX, EX, EX+, EX Premium, GT-Line, and GT Limited. The Forte EX+ is the version that gives you everything you need, and nothing you don’t. The Forte GT-Line adds a sporty look but without sporty driving characteristics. And the Forte GT Limited is the one you want for the most fun.

We evaluated the U.S. equivalent of a Forte GT Limited for this review. It comes with Steel Grey paint, carpeted floor mats, and a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) price of $32,084, including a destination charge of $1,700. In other words, aside from a handful of accessories, it had everything on it.

If cresting $30,000 is a little too much for your budget, you can select the Forte with one of the LX, EX, or GT-Line trims. Base prices for those versions range from $18,295 to $26,795, plus the destination charge.

This year, all 2022 Forte models get a new grille, headlights, and bumpers. Fresh wheel designs arrive for the GT-Line, while the GT-Line and GT Limited receive new fog lights and taillights. Forte trims from EX+ and up have brighter LED headlights, while lower trims offer unimpressive halogen headlights.

Both the GT-Line and the GT Limited have a sportier look, but the Forte GT Limited has more red-accent detailing, a gloss black lip spoiler, and larger, more appealing 18-inch wheels with a machined finish. These exclusive details give it the best looks in the family, but the intricate wheel design is a real pain to clean of brake dust.

The interiors are nearly identical to last year’s Forte. There is a standard 4.2-inch driver information display, a slightly revised centre console that now houses an electronic parking brake and an Auto Hold feature, and improved infotainment systems. In addition, Kia is using a different kind of simulated leather in the 2022 Forte GT-Line and GT Limited than it did before.

Equipped with traditional analog gauges, round outer air vents, and a thick-rimmed steering wheel with a flat-bottom design and thumb rests, the Forte GT Limited’s interior has an appropriately sporty look. Seat perforations, patterns, piping, and stitching have a Germanic appearance, and polished metal interior accents dress up an otherwise simple cabin.

For the most part, the Forte’s mechanical components carry over from last year. That means all but the GT Limited trim have a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making a modest 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the base LX trim, while a continuously variable transmission (CVT) powers the car’s front wheels either optionally on LX or as standard on all other trims. The fuel consumption rating for this engine is 7.6 litres per 100 kilometres with the manual transmission and 7.0 with the CVT.

Forte GT Limited models offer a more rousing driving experience. One reason is the turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine, which produces power specs of 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, the latter available from 1,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm. This engine pairs with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) with paddle shifters.

Drivers can choose Smart, Normal, or Sport driving modes that adjust throttle response, transmission behaviour, and steering feel. Additionally, Kia fortifies the Forte GT Limited with a sport-tuned suspension with an independent rear design that replaces the less sophisticated torsion-beam rear axle in other trim levels. GT Limited trim also comes with a sport-tuned exhaust and larger 18-inch alloy wheels.

Kia’s modifications to the Forte GT Limited produce effortless acceleration and plenty of driving enjoyment. Getting up to speed isn’t a problem, there is plenty of passing power, and Kia delivers a good blend of ride and handling characteristics. Driving the car with enthusiasm on local mountain roads, the Forte GT Limited demonstrated enough compliance to soak up undulations that can sometimes unsettle a vehicle or result in unexpected weight transfer, yet it proved firm enough to quell unwanted body motions, eliminate most of the body roll, and give the driver more confidence at higher velocities.

However, though the Forte GT Limited is fun to drive, it’s not an outright performance sedan like its more powerful and sophisticated corporate cousin, the Hyundai Elantra N. For example, we didn’t find the paddle shifters particularly rewarding to use, the steering doesn’t feel as secure and precise both on-centre and just off-centre as it should, and on imperfect city streets, the taut suspension allows smaller and sharper bumps, cracks, and holes to disturb occupants.

The more concerning Forte GT Limited performance trait relates to the car’s brakes. Hustling Kia’s little sports sedan down a canyon road, the brakes simply were not up to the task of a demanding mountain descent. We needed to back off sooner than we have in similar vehicles, such as the Honda Civic Touring and the Mazda Mazda3 2.5 Turbo, and by the end of the road they were cooked like a Thanksgiving turkey.

Another source of aggravation is the Forte GT Limited’s engine racket when traveling at 120 km/h on the highway. This isn’t a quiet car to start with, but with the turbocharged engine pegging the tachometer at about 2,750 rpm on the highway, it simply adds to the amount of noise filtering into the cabin.

Furthermore, the Forte GT Limited did not deliver on the fuel economy promises made by Natural Resources Canada. Official ratings say the car should use 7.8 L/100 km in combined driving. On the testing loop, the car averaged 9.1 L/100 km. (Admittedly, traffic was heavier than usual, and we did run the car up that canyon road in Sport mode while using the paddle shifters.) During the course of the week-long loan, the car burned 7.2 L/100 km, the bulk of those klicks compiled on highways.

Despite its flaws, the Kia Forte GT Limited works brilliantly as a daily driver. After hundreds of kilometres of driving, we liked it more and more as a zippy commuter, comfortable (if loud) road tripper, and affordable kid-schlepper. But no, a Forte GT Limited is not going to satisfy a serious driving enthusiast who plans to exercise the car at its limits.

In Canada, a Forte GT Limited comes with standard features that include a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated and ventilated front seats, a power sunroof, upgraded LED interior lighting, and full instead of partial SynTex simulated leather seats.

We used the Forte GT Limited for an 850-kilometre round-trip road trip, and it proved perfectly comfortable for hours on end. One noteworthy thing about the Forte is its height-adjustable front passenger’s seat, which is standard on all trim levels to ensure your favourite person also gets proper leg support.

In addition, the GT Limited’s ventilated front seats were a welcome treat. The Forte GT Limited also has a standard dual-zone automatic climate control system and is exclusively available with rear air conditioning vents to keep your passengers cool on warm summer days.

Rear seat headroom and legroom is remarkably good for a compact car. Plus, the bottom seat cushion is large and angled for proper support. The hard plastic front seatback panels are a misstep, but otherwise, this car does a good job of accommodating both children and adults.

The Forte’s trunk is large, too. At 433 litres of cargo space, it’s the biggest one in the segment, according to Kia. You can place full-size suitcases flat or on their sides, and there is a grab handle on the inner side to swing the lid shut without getting your fingers dirty on the back of the car. The rear seats also fold down to expand capacity.

For 2022, Kia offers new technology features to higher Forte trims. This year a rear-seat USB port is newly available and upper trims offer remote engine starting capability using the key fob.

If you want wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, you’ll need to get the EX Premium trim or lower. Those versions of the Forte have an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with that feature, as well as Bluetooth.

Choose a Forte GT-Line or GT Limited with the 10.25-inch touchscreen display and you’ll get many more features and functions but you’ll also need to use a cable and the USB port to run Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The upgrades with the bigger screen include SiriusXM satellite radio, a voice recognition system, and Kia Connect connected services with remote engine starting, remote climate preconditioning, and a find-my-car feature. Additionally, most Forte trims come with standard wireless smartphone charging, and an eight-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system is equipped on GT Limited.

We found the Forte’s infotainment system easy to use thanks to intuitive menu structures, a power/volume knob for the stereo, and a tuning/zoom knob for the radio and navigation map. The purple-themed graphics take some acclimation both for their colour and the font Kia uses as it apparently thumbs its nose at the recent trend toward simple and clean UI/UX design.

It wasn’t clear that Kia Connect was active in the test car. Using the voice recognition system, the Forte GT Limited’s digital assistant was able to find the nearest Starbucks and the closest Chipotle, but not a favourite restaurant when requesting the eatery by name and street. To get directions to the nearest hospital, we had to finesse our request. The system recognizes the District of Columbia as a State choice, but when asking for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after choosing DC, the navigation system supplies closest-match addresses in Washington state (weird). The voice assistant cannot help with the climate control system but did successfully change the radio station to SiriusXM’s Alt Nation.

Overall, we found the Forte’s voice recognition capabilities to be hit-and-miss. So, we hooked up a smartphone to the wired Apple CarPlay and used that platform to stream music and find the places we needed to go.

This year, more technology is available for the 2022 Forte. The bare-bones LX comes with no standard safety technology regardless of transmission, but the rest of the trim levels include forward-collision avoidance with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centring assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver monitoring system.

Depending on the trim level, safety-related upgrades include adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability and Highway Driving Assist (HDA), which pairs the adaptive cruise control with lane-centring assist to create a semi-autonomous driving system for use on highways.

As it has been demonstrated in the past, Kia’s HDA system is exceptionally well executed. Like most of these technologies, it feels more confidence-inspiring on straight roads than curving ones. This time around, HDA showed it can handle rapid slowing of traffic ahead without driver intervention or drama. Also, even after the Forte comes to a complete stop for more than a few seconds it will resume HDA operation. In many cars, especially those at this price point, the driver needs to take manual action to re-activate the technology.

As far as crash-test ratings go, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the Forte’s crashworthiness and driving assist systems high marks. However, until the IIHS is able to assess the revised LED headlights, testing remains incomplete.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the 2022 Forte a four-star overall crash protection rating. In addition to a three-star frontal impact rating for the front passenger, the NHTSA found an issue related to elevated potential for rear passenger injury in a side impact, resulting in a lower overall score.

Kia Canada offers a five-year/100,000-kilometre standard warranty with roadside assistance, a five-year/100,000-kilometre powertrain warranty, and one-year complimentary trial subscription to Kia Connect Ultimate services (on selected models). Plus, if you choose the Kia Forte LX trim, you can enjoy a price of just over $20,000 (including destination) and fuel efficiency as low as 5.9 L/100 km on the highway.

However, most Fortes have an underwhelming powertrain that feels a little gutless. And while the CVT is not a constant source of aural discomfort, it still isn’t ideal.

That’s why our favourite version of the car is the Forte GT Limited. You get more power, better handling, greater sophistication, and several exclusive features. Plus, it is surprisingly easy for a family of four to live with this car, and at its price, it feels far more substantial and of greater quality than an equivalently priced subcompact crossover.

The main bummers here are the Forte GT Limited’s brakes, those NHTSA crash-test ratings, and our fuel economy returns. Considered together, they make it harder to recommend this Kia over other compact sedans, including the Forte’s corporate cousin, the Hyundai Elantra. Not only does the Elantra post better safety ratings, it is also available with the same drivetrains as the Forte plus a thrifty hybrid and a track-tuned N performance model. Furthermore, the Hyundai offers even stronger value than the Kia.

Overall, we like the 2022 Kia Forte. And in GT Limited specification, it is an unexpected treat. But there are better choices in the segment unless a low price and lots of room for people and cargo are your primary requirements in a compact new car.

Note: Images show a US model.