The 2013 Forte marks Kia's most serious attempt at facing the Honda Civic since the Sephia, an unassuming car loved in the same way as the doctor-mandated orthopedic shoe it resembled. Indeed, Kia has come a long way since. This Forte is its interpretation of the Hyundai Elantra, a car from which it shares many things: a wheelbase dimension, market status as the second-smallest car in the line, and a roly-poly shape that wears well after multiple glances. For that last bit, one can thank Peter Schreyer--he of former Audi fame, chief designer of Kia since 2006. Kia liked him so much they put him in charge of the entire company. The sales successes of Kia (and Hyundai in general) have been oft-repeated, as if in this day and age we're surprised that a car company is capable of a transformation. Yet Germans are nothing if not relentless, and Kia's pursuit of men from technically precise countries will surely reflect in coming sales books. (As it did last year, when it set an all-time sales record: 557,599 cars.)
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