2017 Kia forte

The perennial small-car sales leaders have never faced stiffer competition, and the 2017 Kia Forte is the latest shot over the bow. Although it falls short of a full redesign, the 2017 Forte offers freshened styling, a new standard engine for the sedan, a sport-themed S sedan trim level, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, and optional safety technologies such as automatic emergency braking that are still rare in this class. With fuel economy as high as 38 mpg highway and just about every available feature one could ask for in this price range, the 2017 Forte makes a strong case for itself against its more established foes.

The sedan’s base 2.0-liter engine is perhaps the biggest news, as it’s not often that a car swaps out its primary powerplant in the middle of its production cycle. Although it’s slightly larger, the new 2.0-liter is more efficient than the smaller engine it replaces. Paired with the revised six-speed automatic transmission, the new engine increases combined fuel economy to 32 mpg (up one from 31 mpg), but the city rating gets a big boost from 26 mpg to 29 mpg. Notably, the top-of-the-line EX trim level gets a different, carryover 2.0-liter engine that makes a bit more power (though less than last year) but gives up an eye-opening 4 mpg in combined driving.

If you’re shopping for a small car like the Forte, you probably already have two names in mind: Civic and Corolla. In terms of resale value, you can’t beat ’em, and the current Civic also happens to be an unusually rewarding car to drive, especially with the optional turbocharged engine. The Corolla doesn’t fare nearly as well on the merits, however, and the Forte undoubtedly offers more bang for the buck than both. We also recommend the sharp-handling Mazda 3 and Ford Focus, but their backseat space pales by comparison.

Every 2017 Kia Forte comes standard with antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front side airbags and side curtain airbags. A rearview camera is optional on the LX and standard on the other trims. The optional Uvo eServices telematics bundle includes roadside assistance, emergency crash notification and secondary driver (i.e., teenage) monitoring features that include notifications when curfew, vehicle speed and vehicle location limits are exceeded.

As noted above, the sedan offers automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and prevention, and blind-spot monitoring, although the Forte5 only offers the latter. Kia doesn’t offer these features on the Koup.

In Edmunds brake testing, a Forte EX sedan came to a stop from 60 mph in 120 feet, while a Forte5 SX turned in a 114-foot effort. Both results are slightly shorter than average for this segment.

Government crash tests of the 2017 Forte sedan saw it earn a five-star rating (out of five), with four stars for overall front-impact protection and five stars for overall side-impact protection.