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2017 Kia Forte 5 Turbo Is the Warm Hatch You Forgot About

The Forte Koup was discontinued in 2016, but that doesn't mean Kia forgot about offering a compact with a pulse. European-style hatchbacks are getting more and more popular in America. The Forte 5 SX Turbo might even be as a cheap, frugal alternative to the GTI, but it's a stretch.
2017 Kia Forte 5 Turbo Is the Warm Hatch You Forgot About 4 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
2017 Kia Forte 5 Turbo Is the Warm Hatch You Forgot About2017 Kia Forte 5 Turbo Is the Warm Hatch You Forgot About2017 Kia Forte 5 Turbo Is the Warm Hatch You Forgot About
The Forge 5 is like a re-bodied version of the European Kia Cee'd, with different styling and such. It was introduced back in 2013, and for the 2017 model year, they launched a facelift which we're not fans of.

The SX top trim level is still the only way to get the turbo powertrain. It's roughly the same 1.6-liter forced induction engine, with 201 horsepower, as in the Hyundai Elantra Sport.

Speaking of which, it's thanks to the eye-opening review made by Yuri and Jakub that we started watching videos from TheStraightPipes. Unfortunately, the Forte 5 Turbo isn't the home run that its sedan brother from Hyundai is. They didn't polish it to the same degree, and the sound it makes isn't as sweet.

The view from the back is kind of cool, thanks to the awesome Kia taillight design, the two massive tailpipes on either side and the diffuser. The wheels and body kit are nice, but we can't help but think the European Cee'd GT from Europe, designed by Peter Schreyer, looks hotter, particularly as a 3-door hatch.

For $23,800, the Forte 5 SX Turbo is a well equipped little car, but you'll have to pay extra for the 7-speed DCT if you want it, which gets up to 30 mpg.

The Veloster Turbo-sourced engine probably won't set your pants on fire, but won't embarrass itself either. In Motor Trend's independent tests, the auto model did 0 to 60 sprint in 6.6 seconds. So it's quite a decent alternative to the Civic hatchback, even if it doesn't look the part.

Here's the awesome Hyundai sound that we talked about:
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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