First Drive: 2010 Kia Forte

The Forte is technically the successor to the Spectra, but it is really so much more than that. This time, Kia decided to leave the help of the rocked-out Soul hamsters behind and instead concentrate on product, not marketing – though we do like the hamsters. The main competitors in the segment include the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda Mazda3 and when you add in the secondary targets of the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cobalt, it shows why anyone would need to strike hard when attempting to show up as a seriously dominant player that sells on more than just low prices.

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Introduction
Let's be clear right up front: The 2010 Kia Sportage is a good little crossover SUV. The only problem is that the hyper-competitive compact crossover segment is one of those places where being goo ...

Manual transaxle
Manual transaxle operation The manual transaxle has 5 forward gears. This shift pattern is imprinted on the shift knob. The transaxle is fully synchronized in all forward gears so shifting to e ...

Fuel filler lid
Opening the fuel filler lid The fuel filler lid must be opened from inside the vehicle by pulling up the fuel filler lid opener lever. NOTICE If the fuel filler lid does not open because ice h ...