2022 Kia Forte comes with a slew of exterior and interior changes and improved safety features; no performance changes made
Earlier this year, Kia unveiled a mid-life update to the K3 in its home market of South Korea and the same revisions have now been applied to the sedan in North America. The Honda Civic competitor continues to carry the Forte name as opposed to Kia opting to go with the K5 instead of the Optima moniker and the exterior gets notable changes.
The 2022 Kia Forte comes with a host of frontal changes including redesigned headlamps, the new corporate Kia logo, restyled Tiger Nose grille, and an updated bumper. The GT variant gets a more aggressive front bumper with a diagonal arrangement for the horizontally stacked LED fog lamps while the grille as well as central air inlet gets black elements.
To differentiate itself from the regular version, the 2022 Kia Forte GT Line gains a new fog lamp housing, updated LED tail lamps and so on. Offered in FE, LXS, GT-Line, and GT trims, the sedan gains newly designed wheels alongside a bootlid spoiler. Just as the exterior, the cabin gets a number of equipment additions and tech updates as well.
The interior comes with a new 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system replacing the eight-inch unit and the driver’s display has been upsized to 4.2 inches and is standard across the range. Other highlights are wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, Electric Parking Brake with auto-hold function, USB charger for the rear occupants, etc.
The equipment list boasts remote start in the GT and GT Line trim, along with optional synthetic leather seats and the safety suite enables as many as 15 assistive and safety features including blind-spot monitoring, lane following assist, cruise control, and safe exit warning. With no performance changes, it continues to be powered by 2.0L and 1.6L engines.
The former produces a maximum power output of 147 hp and 179 Nm while the latter kicks out 201 hp and 265 Nm in the GT trim, and is transferred to the front axle through a seven-speed DCT. It also gets multi-link rear suspension for improved handling and sportier exhaust note.