Auto News 5

The old Kia Forte was a decent car with terrible timing. It debuted four years ago, just ahead of a tidal wave of vastly improved small cars like the Chevrolet Cruze, the Ford Focus, and the Hyundai Elantra. To add insult to injury, the car's launch coincided almost exactly with the federal government's Cash For Clunkers initiative, forcing Kia to divert much of its advertising budget toward promoting the program. The compact never recovered, becoming a rare underperformer in Kia's lineup. Although the brand's overall sales have nearly doubled in the last five years, the Forte doesn't do any better than the Spectra it replaced.