Kia Reveals Next-Generation Forte, Refreshed Sorento

NAMYANG, South Korea – Kia is close to completing the design for its next-generation Forte compact, even though the car has been on the market for only two years.

Prototypes of the coming Forte sedan, 5-door and Koup are revealed to U.S. media at the Hyundai-Kia research and development center here, but no photos are being released and none may be taken.

Current Kia Forte’s platform to be replaced.

“Overall, we wanted to take a more dramatic step in the design of this Forte,” Erik Klimisch, design manager-Kia Design Center America in Irvine, CA, says at the media event.

The current Forte was new for the ’10 model year, but its market launch took place near the end of the lifecycle for Hyundai-Kia’s C-car platform, which underpins the last-generation Hyundai Elantra.

The upcoming Forte, which likely will debut in 2013 if Kia sticks to its 4-year car lifecycle, is on the new C-platform, as is the ’12 Elantra, and sports a more fashion-forward design than the current model.

“Relative to today’s car, you can see (the next-generation Forte is) much more sculptural and sleeker,” Klimisch says of the prototype. The 4-door model here resembles the Optima’s styling, with the same signature “tiger nose” grille and wraparound headlamps.

The new Forte is “basically the same overall length,” he says, but has a longer wheelbase and is wider and lower than the current compact. It also boasts shorter front overhangs, which combined with the other changes “translates to a sportier proportion.”

The “kick-up” beltline carries over from the current Forte, but the notched headlamps are new, as is the hood design.

Various styles of the new hood are shown, with the 4-door model sporting three vertical ridges that add some structure, but mostly serve as design cues.

Klimisch says they likely will be softened for the production model, pointing to the less-aggressive hood on the 5-door hatchback and Koup also on display.

Other noticeable changes include the rear of the 5-door model, which is “very sculptural compared with today’s 5-door,” he says. It boasts dual exhaust pipes and a pronounced spoiler.

“We wanted to create the illusion of width, so we ran a line through the middle of the taillamps, which are quite long,” Klimisch says of the hatchback. The taillamps, which are not production spec, are similar in style to those on the Kia Sportage cross/utility vehicle.

Headlamps and taillamps on the models here are varied, as designers still are trying out different looks. Klimisch says the plan is to offer high-intensity discharge low beams standard across all next-generation Forte grades, with light-emitting-diode daytime running lights optional on up-level trims.

The Forte Koup undergoes a more mild design makeover. Most noticeable change is to the front grille, which differs from the honeycombed grate on the sedan and hatch. “The Koup is obviously the sportier of the bunch,” Klimisch says. “The headlamps are the same, same hood, but we have a smaller upper grille.”

The 2-door also has a bigger greenhouse than the current model, and more steeply raked pillars. Despite the kicked-back roofline, the interior space, including headroom, should be the same as the current model, Klimisch says.

And although the height of the upcoming model is lower, the stance is the same in terms of ride height. Additionally, all Koups will receive a machined metal, not add-on, spoiler.

All Forte prototypes on display have varied wheel designs, with the Koup’s top grades getting a sportier wheel.

Some designs are similar to the Optima’s pie-plate-style wheels, with most of the metal on the outer rim. All Fortes shown wear 18-in. wheels, but expect 16- and 17-in. for the lower grade models, officials say.

Kia’s Irvine studio designed the Forte sedan seen here, with Irvine and Namyang collaborating on the coupe and hatchback body styles, Klimisch says.

Kia also shows its refreshed Sorento CUV here, due next summer. The main changes to the model, which debuted in fall 2009 to quickly become the auto maker’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S., are new headlamp and taillamp designs.

“Because today’s car has been such a success, we didn’t really want to change the overall graphic of the front too much,” Klimisch says. “We’ve made it look more modern with vertical fog lamps, new headlamps and a different treatment on the grille.”

A bigger change is seen in the rear, where the current blocky taillamps are replaced with longer, wider lamps that overlap the tailgate. Additionally, the lower rear fascia has more body color and less black plastic for a more upscale appearance.

Kia has seen great success with the Sorento, which currently is the No.10 best-selling light truck in the U.S.

The CUV in 2010 was the auto maker’s first vehicle to sell 100,000 units in a calendar year and is on track to repeat the feat in 2011, with 75,040 deliveries through July, up 27.1% from year-ago, Ward’s data shows.

In comparison, the Forte lags in the compact segment. Kia sold 50,582 Fortes through July. While that’s up 25.4% from year-ago’s 40,352, it still is less than half the 106,683 Elantras Hyundai delivered in the same period and far below the 130,000-plus Civics sold by Honda.

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