Separated At Birth: Civic Meet Forte

Agreed, Mr. Mechanic!

There are ten things different between these two photographs. Can you find them all?

Yes. Next question.

Someone was bound to do it. Even the volt has civic like features.

The Civic has a steeper hood angle, making the transition to the windshield more gentle. I would gues the Civic has a better drag coefficient. Both cars look good to me, but the Civic has finer details.

The Koreans are getting better and better at copying. You could put Infiniti or Lexus on the Genesis and it would be either of the twos' best looking car (save the G maybe). And upcoming models like the Sorento look great too. The Civic just looks a little more out of this world/like nothing you've ever seen before, so I'd say it wins the styling contest. Now if only Honda could design something else that looks good...

Can't you say this about most cars on the road?

They share a lot of similar front end features, its true.

Im really getting sick of all this copying thats going on. It used to be that you could tell different cars apart just from looking at them, but not today. Some of these companies need a dose of originality!

The Japanese copied the styling of the Germans they wanted to emulate and now the Koreans are copying the Japanese. No surprise there. You dont get unique designs from Asian design studios too often.

I was just looking at pics of the Forte on another site and didn't think it looked anything like a Civic. I got hints of this car and that car here and there, but I thought Kia did a pretty good job of giving it a fairly unique appearance. However, the pic that you picked for this entry does look quite a bit like the Civic, but that's the only angle that does, and I think the color hides so many details that it makes it look different that it really is. When you see a side profile view you'll be asking yourself how you ever saw Civic in it.

Nissan has long been the only Asian studio that doesn't commit obvious plagiarism.

When the latest Civic was introduced, many people noted some similarities between the rear of the 2-door and the contemporary Audi A4. There are a few superficial similarities shared by the Civic and Forte, but the Kia is better-looking, and its interior is much better-looking. The European Civic models are a lot more distinctive and attractive than the US ones.

+1 jederino & +1 wrinklebump

That jumble of curves & angles at the A-pillar base is a mess & the character line down the side is too dramatic. At least the Genesis is a well-done copy...

wrinklebump... I have always considered Mazda to have the most unique styling of the Japanese brands, but I agree that Nissan has always bucked the trend as well.

You want a car that looks more like the Civic than the Forte? Take a look at the Lexus HS250h (does it really need TWO H's in the name?). To me, that new Lexus copies the Civic much more than the Forte does.

European styling is falling far behind that of the Japanese. I haven't seen one good looking original Eurocar besides supercars, which all have the 75% of the same characteristics as any other supercar. Though Japanese designs may have copied European initially, it's quite evident that they've mastered the art and taken it a step beyond. When it comes to Korea, well it was only inevitable that they would get reach this point eventually. The Forte did a great job at imitating the Civic; two thumbs up for that, seeing how many other manufacturers have tried and miserably failed. This is my opinion, so take it as you will.

They stole the exterior styling, yes...but the interior is much better looking than the Civic's.

"They stole the exterior styling, yes...but the interior is much better looking than the Civic's"

I dont know about that. Yes, the Civic has received some negative comments about its 2 tiered dash but dont know it till you try it. The design actually makes sense and the ergonomics are good with well placed buttons that are legible. The materials used are also pretty good with the exception of scratching easily.

The Forte's dash design is ok but it looks too crowded and congested while not offering the visual spaciousness the Civics dash offers. It also looks a bit downmarket like it belongs in a lower segment such as the Soul.

I actually don't think these cars look much alike when you see them in the flesh. The camera angle chosen above is about the only view where they look similar. The cars leave totally different impressions. The Civic, with its sloping hood, really looks much different.

Hey- its great to be original and all, but if everyone copied the Civic, all small cars would look great. Toyota and Ford and Chrysler should take note.

"but if everyone copied the Civic"

I can't think of a worse thing happening for auto design. I have no problem with the design of the Civic but the most wonderful thing about auto design is the incredible varity.

No matter how spectacular one design might be, if it were everywhere it would just be dull and ordinary.... (and the Civic isn't spectacular, it's just "nice and pleasant")

Kia has a real winner in design but it's not the Forte. It's the Soul.

They included the Forte for all the people who don't want styling, they want nice and pleasant.

If I ever bought a Forte I would debadge it because i don't like the idea of driving a KIA but like the car.