In case you were wondering, yes, there will be a Kia Forte hatchback. We don't know yet whether it will be called Forte5 (a la Spectra5), but it's pretty clear this prototype is a five-door version of the Forte sedan. It was caught by our shooters on a frozen lake in northern Sweden
Several styling cues on the hatchback appear to be lifted directly from the Forte sedan -- the beveled sweep of the A-pillar is familiar, as is the profile between the A- and C-pillars. Moreover, the glimpse of the fascia and headlights we get through the camouflage virtually confirms this car is part of the Forte family. The disguised test car looks nearly complete, though the rear bumpers seem to be missing in action.
The Forte hatch prototype was sharing the lake with a Forte sedan and a Forte Koup; the latter was even wearing the same wheels.
We don't know yet when Kia would launch the third Forte body style, but from the looks of it, the automaker intends on having a car to go toe to toe with the current Volkswagen Golf and Mazda 3 5-door. We expect the hatch to come to the U.S., but no doubt this car is even more critical to Kia's product plan in Europe.
Second photo after the jump.
ed124c says:
08:37 AM, 02/28/10
This might also be competition for the Hyundai Touring. More power than the Hyundai, if the Kia gets the 2.4 motor. The hatchback form doesn't look like it will compromise utility very much. The Kia sedan and coupe are better looking than the Elantra Touring.
orangutan says:
09:53 AM, 02/28/10
I thought the whole point of the Forte/Soul dichotomy was to have the Soul standing in as the hatchback equivalent? It's certainly built on more primitive hardware and appeals to a different crowd than this kind of hatch, but I thought I read that the plan was to have the Forte as sedan/coupe and Soul as hatch. Interesting.
firstwagon says:
12:39 PM, 02/28/10
I think it's a great idea. I would likely buy a Soul first but I know a lot of people who don't like the over the top styling.
Every company needs hatchbacks to stay in the game these days.
adrean8j says:
03:03 PM, 02/28/10
Isn't the overseas only Pro'Ceed base on the same platform as the Forte?
tp660 says:
04:55 PM, 02/28/10
@ orangutan: The Soul is a subcompact sized car.
firstwagon says:
05:02 PM, 02/28/10
If it is they need to change the definition of "sub" compact. Stand next to one and see if you still think it's even a compact.
The Soul is not small.
tp660 says:
05:03 PM, 02/28/10
@ orangutan: Sorry, I was going to say something else but my laptop went crazy on me. Yeah so like I was saying, the Soul is a subcompact sized car. It actually is built on the same platform as the Rio. The Soul competes specifically with the Nissan Cube and Scion xB. So there is a gap that this Forte hatchback is supposed to fill.
dougtheeng says:
07:39 AM, 03/ 1/10
I'd be surprised if this Forte hatch had more space then my Soul. The Soul is larger then you think - the cube is much smaller in passenger and cargo space.
dougtheeng says:
07:39 AM, 03/ 1/10
I'd be surprised if this Forte hatch had more space then my Soul. The Soul is larger then you think - the cube is much smaller in passenger and cargo space.
hyundaismoke says:
09:38 PM, 03/13/10
KIA Confirms Existence and Debut of Forte5: Read this press release.
http://www.accentplanet.org/2010/03/c-segment-platform-existence-of-2011.html
robcook9 says:
12:29 AM, 04/12/10
Kia Forte Hatchback looking good Pick Truck at this moment, but face many competition as hyundai, Dodge & Nissan is also coming with their best