Overall, I have been quite pleased with my 2012 KIA Forte SX. I would absolutely consider it a reliable car. I have driven my Kia Forte on many road trips and have only ever had an issue with my starter functionality wise. Although, that is a problem that has had to be replaced...2X. I've taken it to California and Vegas a few times and always felt safe in the vehicle. I would consider it a good car for a first-time driver, I feel the car handles on the road quite well as long as tires are replaced in accordance to tire tread guidelines. The low-profile tires don't last as long, but they look great! As far as gas mileage goes, I feel the Kia Forte does exceptionally well. I always receive at least 25 miles to the gallon, and on the highway, I can get into the 40 mpg range if I drive smooth enough. That being said, this car can accelerate quickly and handles very well when doing so! It feels sporty to drive, and my car has the spoiler on the back which I think really classes it up and makes a huge difference, that and the 18" Alloy Wheels. The interior is one area I do feel the Kia Forte could use a little improvement. The wraps around both of my door handles have started to peel off: they are pretty cheap. I purchased my car brand new from the dealership and took it in to get the first handle fixed immediately. When the other handle started doing it, of course, the warrantee had been exceeded, and they wanted me to pay out of pocket which was frustrating. Besides that, our cloth seats are easy to clean with soap and water. I like the material they choose for the upholstery. Overall, it seems durable. Overall, I think it's a great car. I just can't give it a perfect score when the wraps came off the handles and had 2 starters have to be replaced.

My Kia Forte came in a limited set of colors, which made it so that I accepted a silver color rather than the deep blue or purple I would have preferred. The car seemed to handle great with no real issues save one recall for seat belts -- something I'd never encountered any difficulty or trouble with during the time I owned the car. The only negative that I can really say about the car is that it isn't as aerodynamic as I would like as it has no sport fin and that it seems to have a loose transmission in the automatic "stick" design for the gear shift... though that issue didn't arise until nearly six years after I began driving it, and approaching 100,000 miles.