Try this site. He has been some what active, and is a mod there. The site is rather dead so I think he would be happy to see us. I may join it myself, just to read a little about KIA's because that's what I'll be getting next if I buy new that is.

Kia Forte Forum

 

my sister is in from Colorado and renting a Kia Soul. I assumed it would be a loud bumpy wandering ride, but my sister is a bad driver and I can hardly tell in this car, so it must be intrinsically easy to drive. It's pretty quiet for its price point and lacks some power (this is a rental so surely the base model), but alot better than what I expected. People say Kia has come a long way in the last 5 years...I guess it just may be true....

 

I've personally talked to a couple of Soul owners here and they LOVE them. They both agree that the zip isn't quite what they'd like to have, but otherwise, plan on keeping them until the wheels fall off.

 

The 1.6L Soul is damn sluggish. The 2.0L Soul is million times better. Same with the Forte, the 1.8L is weak, but the 173hp 2.0L works. I "may" go for the 1.6L 201hp turbo.

 

i have the 1.6 in the rio hatchback but i went for fuel economy so.....could have got a forte with a 2.0 but the mpg is alot less. so far i been getting 30-31 mpg .

 

I thought this was a "goodbye forum" thread....

Just kidding....stick around ---you're always welcome here

 

thread has turned into a kia discussion so i cant leave now

 

Why the Hell would you want to leave in the first place? Talking RIO and a Forte, the RIO must weigh 450lbs less so that 1.6L pulls it along just fine. I bet it weights 200 - 275 less than the Soul so again that 1.6L should feel good in the RIO. Do the newer RIO's come with anything other then the 1.6L?

 

all the rio`s have the 1.6 and yes it moves along just fine . i haven't had the need to mash the pedal or anything .we got the hatchback ,darn thing has a shorter wheelbase than the saturn coupe we had .
its a 4 door hatchback and is shorter than the sc2 was . when i park it in the garage i can do laps around the car lol.

kia soul curb weight 2,879 lbs (2.0 engine)
kia rio curb weight 2,573 lbs (taken from internet )

 

Rj rented a RIO last summer. I think he posted or gave it a mini review on our little forum. Seems I remember him saying is was a nice car. I also think he made clear that it had good power without having to keep it at 29,000 rpm's to find it. Like I said it looks like a Forte is my next car, that's if I can find a dealer I want to deal with.

John, stick around here, your wanted and needed as a SATURN owner past or present. Post a bunch of pictures of your RIO, and keep us up on what you are liking more, and what your liking less about it.