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Judging by her name, no one has yet really figured out where she's from. There's definitely a bit of European blood in her, but there's also a suspiciously strong hint of Japanese background. She sounds pretty normal, has a regular job and has a pretty affable personality.
It's not a very big town, so you and your friends start getting jittery about how she'd fit in and whether she would displace some of the others.
Everyone gets curious about her and after having a bet with your friends, you approach her and have a chat.
And then you find out that she's from Korea. Not Europe or Japan like many had thought. Korea.
Surprising, considering that apart from the faint whiff of Japanese relations, there was hardly anything else that would give her actual background away.
That's the new Kia Cerato Forte for you.
For starters, it's not designed by anyone with the surname "Kim". It was actually penned by a certain Mr Schreyer. Peter Schreyer.
iously from the Volkswagen Group, Schreyer was one of the leaders behind the original Audi TT Roadster and the Volkswagen Concept R. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by London's Royal College of Arts - the only other recipient of the highly prestigious accolade after the famous Pininfarina and Giugiaro. Now, he's Kia's Design Director. And it shows, just look at the new car.
The new Cerato Forte doesn't look like your regular Asian car. In fact, many locals had wrongly guessed a slightly camouflaged version of it to be a new Audi, BMW or even Volkswagen.
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At the face of it, it bears resemblance to the JDM Civic Type R. The top edges of its headlamps swoop down gently towards the centre before making a slight upward curve, then back towards the middle, completing a grille with its base line that's almost flush with the lights. As a result, it looks like a single whole piece has been fixed onto its front. The Civic Type R also features very similar styling, with some exceptions.
Both cars feature an inverted "V" shape extending outward from below the narrowest points of their headlights.
The Cerato's sides are clean and simple, and its door handles sit comfortably below the crease line. Its slanting tail lamps further accentuate the car's aggressive profile. In fact, anyone with an IQ score higher than Singapore's fastest speed limit would be able to guess what Peter Schreyer's major design philosophy for the Cerato Forte's design is. "Sporty", "sporty", and "very sporty".
The problem is that's about as "sporty" as the Cerato Forte gets - only a design philosophy, not one from the engineering department.
Powering its front wheels is a 122 hp aluminium inline-four engine with 156 Nm of torque. The car can get you around the city with little drama, but a heavy foot on its throttle reveals the need for more power and a slightly shorter second gear ratio.
It feels like a featherweight, not because of the way it handles, but because its steering feels extremely light (perhaps that's where the power went). You will, however, get enough feedback from the wheel if you're just going to the shops to stock up on kimchi.
And if you end up buying more than just vegetables, its boot space would be adequate. With 415 litres to spare, it's only about 10 litres less than a Toyota Camry. Still, enough to fit Kim Jong Il's body inside. And if he weren't comfortable in that position, two little levers in the trunk area allow you to drop its rear seats with a tug, allowing you to stuff in longer items.
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Inside, its style is a marked improvement over the older Kias. Its speedometer glows with a red background and the buttons on its steering wheel sit in an insert layer that's very similarly shaped like one German marque's.
Intuitively positioned buttons on the centre console form a good and easy-to-use layout, but the cheap plastics quickly diminish the initial excitement.
While its aesthetic cues send out signals that it could be a higher-quality, European-influenced car with a reasonable price, it scores slightly lower than expected for build quality and materials.
There's just that little bit more that Kia could have done to fully convince buyers of this already commendable value-for-money car.
The seat dropdown release mechanism in its boot, for instance, could have done with a slightly better design at very little cost. Its doors could have done with a bit more attention, instead of leaving them sounding a little worryingly hollow and the steering could have done with a bit more weight to it.
Honestly, if it weren't for those tiny issues, the Cerato Forte would easily give the impression of something with a price tag ten thousand dollars more because everything else seems to be in good order.
On the upside, there aren't any annoying vibrating bits while cruising on the highway nor does it feel like a car of its price - it feels better, more expensive. And the air-conditioning system works superbly.
When we tested a car on a searing 33 degrees day, everything was cool inside the Cerato Forte, literally. There was definitely no shortage of very cool air flowing through the vents. In fact, at one point, we even got mischievous and cranked the system to its maximum. And then quickly realised that it was working exceptionally well, and that we really didn't want to freeze.
Attractive enough?
The 1.6-litre SX model we tested (the 1.6 models come in EX and SX, while the 2.0-litre ones come only in SX form) comes with 17-inch alloys, complementing the car's overall physique well.
And while the 1.6 SX automatic at S$48,999, is about S$4,000 dearer than the EX, it's worth the money.
The main goodies in the list are the 17-inch alloy wheels instead of 15-inch steel ones, a six-CD changer, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering (only tilt for the EX), electronically-dimmed rear-view mirrors, climate control, rear parking sensors and even electronic stability control.
Even the controls on its steering wheel are a standard affair, together with iPod connectivity, heated side mirrors and automatic headlamps.
In this neighbourhood, most of the Cerato Forte's counterparts are left behind either with age, looks or what they can offer. The Kia's forte lies in its pleasing visual lines, a high level of capabilities (in terms of equipment and safety) and a price that's hard to beat. Never mind that it doesn't drive like a bat out of hell - it's not supposed to anyway. But look at it for what you're getting and it shouldn't be too difficult to decide.
So is the new kid on the block going to shake up the competition? You bet it will.
