A recent study revealed that, when it comes to cars, Canadians’ taste buds are more similar to those of Europeans as opposed to our neighbours to the south.
This may not be a complete shock to you. If you look around any road in Canada, most will be filled with compact cars and sub-compact cars. If you travel to the States, you’ll notice loads of pick-ups, and SUV’s.
The main reason why those large vehicle types haven’t made it into the mainstream car culture in most parts of Europe is because they simply don’t fit. Their roads are too narrow and too windy.
Our roads on the other hand are almost identical to roads found in America. So why aren’t we on the same large vehicle bandwagon?
Well a part of the reason may be that we do some of the most driving out of any country in the world due to our large land mass. As such, fuel efficiency plays a rather large role in our car purchasing decisions.
But just because we want something fuel efficient, doesn’t mean we want to skimp on luxury and space.
That’s where these two come in. The Nissan Sentra and Kia Forte are have recently been completely redesigned promising more standard features and even more fuel efficiency. While most may want to opt for the typical Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, these two cars appeal to people who don’t always want to tow the line.
It’s the Nissan Sentra SR VS. the Kia Forte SX Luxury!
Canadians usually prefer a bit of style injected into mostly any vehicle offered. A way to do that is to load up the trim levels and features. As such, both of these cars are the top trim level. The Nissan gets a more corporate look. The look is elegant, if a bit strange looking from certain angles. The bulging front fascia does not flow nicely with the rather squared off rear end, however it is agreeable looking for the most part, especially with those 17 inch wheels and side skirts. What Nissan really wants you to know is that the Sentra now has LED running lights. Those lights are playing a large part of their marketing strategy, which is odd considering they are washed out by the large halogen daytime running lights and, let’s face it, LED lights are as common as skinny jeans. That said, overall the look is much improved over the outgoing Sentra which sported awkward lines. The Sentra is now like a mini Altima.
The Forte, on the other hand, has flowing lines and a much sleeker body which, like the Sentra, is a fairly large departure in design. The previous generation had European lines, while this generation is more in line with the latest Korean design. Even though it looks rather good, I feel as though the Forte did not stand out as much as it could have thanks to its cousin, the Elantra. The Elantra has the same flowing design and has been out for a few years now so people are used to seeing them on the roads. With that said, those rather large attractive tail lights did generate more than a few stares, as did the 18 inch wheels.
For that reason, the nod for exterior design goes to the Forte, but kudos to both manufacturers for improving exponentially over the previous design.
Exterior Design winner: Kia Forte
Step inside the Forte and you’ll immediately feel as if you’re sitting in a more expensive car. The layout is exceptional as is the quality of materials. I like how the centre stack isn’t trying too hard like in the
Elantra or the Ford Focus. It’s simple. The dash layout is also simple yet classy and all the buttons are where you’d expect them to be.
The same can be said for the Sentra, with a well laid out interior but rather than go the luxury route, Nissan has injected a bit of sport to the look instead with faux brushed aluminum trim on the centre dash. While the design is simple as well, it has a more conservative feel with analog numbers and letters as opposed to the Kia’s LCD display screen.
Even though the Sentra’s interior is much improved, the Forte’s ability to keep things simple without losing any premium look or feel makes for a win for the Korean offering.
Interior Styling Winner: Kia Forte
It may be due to higher quality feeling materials and leather seats, but of the two, the Kia felt a bit more comfortable to drive. The Sentra’s seats were firm which was fine for shorter trips but longer trips made for more frequent stops to give your back and bottom a rest.
With that said, the Forte suffers from the same problem that most Hyundai’s do. Everything is comfortable until you hit a bump or a pothole. You then get a hollow feeling through the cabin. It’s difficult to explain this sensation, but one thing is for sure, it isn’t pleasant. While the Sentra’s suspension is far from Lexus-like, it’s at least consistent and doesn’t give out the same sort of feeling.
Due to the Forte’s sleek shape, getting in and out of the back seat can prove to be a bit difficult. This is not the case for the Sentra. Entrance and egress is quite easy not to mention that there is clearly more interior room over the Forte. The Sentra edges the Forte for trunk space as well.
So there’s no clear winner for this category as the Forte wins for comfort but the Sentra wins for space.
Interior Functionality Winner: Draw
The Forte boasts the optional 2.0 litre 4 cylinder which makes a 173 horsepower and 154 pound foot torque. Acceleration isn’t blisteringly quick by any means, but it certainly gets the job done more than adequately for most people. To really get the most out of the engine, you’ll have to flick the gear stick into manual to switch gears yourself. The Forte has paddle shifters which, to be honest, seem a bit gimmicky on a car like this. Paddle shifters make sense on true performance cars, but on a regular $25K compact family sedan, I doubt they would ever get used. That said, I did try them out and I appreciate my only real criticism is that the gear changes are a bit delayed.
The Sentra, on the other hand 1.8-litre DOHC engine with 130 HP and 128 lb-ft of torque. As you can imagine, the Forte would smoke the Sentra in a drag race, but then again, people owning these cars are not likely to race. Acceleration is slow and the CVT takes some getting used to. It can get quite loud when you floor it, but under normal driving, engine noise is less intrusive.
In terms of handling, the Forte isn’t too bad as it generally stays planted, but again, you won’t be taking any corners F1 style, especially with that hollow feeling I mentioned above – it does not exude confidence to the driver.
Handling isn’t the Sentra’s biggest attribute either, however the suspension doesn’t have the same hollow feel that the Forte’s has. It can swallow up bumps and potholes with greater ease and while under steer is prevalent, body roll is not. It feels fairly stable
On the highway, the Forte feels smooth and passing power is there, if a bit delayed. Wind noise is minimal and overall the Forte feels composed.
For the Sentra, passing power is wanting, but eventually it will get the job done, just be sure to bring your ear plugs.
When it comes down to performance the obvious horsepower gain and the better transmission set up makes for another win for the Forte.
Performance Winner: Kia Forte
Even though the CVT let the Sentra down in terms of performance, it certainly helped out for fuel consumption. The Sentra is rated at 6.6 L/100 kms city and 4.9 L/100 kms highway. I realized a rating of 7.1 L/100 kms in mostly city driving. That’s not bad at all considering cars much smaller than the Sentra get around the same real world ratings.
The Forte is rated at 8.5 L/100 kms city and 5.5 L/100 kms highway. Obviously based on the official ratings, the Forte was going to be worse on gas but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I managed 10.2 L/100 kms in mostly city driving and, admittedly, with the Active Eco button on for 85% of the time. The Active Eco button reduces throttle input and gears seem to change up a bit more quickly but clearly that did not result in any real fuel savings. Considering both Hyundai and Kia went through a bit of a PR nightmare about six months ago when they declared that their fuel efficiency ratings weren’t exactly accurate, this does not look good. I’m hoping that the added luxuries and AC running had something to do with the poor showing, however it’s clear that Kia still has some work to do in the fuel efficiency category.
Real World Fuel Consumption Winner: Nissan Sentra
In the end, the clear winner is the Kia Forte. With more luxury, refinement, standard features, arguably better looks, the Sentra’s superior interior room and fuel efficiency just isn’t enough to win this compare. With that said, both car manufacturers should be proud of these models. It isn’t easy swaying the public from the Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, but with these two offerings, Honda and Toyota should both be looking in their rearview mirrors as to what is quickly approaching their lead.
Comparison Winner: Kia Forte
Kia Price As Tested:
Nissan Price As Tested:
Immediate Competition:
- Buick Verano
- Chevrolet Cruze
- Dodge Dart
- Ford Focus
- Honda Civic
- Hyundai Elantra
- Mazda3
- Mitsubishi Lancer
- Subaru Impreza
- Toyota Corolla
- Volkswagen Jetta