It has been just over a year since I traded in my 2015 Mitsubishi RVR for a 2017 Kia Sportage and I am not completely happy. I knew there was going to be a "give and take" from moving out of a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre that produced 148 horsepower through a CVT into a 240 horsepower, turbo charged 2.0 litre and a 6 speed automatic. I see the "take" part in the form of driving range and the cost to fill up with gasoline.
The old saying goes, "You don't know what you got, until it's gone."
I didn't really keep that close an eye on fuel expenditures and range with the Mitsubishi, committing those numbers to short term memory for conversations and a few snapshots shared on this blog and a few other places. Despite being less powerful than my current crossover, I know it was much better on gas.
This little fact really didn't become more evident until my Chevrolet Cavalier was resurrected this last August. A very high mileage, naturally aspirated 2.2 litre Ecotec mated with a 5 speed manual transmission was costing me about 2/3 the price in gas over my Kia. Granted, there are a lot of other factors to consider (car vs suv, aerodynamics, weight, etc) but the more I drover the Cavalier, the more I was having a lot of nostalgic fun.
A short while ago, it was service time for the Sportage, which required a trip to the same dealer I got it from. Despite the aches and pains for me to get into/out of a car, I was exploring the idea of trading in my current Kia for something new. The Stinger is still at the top of my list, that would most defiantly be pain I could live with, but with the overhang of negative equity on top of the sticker price, that is a dream to possibly come true in the far future (I also doubted they would have opened the showroom doors for me to take the only one they had on display for a spin).
If I wanted to stay within Kia, there was a lower cost option, the Forte.
The Forte I wanted to try out they didn't have, which was the LX 6 speed manual, so I settled for the CVT and tried to let my imagination shift gears and pedal the clutch.
The car itself wasn't all that bad, the step in and sink down distance gave me a few "pin pricks" of back pain, but once I was settled on the fabric seats, I was good to go. Despite the CVT, the Forte had decent "get up and go" from it's naturally aspirated 2.0 litre putting out 147 horsepower. Not a fast car by any means, "spirited" would be the word I would use.
I could best equate the Forte to my 2014 Dodge Dart in just about every way. However, the Dart had more power, torque (184 horsepower) and felt more stylish in the interior. My biggest gripe about the Forte....
....is the stand up style infotainment screen and lack of navigation (But, at this trim level, that is to be expected).
To give the salesman credit, he did his very best to get me numbers that would entice me to commit to a deal. Between the sticker price and my trade in value, a gap of about $4,500.00 remained to be financed. On it's own, that looked like a fantastic deal! But once I started factoring rough numbers, such as negative equity, the non-transferable warranty, taxes and dealer fees, all this before any discussion of discounts and other incentives....the deal died a quick, quiet death.
After paying for the scheduled maintenance, I collected on a promotion the dealer was having. Spend $200.00 or more and get a free dash cam. Here's a video on that....
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