When the redesigned Kia Forte appeared in 2009, it was a stylistic departure from the outgoing Spectra. But because the years glided by and the Forte went largely unchanged, the compact Kia began to wander off among rivals including the Honda Civic, Ford Focus, or even the Hyundai Elantra. The 2014 Forte sedan have been reworked not just with a fresh new design, but improved dynamics besides. While the Forte only goes back to 2009, we needed to have a look back at Kia compacts we’ve reviewed previously.

The 1st Kia compact we reviewed was the 1995 Sephia, which sported mild upgrades for the 1995 model year. The Sephia’s 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter mills got power boosts to 105 and 122 hp, respectively. Despite the upgrades, it still wasn’t enough to affect. In comparison to compact heavyweights just like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra, the Sephia came up short, but that didn’t mean it was a foul car. “Our Sephia LS automatic-equipped test car didn’t knock anyone for a loop with its styling or engineering innovation, but it’s attractive in that stalwart, unadorned way that after defined Japanese subcompacts.”

Ten years later, we got our hands at the Sephia’s successor, the Spectra. Although the Spectra shared its platform and powertrain with the Hyundai Elantra, engineers were adamant on keeping both separate, recruiting the similar engineer who worked at the MazdaSpeed and Ford SVT performance tuners cars to inject just a little sport into the compact. “The Spectra weighs in slightly heavier than its peers, together with the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt, and Saturn Ion, but this didn’t appear to affect the car’s sporty feel way to a spunky 138-horse/2.0-liter engine…”

With the sporty Spectra showing potential, we pitted it against three other compact four-doors. There has been unanimous popularity of its supple ride quality and interior quality, however still wasn’t especially polished. “The engine is smoother than the Toyota’s and the chassis less harsh, the structure is more solid than the Ford’s, and the dynamics are livelier than the Chevy’s. If price is paramount and also you don’t plan to spend an excessive amount of time driving at the slightly raggedy fringe of its performance envelope, it’s a compelling choice, and a high-quality third.”

The 2010 Forte then arrived with sights set at the Corolla and Civic. Even though it was a reinvented car, Kia kept it affordable, packing the compact with quite a few standard features. a powerful performer within the value department, the Forte’s  performance made it a viable contender, but not a category leader. In a compact sedan comparison test, the Forte placed seventh out of eight. It “never seems like it’s looking to be a premium car in preference to the cheap sedan,” we said.

The Forte and its Kia compact predecessors remained forgettable in the past. Is the 2014 Forte able to make a long-lasting impression at the compact segment Tell us inside the comments below, and don’t forget to read the 2014 Kia Forte First Drive the following.