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...

Some small turbocharged engines don’t return expected fuel economy numbers, Consumer Reports suggests. In a newly published blog, the magazine says that small turbocharged engines along with those within the 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6-liter EcoBoost and the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze not just fail to realize EPA fuel mileage ratings, but also are sometimes slower in acceleration tests in comparison with similar cars that use larger naturally aspirated engines. Inside the publication’s testing, the 2013 Ford Fusion with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder was slower in acceleration tests than the Toyota Camry (2.5-liter), Honda Accord (2.4-liter), and Nissan Altima (2.5-liter). Observed fuel economy for the Fusion was 25 mpg, while the 3 competitors’ observed fuel economy was 27 mpg, 30 mpg, and 31 mpg, respectively. The 231-hp 2.0-liter EcoBoost within the Fusion...

The excellent news continues to roll in for Toyota. After officially becoming the world’s top-selling automaker in 2012, the automaker’s third-quarter financial report contains mostly positive results including a net profit of 99.9 billion yen, that is about 1.08 billion dollars. Toyota cites a weakening yen and powerful U.S. sales for the strong quarter, which ended December 31, 2012; the fiscal year results in March. The yen’s fluctuating value has long been a controversy for Japanese automakers, and an Automotive News report notes the currency has declined 14 percent since November 13, 2012. Most of the big three Japanese automakers, Toyota could benefit essentially the most from a weakening yen because it produces more vehicles in Japan than Nissan and Honda. Additionally, sales in most global markets  increased, including a...