Had to say goodbye to my Mitsubishi Lancer and am now looking for a cheap but fun & sporty economy car. I was thinking about getting a 2021 Forte GT with a manual transmission. However, I'm not sure how strong manual Kia transmissions are. As for the engine, I know that turbocharged 4s aren't as reliable, but I'm not too worried, as I'll usually be doing highway driving anyways. Would this be a good buy? And how well would a Kia manual hold up over time?
If you are happy with 10 years or 120k miles out of a car (maybe 130 140 with highway miles), then go ahead. I own a 2009 Kia Sportage 123,000 miles perfectly fine city miles. The thing is the newer Kia's have GDI and TURBO's and will fall apart after 100k miles. If you are happy with that go ahead and then sell it in like 6 or 7 years.
If you want more out of a car, consider a Honda, Mazda, Toyota, or Subaru with a manuel transmission. The automatic transmissions of Kia's are alright so I doubt the manuels will give you any problems.
What about Mazda MX-5?
