2020 Kia Forte GT Shows Its Two Flavors At SEMA

Fresh from the K3 GT Sedan’s debut in Korea earlier this month, Kia has officially lifted the veils off the 2020 Forte GT.

Surprisingly, the compact performance sedan has its debut at the SEMA Show. There’s nothing surprising about the way it looks, however, as it uses the same blueprint as the K3 GT Sedan sold in South Korea. New for 2020, the Kia Forte will be offered in a GT Line trim level, which features only cosmetic upgrades.

2020 Kia Forte GT Line

On the outside, those include a gloss black grille offset by red accents, gloss black mirror caps with LED turn signals, as well as sport side skirts and rear spoiler — both finished in gloss black as well.

Inside, the 2020 Forte GT Line brings alloy sports pedals and a flat-bottomed steering wheel with white contrast stitching. Interior upgrades are rounded off by cloth-upholstered black sports seats with white stitching. The GT Line features the Forte’s standard naturally aspirated 147hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to the Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT).

2020 Kia Forte GT

The full-blown 2020 Forte GT, on the other hand, gets even more styling tweaks plus a turbo engine and sports suspension. The exterior features all the cosmetic tweaks from the GT Line plus a sport-tuned dual exhaust, 18-inch alloys with a GT-exclusive two-tone finish, and standard LED headlights.

The GT treatment also includes racier red contrast stitching inside, LED ambient interior lighting with an illuminated GT dash inlay, and Smart Key with Push Button Start, among other things. Customers who want to improve the interior of their 2020 Forte GT can choose the optional GT1 and GT2 packages.

Both bring a power sunroof, LED overhead lighting, a 320-watt Harman Kardon audio system with 8 speakers, wireless phone charging, 4.2-inch center LCD screen, and dual-zone automatic air conditioning. The GT2 adds heated and ventilated Sofino GT sports seats and a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat.

Performance-wise, the 2020 Forte GT features the 1.6-liter GDI turbo-four engine rated at 201 hp and 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) of torque. The engine is linked to either a standard six-speed manual or an optional seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

Mechanical upgrades also include fully independent front and rear suspension, larger front disc brakes and sway bars, and 225/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires. Kia claims all of these components enable “better handling and cornering, improved ride quality, and enhanced stability and steering.”

Given the positive reviews the standard 2019 Forte has received so far for its dynamics, we have all the reasons to believe Kia’s claims about the 2020 Forte GT are true.

Safety-wise, both GT trims bring the Kia Drive Wise standard suite of safety systems. Those include Forward Collision Warning, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assist-Line, and Driver Attention Warning. The GT1 package adds Blind Spot Collision Warning with Lane Change Assist and Rear-Cross Traffic Collision Warning, while the GT2 package brings Smart Cruise Control.