I never drove a Hyundai Pony. North America's first Korean-built car was only inflicted on Canada, but by all reports this Giugiaro dress-up of an ancient rear-drive Mitsubishi Colt was not a tough act for the front-drive Excel to follow, and successive Hyundais have been improving at a praiseworthy pace. Kia is Korea's oldest carmaker, but it only started selling cars in the U.S. in 1994 with the comparatively turdy Sephia. That miserable compact arrived in our market like a mountain-top home-schooler transferred to Andover. The Spectra that followed it made several steps in the right direction, but this new Forte represents an advance akin to our savant hill-kid skipping middle school.

 [The full review]