The best car safe for a Kia Forte, including the 2023, is one that locks to the rear LATCH anchors. The Forte has them, so a Boosted Safe fits with no drilling and no part made for your exact car. If yours has the anchors, it fits. The same rule applies to the K4 that followed it.
Why Forte owners go looking
Fitted console safes depend on a maker building one for that console, and some owners of cars like the 2023 Forte report coming up empty. Check the maker's list before you plan on one. Our console safe guide explains the trade. The next stop is usually a lock box on a cable, which is cheap and easy to move, and easy to cut.
Where it goes in a Forte
It goes on an outer rear seat with lower anchors. That seat is taken while the safe is in. For a daily commuter, the question is usually whether you carry rear passengers often. If you do, the Mini has the smallest footprint. Our fit check takes about a minute.
What it's good for in a commuter car
A laptop you don't want to carry into the gym. A wallet and passports. A handgun stored unloaded for a stop at a post office or courthouse, where the law allows it. The Elite fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro, so a work bag's contents can stay locked instead of sitting on the seat. See what fits in our what fits videos.
How it locks to the Forte
Two steel latches grab the lower anchor bars in the seat crease, and the release sits inside the locked safe. To take it off the car, someone has to open it first. There is no cable to cut and no drilling. Our guide to LATCH and ISOFIX anchors shows what the bars look like, and the patented design page shows the latch.
We tried to rip the safes out on film. On our car safe pull test the cabled boxes came free fast. A screwdriver pried the Basic open at 2 minutes 20 seconds, and the Elite stayed shut. No safe is theft-proof. With enough time and tools, nothing is secure. The job is to raise the time and the tools it takes.
Which Boosted Safe to pick
- Boosted Safe Elite: the one most people buy. Fingerprint, keypad and key, and it fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
- Boosted Safe Basic: the same idea with a code and key, for a lower price.
- Mini: a certified booster seat with a locked compartment, and the smallest footprint.
- Golden Gate Elite: 12-gauge steel, 37 lb, and certified for firearms by the California DOJ.
You can see them side by side on the car safes page or the comparison chart. A firearm goes in unloaded, and the laws on leaving one in a car vary by state, so read our state guide first.
Questions
Does the 2023 Forte have the anchors?
US passenger cars from model year 2003 are required to have them. Look in the crease of the rear seat, or in the child-seat section of the manual.
Can I take it with me to another car?
Yes. It comes off in about a minute with the safe open, and clicks into any other seat with lower anchors.
Is there a cheaper way?
A cable lock box costs far less. If nothing in the car is worth more than the box, that may be all you need. Our car handgun safe guide helps you decide.
