A couple of weeks ago the awesome people at DriveShop and Kia dropped off a 2016 Kia Sorento for us to drive around for the week. I know, it’s a rough job, right?
The Kia Sorento was dropped off the same day my sister was flying back to Kentucky. Lucky for her, I was taking her back to the airport! I didn’t even put the boys’ car seats in before we hit the road! I can’t tell you the last time I drove a car around with no car seats.
This is the first time I’ve had to pick her up and drop her off at the Philly airport. We normally use Baltimore, but they’re equally as close to us. We left plenty of time to stop for dinner, but the traffic was absolutely awful! Deborah (that’s my sister) said the seats were like a hug and she’s exactly right! I’ll go ahead and use this to get right into our reasons that the Kia Sorento is the Sporty Family Vehicle You Need!
It’s Comfortable
The seats are so comfy! You sit down to drive (or ride shotgun) and you feel like the seat is giving you a hug! How awesome is that? When driving that little family around we created, I want to be comfortable and this definitely passes the test! You know how sometimes you sit in a vehicle, shut the door, and your elbows are already hitting the door? Not the case here. If I wanted to lean my arm or elbow on the door rest, I had to make a conscious decision to do so because I actually had room!
Also in the way of comfort, you have control over your temperature individually. Tom always says I have the car too cold and he’ll turn the air down. In the Sorento, he was able to set his desired temperature without effecting mine!
Did I mention the heated seats? I know it’s crazy hot right now so they’re not needed, but I know they would come in handy on those cold winter mornings!
It Looks Cool
Okay friends, I know we all want a cool looking car, right? The 2016 Kia Sorento definitely looks cool.
I know I’m not the coolest or hippest mom around, but I do not want to be driving a beater or rolling up to preschool drop off in vehicle that screams “MOM”. There are so many aspects of my life that have changed since having kids, but driving a cool car shouldn’t be one of them.
The Sorento we drove was the prettiest blue I have seen on a car. It’s called Blaze Blue and I absolutely love it! Charlie’s favorite color is dark blue, so this was a big win in his eyes!
The Kia Sorento we drove is an AWD that can get up and go!
The Gas Mileage
We all have this preconceived notion that large vehicles have horrible gas mileage. Wrong! I was definitely surprised to learn that the 2016 Kia Sorento gets great gas mileage, close to 30 MPG for highway driving and just under 20 MPG for the city!
While we had the car, we averaged 24.5 MPG, which I think is amazing for a car with this kind of presence on the road!
It’s a big relief to know that we don’t have to cram into a small car to get a car with great gas mileage these days!
Room for 7
Having a family doesn’t immediately rule you out of the cool cars. This super cool 2016 Kia Sorento has room for 7! And I’m not just talking about seating for 7, but actual room! I was able to put both boys in the middle row and still had room for another person. I’m not small by any means, but I was able to actually get in and shut the door with their car seats in there.
I did find out that I had their seats installed incorrectly. As you know, car seat safety is a BIG deal to me, so I quickly moved Charlie’s seat to the other side. Car seats should not share a lower anchor (LATCH), which is the way I had them. The middle row only has two sets of lower anchors (one for each side), so you can not put a child in the middle and the side and have both installed using the LATCH system. There are three top tethers on the back of the middle row though, so you could install the middle seat with the seat belt instead of lower anchors. If you have a single child in the middle row, you should be able to use the LATCH system in the middle seat. For my car seat friends, it just looks like Owen’s seat is touching the front passenger seat. It’s not really, it’s just the angle.
The third row seats are able to fold down entirely creating a crazy amount of storage! I know that in some vehicles with the third row option, that storage is lost when you have the third row up, but that’s not the case here! Sure, you lose some, but there is still plenty! I was able to put the stroller in here with no problem with the third row up.
The Technology
Buttons for everything! Our current car isn’t very old, but it definitely doesn’t have all of the technology that this Kia Sorento does! There are more plugs and outlets than I can imagine using and that’s a big win, especially when traveling!
How awesome is this rear-view camera?!? It definitely makes backing out of parking spaces easy whether you’re at the grocery store or you just don’t want to run over your mother’s little trees planted at the end of her driveway! See those tiny little things? I have a hard time guessing where they are sometimes so this camera saved them a few times over the week!
Of course, Charlie’s favorite part of the technology in the Sorento is probably the XM radio with the kid stations! And like most cars nowadays, I love the Bluetooth available for safety and convenience.
One of the coolest things I found in the Kia Sorento though is the push button closure for the trunk. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to come back out to the car after unloading groceries just to shut the trunk. All I needed to do with this was push a button and walk away. By the time I got to the door of the house, it was shut.
I would definitely recommend the 2016 Kia Sorento to anyone that wants the space for 7, but still want to drive a cool sporty vehicle!
Are you in the market for a new car? Have you driven a Kia lately?
Heidi says
That is a very sharp-looking vehicle. I am SO ready for back-up camera. I still love my van, but the thought of a back-up camera makes it so tempting to trade! I need to find out how to review cars! Super cool!