2012 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review

(my take, and the kids’ too)

A 2012 Kia Sorento arrived out our home a few weeks back, jumping in and getting that new car smell alone had me excited!  My husband and I have only purchased one new car in our 20 years together back in 2005 and we were thrilled to try out the Kia for a week!

I used the Sorento alone for 4 days doing our daily routine, I found it to be so comfortable and roomy!  The seat warmers came in handy each morning at 7:15am when the weather dropped to 35-45 degrees outside and we needed a quick warm up!  The smaller kids in the back would like to see all the seats in the car have warmers, not just the driver and passenger!  I love that the warmth also gave some heat to my typically aching lumbar area of my back too.I have days where I pile in a few extra children for carpool and having 6 of us (3 being bigger teens) in the car was cozy and far from crowded!  Of course the kids loved the fact that it was  a new car, but they enjoyed the plugs in the back for their electronics, the center drop-down armrest/drink holder, and all the great music selections of the Sirius radio!  On our road trip, that armrest doubled as a pillow for the kids, which was nice too.Also, I have had some parking lot bumps so the back-up camera is perfect for that, parallel parking, and especially looking out for little ones!  Our neighbors are 1 and 3 and tend to sneak up to our driveway and just knowing that safety feature could save for a terrible mishap is comforting, it really should be included in every new car! The keyless start and retractable side mirrors are great technological adds.  How many times have you bumped your side mirror pulling into the garage?  I won’t tell you how many times I have, though the Kia fit nicely in our garage with so much room to spare, it’s pretty compact for being so comfortable!Having my iPhone connect to the bluetooth with all my phone contact was just amazing to me, you have to be hands free for safety! My only negative attribute on the car is the trunk space.  With 3 kids and ourselves in the car, we’re spread out and can drop down a far back seat, but for road trips we’d have to utilize our roof soft-top bag for storage space consisitantly.

(my husband’s take)

We were lucky enough to have the use of a brand new Kia Sorento this last weekend for our road trip to San Diego. Over the course of three days we toured more than 1000 miles of beautiful coastal California in this luxurious new vehicle. The seven passenger Sorento had ample room for our family of five for the weekend.Convenient accessory power ports for electronic devices provided the wife and kids with plenty of entertainment options within the car. The cell phones, IPods, DVD players and laptop computers that are now an ubiquitous part of our daily life provided the necessary distractions to make the 8 hour drive pass without incident. I give credit to the interior design of this Sorento for integrating comfort and functional into this luxurious ride.

All along the way the Kia Sorento had more than enough power to zip over the passes while the suspension and braking systems allowed the car to glide through curves and around slower traffic. Our quick 40 hour stay in San Diego and pit-stops in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Barbara provided enough opportunity to put the Sorento through the mundane day to day tasks of parking, stop and go driving and the general urban survival requirements.

We found the onboard GPS system to provide  reliable directions even when we missed turns due to our lack of familiarity with the areas.  My wife who often travels alone with or without the kids can be secure to find her way around with the GPS system and will not have to fumble with her phone while driving.  She may be adventurous enough to start leaving home without me though.

The Sorento easily maneuvers through crowded parking lots and the rear back up camera provides another angle to ensure the driver can safely navigate the pitfalls of those dreaded tight parking lot spaces.  Did I mention that over the course of the trip, we received about 27 MPG which is comparable to our current vehicle.

The Kia Sorento is definitely worthy of consideration if you are looking for a new mid-sized SUV. For a car to comfortably transport a family of five 1000 + miles over a period of 60 hours is no small feat. All the smart technology and safety features would have any family hooked. This being our first experience with a Kia has opened our eyes to the wonderful line of cars this company offers and our excellent experience will be sure to positively influence our future car buying decisions. You can own a new Kia Sorento for $30,600.

A huge thanks to Kia for sending us a Sorento to try out for a week plus a gift card for gas.  All opinions are our own.