Kia Archives - Jen is on a Journey

Review: 6 Things to Know About the 2014 Kia Cadenza

May 20, 2014 by The Mom Jen 5 Comments

Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed reviewing Kia brand vehicles. I have checked out 8 models in that time and was even able to drive my family 9 hours down to San Diego last year to a Kia sponsored golf event in a 2014 Sorento.

During that weekend at the 18th hole of the Aviara Golf Course a gorgeous new Kia Cadenza floated majestically in the water and I stared at longingly from our VIP skybox (and prayed no one hit it with a golf ball).

A year later, I got behind the wheel of that car, a 2014 Kia Cadenza to be exact, in Portland Oregon for a road trip to Astoria. Although it was just my husband and I and the trip was just for 3 days, we got a good feel of the car and here are 6 things I want you to know about the Kia Cadenza.

1. It has a sleek and sexy look! I love the curves on the 2014 Kia Cadenza, they’re fluid and make for a gorgeous outline and the smoky blue color added to it’s luxurious look. Now I loved the Optima, but this car is longer and wider as you would want in a sedan, but the best part is that it doesn’t feel too hard to maneuver. I used to drive my husband’s 1969 Chevy El Camino and that thing was a boat, I’d have to stop midway into the driveway and get out for him to pull it the rest of the way into the garage.

The Cadenza has front and tail LED lights and fog lights as well as a unique grill, and the side-mirrors (with turn signal indicators) fold into the car when it’s turned off all adding to it’s nice appearance. I noticed others as they nodded and shot approving glances our way when checking out the car.

2. The seats are like buttah! Sliding into the car, I immediately oohed and ahhed at the comfort of the smooth Nappa leather seats. Of course I was driving, but the front passenger can know that reclining the seat will put you in an instant slumber, who needs a hotel room-save money and sleep in the Cadenza! Okay, that’s a stretch but with the addition of the power lumbar support in the driver’s seat, I was ready for the two hour drive ahead of me or even a four hour drive. Heated seats were great for the cold, gloomy weather the PNW offered us, and in the luxury package rear seats are heated and the front ventilated. 2014cadenza

Also with the luxury package there’s a power driver’s seat cushion extension to add a little support under the knee I guess, wasn’t necessary in our opinion though. The interior of our car was white which makes me nervous as a mom and as a klutz, I’d prefer the gray color scheme if I were choosing. Also, you can move the passenger seat forward and back easily but unlike the driver’s seat you cannot raise the seat higher. I’m 5’1″ and as a passenger I felt the seat is too low and wanted to roll up a towel to sit on.

3. Panorama! Let there be light! With the panoramic sunroof, there can be light when little sun exists like in the PNW. I don’t like the feeling of being tired first thing in the morning because those pesky rain clouds make it so dark out, so open up that shade and let the light in and almost feel like you’re in a convertible. The downfall, less headroom for my husband. At 5’10” he’s not a huge guy, but with part of his daily ‘uniform’ being a hat, he either has to remove it or hold onto it getting in and out of the car. He may have also cursed a little bumping his noggin, tall people problems!

4. Buttons, Controls, Oh My! Just being the two of us, you’d think there wouldn’t be whining and complaining that it was too hot or too cold in the car, wrong! My husband and I run at opposite body temperatures, so having the climate control makes us happy travelers (this includes the seat heaters and coolers I mentioned earlier).

Along with my must have USB port and cup holders, a few new gadgets and features help make a smooth, safe ride. The electronic parking break is easy to set and we had to test it because it seemed TOO easy, but had my left leg ghosting a foot break that I’m used to in my own car. With the Technology Package, added controls like Advanced Smart Cruise Control maintains a set distance to the vehicle ahead and helps bring the car to a full stop if necessary-brilliance Kia! Also the Lane Departure Warning System offers audible and visual alerts to the driver should they unintentionally drift into another lane, another smart addition. Something I like too is the Blind Spot Detection on the side mirrors that light up when a car gets in that tricky area. I often wonder what designers think when they have a fabulous 8″ Navigation System, but then just below you put the temperature gauges and (cool old-school looking) analog clock and further down the display controls. It’s counter-intuitive in my opinion, just when I set the radio station my hand is moving around searching for something not there. The Infinity Surround Sound Audio System was nice but when the FM stations went in and out of HD, the quality diminished, Sirius/XM was not installed at the time of my test drive.

By the way, the Rear Camera Display is usually a perk I appreciate for safety, this time in the rainy weather I noticed droplets on the screen and an occasional fogged out display, fluke?

5. Power Rear Window Sunshade! Something I have not seen in a car I’ve driven, I like the ability to set a more private, shaded back seat without dimming the window too dark you can’t see out of it. In action with a press of a button…

I think this is great for parents with a child in a carseat (especially facing backward) to keep the sun out of their face as well. This perk is part of the Luxury Package.

6. Road Trip Friendly! The Cadenza has a V6 engine combined with a 6-speed automatic transmission and offers an EPA estimated 19 city/28 highway mpg as far as fuel economy goes. We traveled to and around Astoria from Portland, a little jaunt to Seaside, stopped for a pitstop in Longview, over to Mount St. Helen’s, and back to Portland with just less than a quarter-tank to spare and drove just under 300 miles. The trunk has ample space for luggage too, we could have easily put stuff for the 3 kids back there too if they’d come along.

Overall, we enjoyed the quick trip with the 2014 Kia Cadenza, especially it’s luxurious look and feel. MSRP puts the Cadenza in the $35,100 range but we tested it with the added Technology and Luxury Packages that pushed it over to $41,900.

The Kia Cadenza was offered on loan in exchange for review. All opinions are honest and all our own.

Enjoying a Long Weekend in Vegas with the 2014 Kia Soul

February 12, 2014 by The Mom Jen 8 Comments

It’s been over a year since I’ve been in the infamous hamster vehicle. You know what I’m talking about right, you’ve seen the commercials? Our family drove and rocked out in the 2013 Kia Soul back in October of 2012 and thought it would be a great commuter car for my husband as far as price is concerned. The 2014 is an okay update to the former model we drove and worked well for the two of us on a long weekend in Vegas!

Right off the bat the color stood out, I mean acid green is a unique color on a car, or on anything for that matter! Especially since so many of the car reviews we’ve done came in a shade of red, we had to have a good laugh even in the dim airport parking garage! During the day the color popped and was an attention grabber for sure! As far as highways are concerned, well I’d hate to be noticed by a bored patrol man who picked me out of a sea of gray and black cars!

Out of the airport madness, the Soul maneuvered the road well in and out of traffic. Our first night in Las Vegas we really needed a car, our resort was in Summerlin about 10 miles off the strip. The compactness of the Soul makes it easy to park in lots and garages which is important when you travel. Driving back to the strip, in and out of hotel parking garages, and with all the stop and go of the strip traffic was no problem for the Soul.

The weather was fabulous during the day, we enjoyed the panoramic sunroof to let the sun shine in and for the first time, my husband enjoyed the seat warmers on the cool evenings and late nights! We noticed softer seats, a wider 8 inch LCD screen that can show directions as well as your favorite radio station info at once. Also there were those light up speakers on the door like the 2013, but also a raised speaker on the dashboard for unmuffled crisp sound! The trunk space held out large suitcase nicely, I appreciate the rollout cover that conceals items in the trunk in case of any theft temptation.

We road tripped to Red Rock Canyon state park! The adventure we went on was a 13 mile car tour, stops had plenty of parking, and some slightly off road/gravel areas for photo ops.It was a smooth ride, more new items include a longer wheelbase, slightly wider body, and not quite as tall (which my husband balked about). He’s not a huge person, but at 5’10” he regularly bumps his head on the door or feels slightly claustrophobic nearly touching his head to the interior ceiling. Driving with the sunroof open the majority of the time gave the feeling of openness so that help him a little.

Though we didn’t have other passengers, there’s slightly more legroom in the back seat as well as the option to fold down the rear seats and make more truck space.

The look still has a square, yet smoother appearance, there’s more color on the back, I’m not loving the large enlongated taillamps. The front grill/fog lights combo isn’t appealing to me, it’s personal taste and I have to admit it could be a deal breaker. It’s not “pretty” but it’s functional and neat in it’s own way.Over the long weekend, we got good gas mileage, 24 city/30 highway is the average. We took a last minute drive to Hoover Dam and made it good timing.

For two, or a family of four (2 small kids), this is a decent ride. I don’t love or hate it, it worked nice as a loaner for us, but even at it’s $14,900 starting price (the ! model can be $20,000 plus fully loaded) it’s probably not in the cards for us. We could consider it as a sporty first car for one of our children, but we’re in denial that my oldest will be driving in less than 6 months!

We reviewed the 2014 Kia Soul to facilitate this post, all opinions are our own.

2014 Kia Forte Review

November 8, 2013 by The Mom Jen 6 Comments

Dad’s Take: Our family of five recently enjoyed the services of a 2014 Kia Forte for a week. Taxi-mom to grocery store delivery to baseball tournament shuttle the Forte was up for the challenge. Marketed as a compact sedan, the Forte had plenty of room for all five of us and the assortment of gear that accompanies our daily routine. The spacious trunk of the Forte was up to the challenges of backpacks, groceries, dance paraphernalia, and baseball gear, with plenty of room for any other activities that may come up. Our weekend included a trip out of town overnight for a baseball tournament and the luggage was easily absorbed by the Forte. Any trip out of town with all three kids elbow to elbow in one row is a scary proposition we usually try to avoid yet the Forte had ample leg room for all the gadgets and whatnots kids like to have at hand.
Stylish and sporty, I was impressed with the Forte’s agility and grace. Our weekend trip included an unexpected and out of season September deluge. Central California’s notorious lack of weather means that the first rain in months means nasty traffic conditions. The navigation system was extremely helpful with notifications of accidents and road work on all available routes to our destination and we did eventually get there to find out that the tournament was cancelled due to weather. Back into the Forte for a cruise back home while enjoying the Sirius XM Audio System and the sleek smart interior. Turns out the sunroof is also a great rain roof, giving a splash free view of a raindrops final descent from heaven to ground. Who needs a DVD player? The Forte held its own as radio reports of accidents littering our path and we safely made it home without incident.

Mom’s Take: My kids have been waiting for it, now they have it! Heated rear seats on the left and the right (sorry youngest child!). Controls are on the door panel and on that rainy day they used them to their delight!

The center containers for phones, wallets, etc has a pull-cover to conceal all your important items when you get out of the car. If for any reason someone is snooping through car windows, that added security can mean break-in prevention. Just having a USB cord left without your phone attached can say, “there are expensive items in this car!” and can be an invitation back for a thief. I tend not to overreact, but it’s the holiday season and desperate people are looking into cars!
One dashboard help I appreciate is the sensor lights at all four corners of the vehicle! We are one of the few people we notice on our block that actually utilizes our garage for our cars. But, like any functional garage, my husband has his work space in there, we store bikes and other items so it can be somewhat of an obstacle course. When pulling in to park in the garage the sensors will beep at any of the corners if something is potentially too close. The same works when you are in reverse, not only does the back up camera help tremendously, but the sensors picked up a scooter that was very close to the back of the car.
One of the only negatives I found with having the sunroof open was that at a certain time of day the sun reflects on the silver strip on the dashboard for a potentially dangerous glare. Of course it’s a simple fix, but something I wanted to share. Luckily I had a passenger who could close the sunroof while I blinked to gain back my vision after I saw spots.

For a compact sedan, the Kia Forte is a compelling choice that all consumers should consider. It has the all the style, safety and performance one needs with a price tag starting at $19,400.

We were provided with a car for one week to facilitate this review, all opinions are our own.

2013 Kia Rio SX Sedan Review

September 16, 2013 by The Mom Jen 10 Comments

It’s becoming somewhat of a joke now that all the cars I review are red. Even traveling across the country to upstate New York, the powers that be are delivering me those shiny red vehicles my way. When I arrived at the hotel and grabbed the keys from the front desk, I walked out to the parking lot that wet night in Albany to find a 2013 Kia Rio SX Sedan sparkling scarlet right back at me. To boot, the car had California plates, it was perfect!

Now this week it was just going to be three of us. My husband and I brought my son to NY for a baseball tournament but we still needed some space since we’d be toting around our 2 large suitcases, 2 backpacks, a carry on, purse, and his bat bag. The trunk took our suitcases and bat bag pretty nicely while still having room in the back seat.

It was about a 2 hour trip from the airport to Cooperstown and I was glad to see that along with plenty of room to sit comfortably with ample foot room, my son (5’3″) had plenty of room to stretch out and nap after the 6 hour flight! I keep reading about how it’s a compact car, but only if we’re really talking parking spots. Sure my son didn’t drive while us adults sat in the back, but for a family, having 3 kids in the back would be okay!

The look of the car is sporty, stylish, and really kind of sexy if I have to say. I’m always teasing about these red cars, but that color mixed with the black trim and black and silver wheels, plus it’s curved lines it really makes a statement on the road. And, I don’t mean to the cops, I hope!

The Rio has Kia’s dual front, side, and curtain airbags as standard, as are anti-lock brakes and stability control. This was our first experience with a Kia in weather. By that I mean, it rained quite a bit in New York and knowing that the car’s 17 inch low profile wheels and tires gripped the road was so refreshing. We explored back roads from Cooperstown to Richfield, to Herkimer to Utica and Oneida and back and with the windy roads and wet weather, the Kia handled really well!

Bluetooth, navigation, and the rear view camera are always nice bonuses for us. Being in a new place and not knowing the roads, it was useful, but often the navigation doesn’t pick up too many “off the beaten path” country roads.With Eco-boost we were fuel efficient and got about 33 mpg for our entire trip, average is about 28 mpg City/36 mpg Hwy. I always check the dash and how many miles we have until empty, it’s like a game to me and it’s really a great feature.

We enjoyed the Rio thoroughly and found it to be a great car to drive! I would choose it if I was going to rent a car on a trip due to all the great features, gas mileage, and performance.

We were loaned a car for a week to facilitate this post, all opinions our mine.

2014 Kia Sorento SX: Family Road Trip Review

April 3, 2013 by The Mom Jen 2 Comments

About a year and a half ago, we review the 2012 Kia Sorento and loved it for our family of 5. It was roomy, it was sleek, it got great gas mileage, we were impressed. Last week we had a chance to test out the 2014 Kia Sorento SX on a road trip of over 800 miles to and from the Kia Classic. The upgrades and functionality was what we know and love from Kia and it’s a fabulous ride!

Some things my husband loves about the car is the engine of course:

New this year, the all-aluminum 3.3-liter GDI V6 produces a smooth 290 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and a stout 252 lb.-ft. of torque at 5,200 rpm. Power is routed to either the front wheels or, optionally, to all four using an enhanced Torque On Demand all-wheel drive system that seamlessly directs power to the tire with the most traction and now includes the benefit of Torque Vectoring Cornering Control (TVCC) that aids stability under certain driving conditions.

I felt the power when I stepped on the gas, but the amazing thing is that as you drive you feel like you’ve levitated off the ground and are flying. The kids said on occasion, “are we even moving, it’s so smooth,” and “We’re already there? That was quick!” Highway 5 in central California is a long dark stretch at night and if you don’t watch out you’re going 85 and it feels like 55.

This is just bigger than the Sportage we just tried out and I could leap for joy when that 3rd row seat was pulled up from the trunk area. A full bench seat did not have to be exposed just one side allowing for our 7 year old to have plenty of room (plus needed air controls she can reach) while we filled the rest of the space with luggage!

Road trips need that third row, while buzzing around town we can tuck that seat down and have plenty of room for groceries, baseball bag and equipment, and even a scooter.

115V power converter…yes please! With 9 different electronics in the car on a road trip, something is bound to lose power. Here’s some extra power in a very convenient way. A switch in the center console activates the outlet. Brilliant.Having that 3rd row seat in use, the big kids sit in the middle and have their space defined by this console that with a push of a button turns into a drink holder. My oldest said it’s soft and works great as a pillow too!The touchscreen is better than ever. Low fuel alerts and the nearest gas station search takes one less step out of a necessary equation. The navigation system shows road speed limits, ETA for your route, and smart and accurate traffic alerts with detour information. Oh and look at that side mirror feature that lights up when a car pulls into your blindspot! This car’s brain is genius.Dialing hands-free with the Bluetooth is always a fabulous feature in the new Kias, I also love that my music apps stream through the system! No downloaded music, but it still works, that’s if I can’t find anything on the tons of Sirius Radio channels.From your key fob, open and close the liftgate automatically or use button on the liftgate itself to close.Along with the technical features, my husband loved cruising with the panoramic sunroof open. The improved sunroof has a soft mesh bug-guard, while another new feature is the pull-shades on the back windows.

Fitting that we encountered this sign on our trip!

Amazing ride, so comfortable, soft leather seats, the car will run about $36,700.00 with road trips giving you about 24 mpg with the specifications I noted. Head to your local dealer and try it out! I bet you’ll love it!

Kia loaned the car for a week that included our road trip to the Kia Classic, all opinions are our own!