During our summer California holiday (“visiting the grandparents”) we got the chance to drive around in the new 2014 Kia Sorento SX crossover vehicle. Since we were on vacation naturally we had to check out all the sites! The Kia Sorento was the perfect vehicle to safely and comfortably get our family from place to place, let me show why….

Hanging Out in the Kia

Since this was a “family” vacation, we had the grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all joining us on our various outings. The Kia Sorento can actually fit 7 people comfortably in the vehicle! It has a 50/50 split folding third row seat. The 3rd row definitely came in handy for some of our family outings. 

We were safely and easily able to have three kids (buckled in car seats) sitting in the 2nd row. Since the Kia Sorento has three “child seat anchors (latches)”, putting the car seats in and out of the car was a breeze.

Driving in the Kia with the whole family piled in the car was tons of fun and it also saved us money on parking costs, bridge tolls, and gas.

Honestly the 3rd row was really nice. It has it’s own cup holders, adjustable air conditioner vents and an auxiliary jack to charge your phone.moms were still close enough to the kids to pass snacks and check on them, but also very comfortable hanging out in the back.

Getting from Place to Place

With the Kia’s “navigation system” finding even the most remote locations was easy. Not only did the navigation system enable us to get from place to place, it gave us real-time traffic data and even informed us when we were low on gas. I was pleasantly surprised with the warning “Low Fuel – Would you like to search for a gas station?” appeared on the screen. When you pressed on the “yes” button a list of the nearby gas stations appeared. It’s nice to know that even if we were in the middle of nowhere, at least the Kia would be able to get the family back home safely (and even help us find food and gas on the way).

Easy to Drive & Easy to Park

Normally big cars scare me. I am only 4’11” (149.86cms) – very short & petite. Although the Kia Sorento comfortably seats up to 7 people  it did not feel like a massive beast! The driver’s seat is adjustable ( “8 way power adjustable seat“) with a lumbar support. When it actually came to driving the car I found it very smooth to handle and easy to park. Even though I have mastered the art of reverse parking in Singapore, I still can’t parallel park that well. The Kia made it really easy to do both; you can actually see your car backing into the parking spot with the “rear view camera display“. It also has a bunch of sensors that go off if you are about to hit something.

Our “Stuff” in the Kia

Anyone that travels with kids knows that even a simple day trip requires some careful planning and lots of stuff. You have strollers, snacks, diapers, entertainment, change of clothes. Not to mention if you are actually going on an outdoor adventure – then you need the scooters, balls, picnic blankets, beach buckets, etc. The trunk space in the Kia Sorento is massive. There was plenty of room for the stroller and many other things. Even when the 3rd row is up, there was still enough room to put a double umbrella stroller in the back. FYI – the 2nd row also folds down!  This means that you have huge open space to transport large items if needed (no need to pay extra delivery charges).

Getting In & Out of the Kia

The Kia Sorento comes with a “Smart Key”.  Now this is one of those features that at first I was like – “who needs this”? But honestly it was pretty cool. To get into my car in Singapore I usually have to dig around in my massive purse that holds snacks, water bottles, diapers, toys (and everything else) just to find my keys, all while trying to make sure my kids don’t run crazy in the parking lot. With the “Smart Key” I just got to the car door and pushed the button and viola the car was open – no searching for keys required. This was really handy when I was carrying my tired 2 year old and needed to open the car door.

The Kia Sorento also has “push button start”, i.e. you press a button and the car starts (as long as the key is in the car and your foot is on the brake). This took me a while to get used to – I kept forgetting to turn off the car when I got out – whoops!

Site-Seeing in the Kia

The Kia Sorento comes with a full “panoramic sun roof”, so even if we were stuck in traffic, we were still able to catch all the sights while sitting in the car – both from window and the sun roof. This was really great for some of those long car rides!

If it got too sunny for the kids in the 2nd row, we were able to put up the “sunshade screen” and they were still able to see the amazing California views.

Other Cool Kia Features

There are so many cool features in the Kia Sorento –  like the multiple cup holders, blind spot detection mirrors, dual zone automatic temperature control, auxiliary/USB audio input jacks, sunglasses holder, illuminated vanity mirror, surround sound audio system and many more. The Kia Sorento SX really did have it all. I can’t think of one feature that I wanted that wasn’t in the car already. It even had my favorite feature – “seat warmers” (something that is unnecessary in Singapore, but great for those cold California nights).

Too Much Fun in the Kia

The Kia Sorento really made it easier for us to get around and our vacation a bit more stress-free! The boys definitely had tons of fun on their summer holiday!

SuperMommy’s Overall Opinion of the 2014 Kia Sorento SX

We all absolutely loved this crossover SUV! The Kia Sorento SX definitely drives and looks like a luxury vehicle. Both my husband and I thought the navigation system in the Kia was much better than both our cars at home – in fact it was one of the best we have experienced! The Kia was also very spacious and perfect for long drives. The car had so many great features and many little extras. What I liked the best was the fact that the whole family could all fit into one car for outings  – it made all of our trips much more enjoyable. Everyone (especially the kids) were very sad when we had to give the Kia back – it really is an awesome vehicle!!

No compensation was paid for this post. The Kia Sorento was provided at no charge to test drive for purposes of this review. All opinions and comments are 100% my own.