We recently went on a family vacation to Wisconsin for a week. When I leave the house for the DAY I usually have two bags with me of stuff… tack on 4 more days, nights, food, toys, play pens, a stroller, AND let’s not forget things to keep the kids occupied for a 5 hour car ride! AHH!
My husband and I both drive your average 4-door sedans. You know, the type of car that’s already full with just your stroller and bags needed for that DAY outing. I had no idea how in the world we were going to get everything we needed to Wisconsin.
Then along came Kia. We got the wonderful opportunity to test drive a vehicle for the week and what PERFECT timing. Thank you, Kia!!!
We’re planning on buying a new vehicle and we keep going back and forth between a minivan or an SUV… and an SUV with a 3rd row? Or not? I’ll tell ya that I want the SUV with a 3rd row… even if we don’t have any more kids, I NEED that space!!! When the 3rd row is down, hallelujah for trunk space! And if I need to drive some of my kid’s friends around? I have that option to carpool!
So we went with the Kia Sorento. I’ve heard people that own them just rave about them and when I mentioned it on my Facebook page, the great reviews were flowing in.
We LOVED it. It was perfect. And I told Steve that I want one. I could talk about all the features forever, so I’ll do my best to keep this concise lol.
First… did it fit all our stuff for our trip?! You bet! Groceries, a double stroller, a pack n play, all our luggage bags (I think I had a separate one just for Rebecca’s hair bows and leggings, btw), Ryan’s trike, their 2 car seats, a travel high chair, and who knows what else…
WHOOOO! It fit! It allllllllll fit. You can see the trunk space in the upper right photo with just the double stroller in there. I will say that with the 3rd row up and in use, there is barely a trunk–enough for a few groceries or some of your shopping packages or bags. However, you can only put up ONE of the seats in the 3rd row (and 2nd row), basically leaving half the trunk space still available for use. If this were mine, I’d likely use it the majority of the time with the 3rd row down and not in use, but I really like having the option.
Cargo area with protective cover and cargo net (not in use). 3rd row down.
Now for the features I love!
BLUETOOTH. So awesome, especially for road trips! Ya know who else loved this? My 2.5 year old son, haha. He’s a pro on my phone and he sat in the backseat going from Raffi to Gangnam Style (yes, really) to lullabies. It was also really nice to be able to make phone calls this way–hands free. There are also controls on the steering wheel.
DISPLAY: all ofit. The navigation system, SiriusXM satellite radio, rear camera/backup warning, and dual temperature control. I’ve never been so spoiled. I’m pretty terrible with directions so the navigation system is a huge plus. The satellite radio was fun–I’ve never had that before, but the subscription was over by the end of our vacation… so let’s just say we had lots of Raffi playing via Bluetooth instead lol.
The dual temp control was great because my husband always makes the car freezing! I seriously always bring a hoodie even when it’s 90 degrees out… so I really liked being able to warm my side up a bit.
SEATS: Oooo the driver’s side had a cooling fan! I mean, when it’s hot out and you’re sitting in a car, what gets all sweaty? Your back, right? This was like cool air directly on your back and it was awesome. Both front seats are also heated, which I did use once in Wisconsin and that’s a nice treat, too. The steering wheel is heated, too, but I didn’t use that. I’ve used that feature in my mom’s car before and it’s amazing in the winter.
Lumbar support. You can adjust the driver’s seat to fit your back. I’ve always had lower back issues–it has gone out multiple times like I’m an 80 year old woman–so this was nice especially for the long car ride. There are also buttons so you can preset seat positions… that was REALLY nice when switching drivers between my husband and me!
yea, I was checking it out under the hood 😉
Other nice random features:
~USB input jacks
~push button start
~side mirrors that fold in flat against the car with the push of a button: we’ve had someone hit ours before! so I’d definitely use this!
~TWO sun roofs: the one in the rear doesn’t open, but my son loved it!)
~remote keyless entry: awesome as a mom when you have your hands full of children!
~side curtain airbags in the first AND second rows
CONS for the 2013 Kia Sorento: there really aren’t many and the ones I have are fairly minor, but things I noticed….
Again, the trunk space if the 3rd row is being used–there isn’t much–so if you plan on using the 3rd row a lot and still want a large trunk, go for something else.
Also, to get into the 3rd seat you have to fold down one of the seats in the second row…. well, I have two kids = two car seats, one on each side. I’d have to do some finagling or the person would have to climb in through the rear.
The voice on the navigation system is loud. Normally it wouldn’t have bothered me and I probably wouldn’t have even noticed… but when you have sleeping children in the car?! AHH! I couldn’t figure out a way to turn the voice volume down so I just had to mute it.
Overall, I loved it. I miss it. I want one. The hubby wasn’t totally sold because he’s unsure on the price–they start at $23,150–and he thinks I want too many extras added on, which increases the price. Do you blame me? 😉 I liked the Dark Cherry color of the one we got, but I’d go with Titanium Silver or Baltic Blue!
Love it and want to see more? Check out Kia! And make sure you follow them on twitter and facebook! Especially like the Sorento I reviewed?? It has its own facebook page!
I liked the extra storage of putting that last row down too, plus I’m short so I kinda like the extra headrests out of my way. 😉
The driver’s side cooling fan is AWESOME!
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I love this car, I LOVE the 3rd row option, like you we would hardly use it but when I came to NY it would be perfect since my family is so big!
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I have a 2011 without the 3rd row seats, so I have a lot more storage under the “trunk” bottom. I love my Sorento…sounds like you had a nice test run with it.
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I didn’t realize that the Sorento had a third row. My husband and I are considering a new vehicle with a third row but don’t want something enormous!
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Never driven or even sat in a Kia. Maybe I need to take a test drive.
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Wow, that is one sexy SUV! I love all of the features!
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Oh!!!! Me like!
I think when we get rid of the minivan, I may look into one of these just for that trunk space! It has more than our minivan does!
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I am a huge fan of that cargo cover. I wish my Mazda 5 had one!
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Oooh, that is a gorgeous car! I’m not sure I’ll be able to convince my husband to get a minivan next, so anything with a 3rd row is on the list!
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Holy moly, you packed a ton in there!
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I have been wanting a Kia Sorento ever since I toured the West Point, Ga., plant and watched them roll through the assembly line. Unless they make some outrageous body style or other changes, this will be my next car.
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Sounds nice!
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Pretty fancy! I’ve heard great things about Kia recently – thanks for sharing!
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My friends got one of these and absolutely loves it! I am sooo jealous 🙂 I’m thinking we’ll be needing a new van/SUV in the near future and this is on my list to check out.
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We need a 2nd vehicle. I will definitely be checking this out! I will have to see it in person with the 3rd row in use to see the trunk space (or lack of) that you were talking about, but other than that it sounds great!
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I really like the look of the Kia Sorento. I could use a third row. This car sounds great.
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I love the Sorento. It’s the perfect road trippin car 🙂
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I love the blog and I enjoyed reading this blog. The information which has been posted regarding Kia Sorento is simply great. I liked the stylish looks and comfortable seats. Along with that I also liked the back seat container with big space.
Truck Under Seat Storage
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The blog is good and I liked the Kia Sorento which not only looks stylish but also it is big family car. The other nice random features is also good and quite impressive.
Du-ha underseat storage
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