Last month, I had the opportunity to test drive a 2012 Kia Sorento. We were able to use the car for one week, so that I could learn more about the vehicle and get ideas to create a special recipe inspired by the car. I’ll be unveiling my recipe tomorrow, but right now I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences after driving the car. I was compensated in addition to the usage of the vehicle so that I could create the recipe, but I was not required to write this post – I just had fun driving the car and thought you guys would be interested in my adventures!
This car is thoroughly modern and high-tech. There is no key – it operates via keyless entry and you turn the car on by simply pressing a button. (There is a backup key inside the key fob that you can use in the event that your battery dies!) The car is loaded with features, from Sirius radio and Bluetooth reception for handsfree cell phone chatting to heated seats, a GPS, and a camera – yes, a camera! – that rests above the back license plate and turns on whenever you put the car into reverse so that you can see more of what is behind you. We shot a video so that I could do a quick walk-through of all the features:
Quite a different ride than my 1960 Mercury Comet! 😉
So, what would you do if you had a flash car to drive around for a week? Would you cruise around town and show it off to all your friends, or take a road trip? If you’re us…you’d go to the dump.
Yes, the dump! You know you’re frugal when your big excitement at driving a new car is the fact that you can go to the dump. 😉 But neither my Comet nor our Grand Am have a big enough capacity to haul large loads, so we have to borrow a truck whenever we have big items to take to the dump. Between our renovations, recent garage sale, and the TV blowing up, we had quite a bit to offload. We pushed down both back rows of seats in the Kia and loaded it to maximum capacity.
Aren’t you jealous of all the glamorous places we went? 😉 Of course, we had fun in the Kia too. I loved the Bluetooth feature – I was able to connect my iPhone and play my favorite music on drives, as you can see in the video above. I really enjoyed just driving around town as I listened to my Britney Spears and Rammstein playlists!
We got a lot done in the Kia, especially since we had it over Christmas. We used it to visit family and friends and deliver cards, gifts, and baked goodies. One of our recent traditions at Christmastime has been to drive around and look at lights, so on Christmas Eve we drove all over Seaside and Astoria admiring the Christmas displays:
On Boxing Day (The day after Christmas), we used the Kia to run around and pick up grocery items at the Dollar Tree and a new calendar for 2012 at Fred Meyer. We also drove it to the beach several times over the duration of the test drive so that I could do my 3-times-weekly physiotherapy walks. In just one week, we put this car to a lot of use!
Here I am on the last day of our test run, saying goodbye to the Kia Sorento! We really enjoyed using this car – it’s a fantastic vehicle with a lot of great features.
Tune in tomorrow for my special recipe inspired by the 2012 Kia Sorento!
wow, that is a lot nicer than I imagined a Kia being! 🙂
My boyfriend had a Kia, I think when they first came out and when we were in HS. It drove a long time, but the exterior wasn’t too hot after a few years.
I do think from the reviews I’ve been reading and by seeing the cars on the road that they’ve made improvements to the vehicles, so they are not just affordable but have more long-lasting appeal.
I always like the looks of the Kia Sorrento. Yep totally jealous of your amazing outing;) can’t wait to see the recipe!
I have always loved the prices of a Kia vehicle, this one sounds pretty awesome! Thanks for sharing your pictures and thoughts!
Yea I think my fav feature is the camera 😀
Wow! The no key is crazy – that would take some getting used to. I had to laugh about the dump. We are the same way – take the opportunity while we can, glamorous or not. That is an awesome look at the Kia.
I was TOTALLY jealous that you went to the dump until I realized it was to drop stuff off instead of look for treasure. That’s not legal around here, but my cousin and I go dumpster diving on the sly sometimes. Don’t judge. So fun!
nice car!
I really really miss the one we tried out! Especially now that we are having issues with our current cars. It was fab right!?
How much fun is that? And I love the trip to the dump!
Looks like a awesome vehicle. LOL. I like that even in your review you squeeze in Maroon 5 🙂 I love the bluetooth feature where you can make calls through the radio and also the push button start. We had a Ford Taurus and Ford Flex each for a week and they both had the same features and I loved them. The backup camera is also pretty cool. Thanks for sharing and glad to hear you are loving the Kia Sorento.
I have only drove a Kia once, which was a rental. It was small, but I liked driving it.
This looks like such a fun trip. We love our friends Kia. Looks like a great car!
I must say, I am really impressed with what you showed us about the Kia….This is making me re-think my judgements of cars. Looks like you had a lot of fun!
Love that you used it for your every day chores such as trips to the dump! Looks like you had a great time driving it!