The new 7-seater Kia Sorento: A car that goes beyond my expectations

The new Kia Sorento I tried out is a full 7-seater SUV that comes in a 2.4L GDi (petrol) engine. Here are some of the features I really liked:

1) Sturdy and spacious 7-seater SUV

I have a thing for big cars, or rather, SUVs, in particular (for your info, we drive a Honda CRV). The Kia Sorento pretty much fits the bill for all that I want in a family car - it is a big, sporty and a full 7-seater!

The car drives beautifully. My husband (who is the more car-savvy one between the two of us) thought the car has a powerful pickup and very good control. He also commented that you could tell from the smooth ride and gentle purring of the engine that the car is very sturdy and well-built.

The car comes with 6 speed automatic transmission and paddle shifters. The paddle shifters enable the driver to change gears at the touch of the paddle without lifting his hands off the steering wheel.

The car comes with Flex Steering, Normal, Sport and Comfort modes, to suit each driver’s preference. (I preferred the Sport mode maybe because it was closest to that of my own car.)

The interior is built very spaciously. Even with my sons' huge baby car seats installed at the passenger seat, I could still settle myself between them comfortably.

There was still a third row of seats which could be folded down neatly for more spacious boot if needed. It was exactly what we did when we went for a picnic at the beach over the weekend and we had more than adequate space for our two strollers, picnic mats and several carrier bags.

The flexible seat arrangement is a huge plus point for families. If we had to ferry our helper or the grandparents, I imagine the extra row of seats would come in very handy.

2) Cool interior 

The Kia Sorento is equipped with air-conditioning vents right up to the last row of the car. Constantly driving around in Singapore's hot and humid weather, you will know this is a must have.

Furthermore, its front seats are ventilated. I was stuck in traffic during peak hour on a tremendously hot day once for 1.5 hours! And ooh boy, you have no idea how delighted I was to discover the button for the front seats ventilation. Cool air-conditioning for my bum :) Why aren't all cars built with this feature!

3) Smart Parking Assist System (SPAS)

To us, this was by far the most impressive feature. The car can literally perform parallel-parking for you! It scans the surroundings for suitable parallel parking lots and once it spots one, I let go of the wheel and just control the brakes and the gear and the car would reverse into the lot on its own. I have to admit it was a bit freaky letting go of the wheel and trusting the car completely the first few times. But also at the same time, very very cool indeed.

I tried it out on a busy one-lane road in Sin Ming (which I would normally avoid because I can't parallel park for nuts) and I had no problems getting the car parked without holding up any traffic!

4) Panoramic sunroof

We were pretty taken by the huge dual-pane sunroof which offered a panoramic view of the sky. Driving with the sunroof open to feel the outdoor breeze was a fun treat for the family. I think 'opening' and 'closing' the roof was probably Sean's favourite activity in the car ;)

5) Keyless entry system

You don't need to hunt for the car keys to open the doors. As long as the car is able to sense it nearby (in the handbag you are carrying, for example), I can simply unlock the door by pressing the button on the door handle.

6) Driver's memory seat 

There was no need for me to adjust the seat in any way because of the great in-built 2 memory settings feature for my husband and me. We can adjust seats to our own configuration! Brilliant and a great time saver!

We had a good run with the car and let's just say, we were a bit sorry to return the car after our time was up.

I would say the Kia Sorento would be the perfect car for families. For more information on the new Kia Sorento, go to www.kia.com

Article by Debra Li (Olimomok)