Writer Nedahl Stelio from Cars Guide is well-known for her uncanny ability to rank a vehicle in terms of family-friendly essence, and aspects such as size and swift steering. She has provided readers with great insight over the last year regarding vehicles like the Audi S5, Toyota Kluger Grande AWD, and Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander. This past week she set her sights on the 2018 Kia Sorento, asking in grave detail if it “hits the seven-seat bullseye”. Since this was back-to-school week for her, she had play dates, tons of shuttling back and forth, and pick-ups loading up her always frantic itinerary.
Nedahl opted to get around in the Kia Sorento GT Line, which is top-of-the-line, as well as diesel-driven. Stolidly going up against other seven-seat contenders are the Nissan Pathfinder, Mazda CX -9, and a Toyota Kluger, and the extra seats in all mean that you can offer up room to your children's best friends, if they need a lift to any of their various after-school activities. Upon first drive, Nedahl ranked the Sorento as incredibly smooth and responsive. The way in which it handled ultimately left her feeling very safe, and the corner-handling was ranked with off-the-charts goodness. The 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine has ample power for necessary hill climbing, and she claimed that parking, even in a pinch, was still a very easy task.
This review really highlighted how comfortable the back row is, which is a very well-appreciated trait for a family vehicle. Both of her girls aged four and six had enough space to swing freely within their child seats, and they always quarreled less among each other when they had enough room to work with. Stating that “practical is the Sorento's middle name”, Nedahl also had much love for the metal step alongside the car, and six cup holders on top of a bottle holder in each door. The center storage bin is deep enough to house toys, Ipads, or any other various comfort items the younger ones may want to haplessly drag along for the drive.
The heated/cooling front seats, as well as heated steering wheel, are some of those features that cannot be appreciated enough: just this year in St Louis, we have seen some pretty intense and record-breaking low as well as high temperatures, that have rocked the metro this past season. Characteristically defined by the big grille on the front, the Sorento avoids appearing overwhelmingly boxy, and and the bubble-finish dash keeps things nicely grounded and well-tied-together.
Taking the time and energy to sync phones is a thing of the past, because Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will provide the ability to use the apps from your phone with ease on the available 8.0-inch touchscreen. Come pay us a visit to check out the Sorento this month, and check out just how safe you and your family will feel with features like auto emergency braking, blind spot detection, and lane departure warning!
