I think everyone in the family was feeling a little cabin fever after staying indoors so much during the holidays. My son was anxious to try out his new sled and the Snoqualmie Pass area is just a few miles away, so we packed up the car and went to play in the snow.
My family has owned a Kia Sorrento for a few years, which is why I was excited to take the newer model, the 2016 Kia Sorrento SXL 2.0T AWD, for a test drive.
It was about an hour’s drive to the Hyak Sno-Park and there was plenty of great scenery during the drive. My son liked how he could look up through the Kia’s panoramic moon roof to see the snow laden trees overhead. The best part was when the occasional clump of snow would drop down and splatter across the car’s roof. Each time I would hear a squeal of delight followed by a few giggles.
The snow park was busy when we arrived, which wasn’t surprising considering the nice weather. The sun was out and the lack of wind made it pleasant to be outdoors. We grabbed the sled from the back and trudged up the hill for our first sled ride of the season.
There were several sledding paths already carved into the snow, which made it easier to get a long ride coming down the hill. I couldn’t resist taking a few trips down the hill with my son. Other times, I gave him an extra push down so he could travel at warp speed through the snow. It was a lot of fun for all of us.
We eventually decided to head back, noses frozen and cheeks red from the cold. As I climbed into the Kia, I switched on the heated seats and the heated steering wheel. It didn’t take long before I could feel my fingers again.
My family’s Kia also has a four cylinder engine, which is great for fuel efficiency, and I wasn’t expecting a huge amount of power. The difference was that the model I was test driving had a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with 240-hp. It may have been a four cylinder, but the engine had more than enough power to drive up the mountain with ease.
The AWD system gave us plenty of traction even when I drove over ice and through the snow. I was really impressed with the performance of this vehicle.
The Kia Sorrento I drove had the SXL trim (for “SX Limited”) which includes the heated steering wheel, nappa leather seats, heated and ventilated front seats, and a heated second row (which my son thought was great).
I liked the little touches, such as the floor light that kept the gas and brake pedals illuminated until the car is put into drive. I liked the the Smart Power Liftgate which senses when you approach (using the key fob in your pocket). You hear a couple beeps and then the tailgate opens. You don’t have to press anything to get the liftgate to open, which is convenient when your hands are full. All in all, it felt like a well designed vehicle.
I’ve always felt that Kia offered a lot of value for the dollar, which is what inspired me to buy one for our family. The vehicle I was test driving was equipped with the optional ($2500) Technology package that includes xenon headlights, lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, an electronic parking brake, adaptive cruise control, and a surround-view monitor. That is a ton of safety and tech features for the price.
The surround-view monitor is something that I first saw in the 2015 Kia Sedona and is a must have for a family vehicle. The system uses several cameras around the car to give you a 360 degree view of everything around you. I felt much safer when backing up or pulling into a tight parking space because of the surround-view monitor. I’d image that this system would make it easier to parallel park as well.
The Kia Sorrento SXL 2.0T AWD that I test drove is priced at $45,095, which might seem like a lot until you consider that it has many of the same features that you’d find in luxury-brand vehicles in the $50,000-to-$60,000 range.
For my family’s day in the snow, the 2016 Kia Sorrento was the perfect vehicle. It had all of the safety features we could want and plenty of power to get us there and back.
