I love driving new cars even if they aren’t mine and recently I had the chance to drive the 2014 Kia Soul for a week also known as an urban hatchback.

The first think I noticed when I got home from work was the awesome red color (Inferno Red) and the sick 18 inch alloy wheels. I love new cars and I especially like messing around with all of the cool features.

The 2014 Kia Soul that we had for the week had the whole shabang like an Infinity sound system with satellite radio, panoramic sunroof with power sunshade, speaker lights (Front Door Speaker Trim Lights can pulsate to the beat of the music and even change color),  leather interior with ventilated and heated seats and the list goes on and on.  I am amazed at how many features a car company can pack into one vehicle.  My current car is an 2007 and has maybe one or two features but no where near the features that the 2014 Kia Soul has.

I must admit that I really like the Kia Soul that we had and feel that it would be a great first car for Sabreena.  The Kia Soul is affordable which is great for her and safe with 4 wheel ABS, full length curtain side airbags, dual front seat-mounted side airbags and dual front advanced airbags.

Another great feature that I liked about the Kia was the gas mileage which was about 31 highway/23 city. I drive about 60 to 70 miles round trip to work 5 days a week so I need a car that is going to give me great mileage and allow me to save a few bucks on gas.

I also love all of the leg room, head room and cargo room that the 2014 Kia Soul had to offer.  We  used the Kia to go to one of Shaun’s lacrosse games and the truck easily accommodated all of his gear as well as chairs, a cooler and a ton of other stuff that we needed for the day. The 60/40 rear seat split really came in handy.

We have reviewed maybe 5 or 6 Kia’s and the Soul is one of my favorites.  I was hesitant at first due to its size and I thought it wouldn’t have a lot of get up and go but I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised and loved everything that the Soul had to offer.  I am sure there are a ton of features that I missed and never got a chanced to mess with but I am happy with all of the features that I did get to test out.

If you are in the market for a new vehicle (unfortunately we aren’t at this time which stinks) give the Kia Soul a look.  You will definitely be happy with all of the car that you get for your money.

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are our own!!!!

I love test driving vehicles and I especially love test driving Kia vehicles.  A  while back I had the opportunity to drive the 2013 Kia Rio SX 5DR for a week and let me tell you that was a really fun car to drive.

We are a family of five so the 2013 Kia Rio SX 5DR isn’t quite big enough for my entire family but this would be an awesome first car for Sabreena.  The Rio that I drove was loaded with satellite radio, navigation, leather seats, push button start and a ton of other awesome features.  It was awesome on gas with an estimated EPA combined city/highway of 31 mpg.  The week I had this car I was driving to Brigantine for work which was 80 miles one way so needless to say I was extremely happy with the gas mileage considering I was driving about 160 miles round trip each day.

The Kia Rio SX 5DR had a very smooth ride as well as very nice pick up for such a small car.  The leg and head room were very nice as well which is important to me considering I am 6’3.  Overall the Kia Rio SX 5DR had everything I could ask for in a car and a lot more.

A few nights while we had the Kia Melinda and I would just take a ride to get out for a little while and enjoy the car.  We really didn’t have anywhere to go but we had a nice new Kia that looked good and we looked good in so we wanted to show it off.  We did have one guy tell us that he really liked the car and that Kia has come a long way in their design and I couldn’t agree more.  The Kia Rio SX 5DR is really sporty and the one we had really fit the bill.  Nice rims, awesome interior, what more could you ask for in a vehicle.

Overall my experience with the Kia Rio SX 5Dr was 5 stars and I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a vehicle that could accommodate four people.

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are our own!!!!

In the last two years I have tried seven or eight cars and I must admit that I love the feel of a new car and a few weeks ago I got the opportunity to drive the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC for a week.

Overall I was super happy with the vehicle and the overall performance.  The one and only thing that I didn’t like was the pick up of the vehicle.  In my opinion the 2.0L DOHC engine doesn’t provide enough punch to get that Outlander moving like I would have liked.  Other than that I must admit the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC was a really fun vehicle to drive.  One of my favorite features was the panoramic glass roof with LED illumination.  I loved that the whole roof was open to the outside and that the sun could just shine right in.  When the kids first got into the Outlander the glass roof is something Shaun noticed and he asked if it opened up like a moon roof, nope.  That would be awesome if it did but from a logistics point of view I am sure putting that entire piece of glass somewhere when open would be a total nightmare.

The Outlander is LOADED with a TON of great features so here they are so that I don’t any:

Every 2013 Outlander Sport includes these standard features:

• 148-hp, 2.0-liter MIVEC engine
• Color LCD multi-information display
• 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with P225/55R18 all-season tires
• Electric Power Steering (EPS)
• FUSE Hands-free Link System™ with USB Port
• Seven airbag¹ safety system including a driver’s knee airbag
• Tilt and telescopic adjustable steering column
• Active Stability Control (ASC)² with Hill Start Assist

Includes all standard features plus:

Exterior

• Super-wide range High-Intensity Discharge (S-HID) headlamps
• Auto off/on headlamp control
• Halogen fog lights with chrome bezel
• Chrome grille surround
• Body-colored outer door handles
• Heated power side view mirrors
• Side fender turn signal indicators
• Rear wiper with intermittent feature
• Electric rear window defroster with timer
• Rear privacy glass
• Rear LED combination tail lights
• Roof-mounted radio antenna
• Single exhaust outlet with chrome tip
• Rain-sensing windshield wipers
• Flat-type wiper blades
• Roof carrier plug-in accommodation

Wheels and Tires

• P225/55R18 all-season radial tires
• 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels
• Space saver temporary spare tire

Comfort and Convenience

• Automatic climate control with pollen air filter
• One-touch Start/Stop (OSS) engine switch
• Rear heater floor ducts
• Visor vanity mirrors with illumination
• Rear seat center armrest with cup holders (x2)
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel
• Cruise control with steering-wheel-mounted controls
• Power windows with driver one-touch down/up feature
• Power door locks with two-stage unlocking
• Heated front seats
• Height-adjustable front shoulder belt anchors
• FAST-Key electronic start system with panic feature
• 12-volt power outlet (x2)
• Front map lights
• Rear dome light (not available with premium package)
• Rear cargo light
• Retractable assist grips (x4)
• Manual day/night rearview mirror

Storage

• Glove box with pen holder
• Front-door storage pockets with bottle holders
• Cargo tie-down utility hooks (x4)
• Center console box with cup holders (x2)
• Center slide-adjustable armrest
• Instrument panel lower compartment
• Pocket tissue holder
• Seatback pocket (driver’s side)
• Rear cargo compartments

Seating and Trim

• 5-passenger seating
• Sport-fabric-trimmed seating
• 6-way manually adjustable driver’s seat
• 4-way manually adjustable passenger’s seat
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob
• Soft-touch upper instrument panel and door trim
• Chrome interior door levers
• Rear seat adjustable head restraints (x3)
• Door scuff plate (front & rear)
• 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback
• Adjustable return seatback
• Carpeted floor mats

Audio

• 140-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3-compatible audio system with 6 speakers, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), equalization control and speed-compensated volume
• SiriusXM™ Satellite Radio with free 3-month subscription
• FUSE Hands-free Link System™ with USB port
• Steering-wheel-mounted audio controls

Instrumentation

• Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters
• High-contrast meters
• Color LCD multi-information display, including trip computer, maintenance reminder, ambient temperature and audio system information
• Rheostat
• Dual trip odometers

Safety and Security

• Advanced front airbags¹ with seatbelt-use, passenger-weight and driver’s seat-position sensors
• Front side-impact airbags¹ and side-impact curtain airbags¹ with rollover protection
• Driver’s knee airbag¹
• Electronically controlled 4WD system
• Drive mode selector (2WD / 4WD Auto / 4WD Lock)
• Active Stability Control (ASC)²
• Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)² with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist
• Hill Start Assist
• Traction Control Logic (TCL)
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• 3-point seatbelts for all 5 seating positions
• Engine immobilizer and anti-theft alarm system
• Child-safety rear door locks
• LATCH child-safety-seat anchors & upper tethers
• Remote fuel lid opener
• Front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters
• Collapsible steering column and foldaway brake pedal assembly
• Side-impact door beams

ECO Friendly Features

• ECO driver indicator light
• Brake energy regeneration system
• Recyclable plastic bumpers, instrument panel, door trim and radiator grille
• Plastic polymer front fender panels
• Electric Power Steering (EPS)

I am glad that I got the opportunity to drive the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC for a week and test out all of its features.  It was loaded with a lot of nice features for sure but like I said it was just a tad under powered.  It was a fun and easy vehicle to drive that was pretty good on gas (which is a huge plus) that looked really cool which is always a added bonus!

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are our own!!!!

Last weekend was me and Melinda’s 12th wedding anniversary and we got a chance to get a kid-free weekend away with a nice trip to the beach in OCean City, NJ and we got to travel in style in the 2013 Kia Optima SX Limited.  This car to me is what I call luxury as it had all the bells and whistles like leather seats, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats,  panoramic sunroof and so many more options.

For all the car enthusiasts out there like myself below is the full list of features:

2013 Kia Optima SX Limited

ENGINE:

• 2.0-liter DOHC turbocharged I-4
• Horsepower: 274hp @ 6000rpm
• Torque: 269lb-ft@ 4500rpm

TRANSMISSION:

• 6-speed automatic

DRIVE:

• Front-wheel

WHEELS AND TIRES:

• 18-inch aluminum wheels
• 225/45VR-18 HankookOptimo H431 tires

FUEL ECONOMY (city/highway/combined):

• 22/34/26mpg

CURB WEIGHT:

• 3385lb

CAPACITIES:

• Doors/Passengers: 4/5
• Cargo: 15.4cu ft
• Legroom (front/rear): 45.5/34.7 in
• Headroom (front/rear): 40.0/37.6 in
• Towing: N/A

STANDARD FEATURES:

• 18-inch chromed aluminum wheels
• Red brake calipers
• Lower door chrome accents
• Nappa leather seat and interior trim
• Black cloth headliner
• Electronic parking brake
• Chrome-accented rear spoiler
• First aid kit
• Automatic dual-zone climate control
• SiriusXM satellite radio w/3-month trial subscription
• USB port
• Auxiliary audio jack
• Bluetooth
• Keyless ignition
• Cruise control
• HID headlights
• LED taillights
• Fog lights

OPTIONS ON THIS VEHICLE:

• Panoramic sunroof
• Power-folding exterior mirrors
• Infinity audio system
• Rearview camera
• Power front passenger’s seat
• Driver’s seat memory function
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated outboard rear seats
• Navigation w/real-time traffic

The 2013 Kia Optima SX Limited was super fun to drive.  The pickup was incredible and that was because of the turbocharged engine.  Melinda and I would go out for drives just to get the Kia on the road and that is saying a lot because I hate driving most of the time, LOL.  I really liked the size of the Optima from front to back.  The leg room was great which I look for due to me being 6’3.  The truck was another thing I was impressed with.  We loaded it with a trip to the grocery store as well as BJ’s Wholesale and had plenty of room in the trunk.

Some of my favorite features of the Kia Optima SX Limited were the rear view camera, cooled leather seats, navigation system and satellite radio. When it comes to cars I am very hard to please but I will say that this car had so many features that it was feature overload for me.  Like I mentioned to me this car yells luxury  but if you want to find out for yourself head to your local Kia dealer and see for yourself.

I love cars especially new cars and I was super excited when I recently got the chance to recap the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid.

I see more and more hybrids on the road and I always wonder how much better they are on gas then a traditional car since they are both gas and electric.  The Kia Optima Hybrid has about an 18 gallon gas tank and I was getting about 500 – 550 miles on a tank of gas.  I was averaging around 32.2 miles per gallon which in my opinion is awesome for a mid to large size sedan.  In comparison I drive a pretty small car that gets about 27 miles to the gallon and Melinda drives a minivan that get about 18 miles per gallon so as you can see the Kia Optima Hybrid is very good on gas especially for its size.

Not only was I impressed with the terrific gas mileage but I was also very impressed with the inside of the Kia.  It came loaded with heated and cooled front seats (how cool is it to heat and cool your butt, LOL), heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, full leather, GPS, satellite radio, backup camera, panoramic sunroof, push button start and the list goes on and on.  I must admit this is the first car that I have seen that comes with rear heated seats which I didn’t notice until Shaun pointed it out to me.

For you car geeks like myself if comes with a 2.4L 4-cyl Hybrid engine, 6 speed sportmatic transmission, 16” tires and alloy wheels, ABS brakes, traction control system and electronic stability control.  The Kia Optima Hybrid also came with Dual front airbags, front seat mounted side airbags and full length side curtain airbags.  This Kia was loaded with comfort, safety and was great on gas; what more could you ask for in a car.

The Kia Optima Hybrid was a blast to drive but it took me a while to get used to how quit it was since it is a hybrid.  I would start the car and have to double check the RPM gauge to be sure it was running; that is how quiet this car is.  It also took a little getting used to the acceleration again because it is a hybrid it’s a little different than a traditional gas vehicle but after getting used to it the Kia took off like a rocket.

I will say that Melinda and I were very impressed with everything that the Kia Optima Hybrid had to offer and Melinda even said she could see herself driving this car on a daily basis.  I will admit that I really do love the gas mileage that this vehicle gets and could see replacing one of our cars with the Kia Hybrid for sure.

What is better than getting to drive an awesome new car for the week except maybe owning that awesome new car but I must say that I really enjoyed my week behind the wheel of the 2012 Kia Sorento EX AWD.

My commute to work one way is about 52 miles which takes about an hour with no traffic but could take as long as 1.5-2 hours depending on traffic.  Having the Sorento get me through the daily traffic for an entire week was terrific.  It was super comfortable to drive and had a ton of awesome features like Sirius Satellite radio, blue tooth enabled phone and navigation.

iPhone/iPad Cable

The Kia Sorento that we got to recap was a dark cherry/black color with black leather interior.  To me there is nothing better than the feel and smell of new leather interior and I instantly feel in love and this was just the beginning.  Sitting behind the wheel looking at all of the controls threw me into a little bit of overload since neither of our two cars have anywhere near this many features.  Our Sorento had an AM/FM radio with Sirius Satellite radio, navigation, blue tooth enabled phone, backup camera and iPhone connection.   That was just the entertainment features then I saw the dual heated leather seats, climate control settings and dual power seats and darn near lost my mind.

Ok, so that I don’t totally forget some of the features of the Kia Sorento that I really enjoyed I will list them for you now:

• AM/FM/CD/MP3/SiriusXM Satellite Radio Audio System – What more could you ask for and I love Howard Stern so it col to have Sirius.
• Infinity Surround Sound Audio System w/10 speakers – Shaun asked me on numerous occasions to turn the radio up so we could jam to Maroon 5.
• Navigation System & Rear Camera Display – backup camera was a little hard to get use to because I was afraid I was still going to hit something or someone.
• Push Button Start w/Smart Key – Really cool that you can start the car with the SmartKey in your pocket.
• Eco Minder Indicator – Told me when I was achieving optimum fuel economy which is awesome since gas in Delaware is $3.47/gallon.
• Auto-dimming Mirror w/Homelink – This is cool because cars behind you won’t blind you and I like that on the rear view mirror there are buttons that you can use to control your garage door.
• Power folding outside mirrors – hit the lock button twice on the SmartKey and the vehicle locks and the mirrors fold in. TOO COOL!
• 8-Way Power Driver’s Seat and Lumbar Support – Seats were soooooo comfortable and with all of the different settings it seems impossible for anyone not to be comfortable while driving this vehicle.
• Third Row 50/50 Split Folding Seats – Since we are a family of 5 the third row came in handy but didn’t figure out until the last day that the passenger seat in the second row folds up allowing easy access to the third row.  LOL, we aren’t the smartest people in case you haven’t noticed.

These are just a few of the highlights for me but it had so many more cool little features that you probably would never even think about but make the Kia Sorento a really nice vehicle.

All in all an AWESOME vehicle and definitely a vehicle I would consider buying.  The Sorento offered a really comfortable ride and I must admit I was a little sad when they picked it up.