Oaklee’s guest post by Stefanie from Making of a Mom
My family recently returned from a trip to visit my parents in southern Utah. We flew in and out of Las Vegas which was an adventure in itself. My kids had never been to Vegas (at least that they remember) so seeing the lights and slot machines was exciting for them. My toddler thought we were the meanest parents in the world for not letting him play the “games” that were everywhere we went.
Getting around that week we drove in a Kia Sedona SXL. We currently own an older model of the Kia Sedona, so I was pretty excited to see how it would be to drive a brand new one for a week. BTW it’s WONDERFUL!
If you are thinking of upgrading, getting a new family car or just interested in cars in general here are
11 reasons why I think the Kia Sedona SXL is the perfect family vehicle
1. Automatic doors! Yes, this is the #1 reason! The doors on my current minivan aren’t automatic and as a result my kids can’t really open them from inside or outside of the vehicle. This makes parent drops off’s pretty impossible as it requires me to get out of the car and help, and parents behind me get angry! I love the independence this offers my kids!
2. Tons of space. The seating in the Kia SedonaSXL is set towards the middle of the car, this seems to create this awesome sense of space instead of being smushed against the doors. There is also an awesome trunk space for luggage, strollers, ice chests, etc.
3. Amazing cruise control that makes you feel totally safe. You can set the car for how far away you want to stay from the vehicle in front of you. We opted for a 4 car length (the longest it allows). We set the cruise control and the car did the rest. If a car moved into our lane the Sedona automatically slowed down to be 4 car lengths behind that car while keeping its pace. If a car moved from in front of us, if we weren’t going our desired cruise control speed the car would automatically speed it. It was incredible!
4. Front cameras, rear cameras, side cameras – oh my! Seriously it seemed every angle was being watched over. Which leads me into…
5. Warnings galore! Because of this thorough watching from all the cameras the car would let you know whenever anyone was in your blind spot and give you a warning. Also, the car would beep whenever you started to drift from your lane. This is an awesome feature for late night road trips when you might be tired. Falling asleep will be deterred with the dinging from departing your lane. *You can turn this off if you aren’t interested in the warning.
6. Two sun roofs (is that what they are still called? The 80’s called and they want their terminology back. lol)) are in this minivan. One in the front and one in the back. The windows are also automatic so it’s easy for the driver and navigator to open and close the sun roofs. My kids have never seen a sun roof before so they thought it was pretty funny to have 2 windows in the roof of the car.
7. The navigation system will help you never get lost! I LOVE the way this navigation system works. There are pictures when you come to important crossings that let you know which exact lane you should be in. There is a distance indicator to help you make the right turn and not turn to soon. You can program in an address, just look at the map or type in a point of interest and the system will find it for you. It was awesome to always know where we were going.
8. Connect to the car with bluetooth. With driving hands free a law in so many states this is a great feature to have. You can connect your phone, download your contacts and make hands free calls all from the steering wheel. We also enjoyed blasting our favorite Pandora stations through the car speakers.
9. Warmed/Cooled seats! YES! In southern Utah it was over 100 degree every.single.day. So the first thing I would do when getting in the car is turn on the cooled seats. This feature is only for the front two seats, but that’s the bonus of being the Mom! Score!
10. Programmable electric seats! My husband is 6’1, I’m 5’4 so obviously we need the drivers seat in different places. In the Kia Sedona SXL you can put your seat where you want it (it’s electric so basically like a ride!) and then program the car to remember. When you get in push your number (either 1 or 2) and the seat will automatically adjust to where you have it set. It’s awesome. I also love that the seats not only went forwards and backwards but up and down as well. I loved having my seat up higher so I felt like I could really see everything around me.
11. USB ports! For the blogging/social media addict in me, I LOVED the USB ports for easy charging. There were two up in the front of my husband and I could charge our devices at the same time.
So, do you think it’s time for an upgrade of your family vehicle? I sure do!
Want to read more about my Kia love affair? Check out 5 things I love about the Kia Optima Hybrid.
About Stefanie
Stefanie is a stay at home blogging Mom of three. She writes for Making of a Mom. Connect with her at Google+