From Suburban Life to City Driving.. You’re going to love the Kia Optima Hybrid

I have been driving for a long time now and having kids more  years then not have been spent driving Mini Vans and SUV’s.  Recently I was handed the keys to a sleek, stylish looking 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid, was told to “Have a good time with it” and “Not to worry about Gas I wouldn’t use it all anyways”. Seriously… what was this guy thinking telling me that I wouldn’t use all the gas, Challenge accepted!!  It just so happened that the Optima’s visit was perfect timing with various events and fun things that I had planned, not to mention the everyday running around that comes with being Mom.

Of course when the friendly man who dropped the Optima off had left I hopped in just to take a look and play with some of the fun gadgets that it has to offer.  As I opened the driver side door the smell of new car surrounded me and as I sat down on the cushy leather seat I instantly went to put the key in the ignition only to come to the realization that there was no key!!! Instead in front of me was a Push Button that started an almost silent engine ( Trust me I had to start it a few times to make sure it was on).

When hubby got home he sat in the car “playing” for at least 30 minutes. It wasn’t until I had to run to the store, that I was able to peel him away from it.  Sadly my first trip out in the Optima was to run to the grocery store to get some milk.  As I put the car in reverse the Back up Camera kicked on showing me everything that I could possibly hit while backing out (Bikes, Cats, Chipmunks)  and color coding the danger zones. What a fantastic safety feature for people  in areas that have families with lots of small children.

This summer has been one of the hottest that we have had in the Chicago Land Area so it was important that the air conditioning be up to speed.  Not only was the car nice and chilly (driver and passenger can control their own temps) , I was able to cool the seat down as well ( Yes you read correct air conditioned seats) leaving me refreshed as I drove off.

The next day I had a fantastic event to attend just outside of Chicago which is about an hour away, not knowing exactly where I was going I had the chance to use the Optima’s built in navigation system. Using it was so easy, I am not very tech savvy but had no issue getting the directions up, running, and  then linking my phone to the built in Blue tooth system.  As I got closer to the city with it being rush hour I was so jammed into major traffic, as I began to think about pulling out my hair the navigation system asked me if I would like a detour out of traffic, with that I was in love!

The way back was smooth driving and gave me the ability to be able to see what the Optima could really do!! I fell in love with the fact that the car switched automatically into Eco Mode saving gas and money. I am so impressed with the smooth ride, that going just a little faster then the speed limitI instantly felt like race car driver and found myself whistling the speed racer theme song.

(Disclosure.. I did not take this picture the passenger did)

Now I knew how I liked the car, but how would it stand up to the ultimate test.. the children!!

Kenna’s car seat fit in with ease and there was plenty of room, and she thought the fact that she could see the trees by looking up through the roof as we drove was pure magic!!

My oldest son suggested we ask to keep it for when he turned 16 and my 9 year old loved the fact that he could pull down a console in the back to separate him from his siblings!

After an extensive amount of driving ( including 2 trips to Chicago) , it turns out I didn’t use the whole tank of gas. I was amazed as I would’ve had to fill up at least once driving around in my SUV and  with the Optima I still had 1/2 a tank when it was time to say Goodbye… Touche Kia man Touche…

From Suburban Life to City driving the Kia Optima Hybrid surpassed every expectation that I had for it, and left me wanting one to own.

The model I drove is priced at $27,500 MSRP and comes equipped with many great features already built in. There are packages and options you can choose from that can work based on the needs of your own personal lifestyle!

To learn more about the Kia Optima Hybrid check out their website!!