5 Reasons I Love the Kia Optima Hybrid

I was provided a complimentary Kia to drive by Drive STI. All opinions are my own.

We are a two car family, but it wasn’t always that way. For 8 years we were a single car family and so when my husband went to work I was “stranded” at home without a car. I either had to rely on friends to take me places when they went somewhere or stay put at home. It was a hard time. I was so excited when we finally were in a position to be able to buy a second car so I could have some freedom to leave my house.

Our “original” car is now 14 years old. It still is a great car and works well, but since it is so old I can’t help but think of replacing it. Before this past week and having my first experience with a Kia Optima Hybrid, I hadn’t really settled on what car to replace it with but now I’m convinced.

When I went to Florida for the #SSLBloggerRoadTrip, I had the pleasure to drive around in a Kia Optima Hybrid. This was my first time driving a Hybrid. I was so excited to see how it was different from “regular” cars. Our second car is a Kia so I’m slightly familiar with the brand and I like Kia’s.

I spent 5 days with this awesome car, so I wanted to share all the reasons I LOVE it and why it is on the top of my list when it comes time to replace our old car.

1. Incredible range! When we got the car with a full tank of gas it had a range of over 500 miles! I couldn’t believe it! We did a ton of driving from Tampa to St. Pete Beach to Clearwater and all over the area for 5 days and we didn’t quite use a quarter of a tank of gas! Thank you hybrid!

2. Navigation system in the car made exploring easy. Though I wouldn’t call the navigation system user friendly, it definitely took some fiddling. Once we got it figured out it made going from place to place so easy. I love that the directions were also spoken through the car speakers so I could hear and see where I needed to go.

3. Back up cameras are amazing! I loved having a backup camera. When I was a teenager the only accident I was ever in (that was my fault) was backing up to park. Since then I’ve been nervous about backing up and avoid it whenever I can. The backup camera made a huge difference in my confidence. I LOVED it so much!

4. Good looking car with great space! The car itself looks really nice. Inside was gorgeous with leather interior. I also loved the Kia hub caps. The back seat had plenty of leg room. Though there were only 3 of us using the car, we still had a ton of stuff and the trunk was able to hold it all well.

5. Smooth ride. Steering was easy. The steering wheel contained awesome conveniences like cruise control and hands free calling. Overall driving was smooth. On the highways driving was so quiet. The pedals were a little touchy, but once I got used to that it was smooth sailing.

I used to dread the day that my husband’s little car dies, but now I might be a little looking forward to it because I really love the Kia Optima Hybrid and I think it’d be a great fit for my family.