I was invited on a brand immersion trip to San Diego by Kia, which is where I learned this information. Kia paid my expenses but did not require me to post and all opinions are my own. #TheNewKia
Last week I had the time of my life at the #TheNewKia event in San Diego! Kia is one of my favorite brands and San Diego is one of my favorite places so it was an absolutely perfect match. During the short trip I met the members of the Kia team as well as other Kia loving influencers, checked out what San Diego had to offer, did live band karaoke, and of course- drove Kia vehicles!
I attended the event with 49 other influencers who have interests far and wide. We were all there to learn more about the Eco Dynamics line from Kia, which includes cars like the Kia Niro, the All-New Kia Optima Hybrid, the Kia Soul EV, and more.
I personally fell in love with the Kia Optima Hybrid back in 2012 when Justin and I took it for a test drive on a road trip- to San Diego, actually- and he {finally} proposed. Granted, it was an emotional weekend, but that wasn’t why I loved the car so much. I loved it because even though this was five years ago, the car was already so ahead of it’s time that it would fit in perfectly with a lot of cars on the market today. And yet, Kia didn’t just let it stay the same car- they’ve improved it even more. The Optima Hybrid has been completely redesigned for the 2017 model year, including a repackaged battery that allows for more cargo room {for that stuff I totally didn’t need to bring, but did}, softer materials, an amazing MPG {39 city/46 highway/ 42 combined} and still in a great price range from $25,995-$30,990.
On this trip I also fell in love with a new-to-me {and pretty new to Kia, too!} car- the Kia Niro. The Niro is the first dedicated Hybrid platform, but it’s normal looking so it doesn’t scream Hybrid from the look of it. It’s more practical than a lot of Eco-friendly cars and has a unique sport mode which makes for such a smooth ride. It was completely designed in Irvine, CA which I thought was pretty cool, and it’s packed with advanced technology. It can get up to 50 MPG combined, which is amazing, and costs even less than the Optima Hybrid at just $22,890- $29,650.
We spent the most time in this beauty, and I was amazed at what it could handle. Including:
Getting lost up a cliff {long story and I’m afraid of heights so I’ll skip telling it}…
Making a pit stop at a ranch with an unchained guard dog {who, thankfully, was very friendly}…
And even, apparently, getting stuck in the sand. {I missed this one- it happened right after this photo while I ran off to put my toes in the sand. They had to push it back out. I’m pretty stoked I wasn’t nearby for that.}
One of my favorite things about the Kia line of vehicles- Eco Dynamics and otherwise- is that they are ready for whatever you throw at them. I have two crazy boys and our family likes to go on adventures. We travel through mountains, over deserts, and to the beach. We drive on the freeway and on dirt roads, and we always have far too much stuff in the trunk for the amount of days we’ll be gone. Yet whenever we’ve taken a Kia- either from a test drive or from renting a car at our location- it has never let us down.
Your car should be more than something that takes you from Point A to Point B. Your car should be an extension of your home- somewhere that you feel comfortable, where you know you’re safe and you can handle anything that comes your way. That’s what Kia means to us- a little bit of home that you can bring with you, wherever you go.
