OUR WEEK WITH THE KIA OPTIMA SPORTSWAGON

Still, over four years on, I am amazed at some of the opportunities that I get through blogging. When I got asked if we, as a family, would like to review the new Kia Optima Sportswagon, I instantly said yes. But most of all, my partner was super excited. He's the driver, I am yet to pass my test and so he was the one that drove the car in the time we had it. We were both so excited and literally counting the days until it arrived. The day it was coming, I was waiting to look through the window and then it arrived. My very first thoughts of the car as it passed my house to park, was it looked absolutely amazing. I was greeted by the man, he showed me around the car and the keys were given to me. My partner was in work so the girls and I were able to have a nosy in the car before he did.

We gave it a test drive that evening when my partner came back home from work. We didn't go far as I didn't want Freddie to go to sleep so close to bedtime. I couldn't wait for the weekend to try it out properly. We had the car for just over a week, so it meant we had it for two weekends. The first weekend we decided to go somewhere for the day towards Holyhead in Anglesey. We decided to stop at a place I have no idea what it's named, but it was along the coast of Anglesey. It was so beautiful, and the perfect weather as the sun was out.

It was such a lovely day out. It was a shame Mia wasn't with us, as she was spending time with her Dad and his family. However, it was a lovely day and I think we were just lucky that the weather was beautiful too. Afterwards, we went to do our food shop and there were no worries about space in the boot for our shopping because the Kia Optima Sportwagon estate has a brilliant size boot. Large enough for a pram, shopping and more. It's the perfect length, width and height wise. Always the first thing my partner and I look at in cars is the boot. Main reason being is the kids and now Freddie as he needs a pram when we go out, it's always important that a pram fits and has extra room. The boot also had extra storage boxes on the sides which were handy. Talking about the boot, one of the things I got too excited about was the boot opening themselves. By either holding a button on the key, pressing a button on the boot handle itself or the button near the steering wheel, the boot opens itself and there's a button on the boot to close it afterward. There's a beeping noise which is good to warn that its closing incases there are other people around.

Inside of the car is a lot more modern than our own car, we really are going to miss all the buttons and gadgets. I'm sure we played around with all the buttons each time we were in the car. There's an 8-inch touchscreen sat nav that can also connect to your phone. You can receive calls or call people through the Bluetooth, as well as play music from your phone through that. There's also a radio if you fancy listening to that. You can also turn the volume up or down and change tracks on the steering wheel (which my partner loved doing.) If you have Android, the Kia Optima Sportswagon has an auto connectivity. There's a wireless phone charger, but there is also a USB port in the front and rear of the car.

One of the other things we both liked was how you can cool or heat the front and back seats. We didn't have it on most of the time, but it was pretty cool trying it out. It got cold and hot pretty quickly and it went off quickly too. But two of the best things about the Kia Optima Sportswagon was the Smart Park Assist System and the self-drive. The car will park on its own if there's a space between two cars. I must admit, it was scary seeing the steering wheel turning on its own and the car parking on it's own too. There are sensor lights and beeping if you're too close to a car which made it a little easier but good for when my partner was parking himself. When parking, there is a reversing camera system. On the 8" touchscreen, you see where the car is parking from each angle and from above.

There are so many fantastic specifications in the car, it's just amazing, and each time we went out in the car we were always amazed by something. The estate car is perfect as a family car with the perfect size boot and the leather seats. The back seats did fit 3 car seats, although it was a little squeeze, they still fit in there nicely. The seats are a great material to wipe clean with kids as we all know kids can be super messy, especially if they have something to eat. If you were looking at making the boot even bigger, there's a one touch fold flat handle for the rear seats.

The drive mode was a little bit scarier if you're not used to it. Watching it was scary, so I'm sure it was much worse being sat behind the wheel. The car will break if you're getting too close to the car in front of you and will also have a beep signal if you're getting too close to the white lines. I thought this was really good if drivers get tired.

There's a sun roof that we had open quite often during our days out with the car. Elliw wasn't so keen on it, but my partner and I loved it. It opened with one touch of a button. The car would also start with a touch of a button. One thing my partner found strange was not putting the key in to start the car. You get a Smart Key with an Illuminated Start/Stop Ignition Button.

On our last weekend with the Kia Optima Sportswagon, we went out to take photos and to do the school uniform shop. We decided to go to Llandudno so we could test the car for one last long drive. The night before my partner and I had a date night, and we just drove in the car for a good few hours after going out for food. It was lovely and so comfortable. There's a lot of space for your legs, and the seats move up, down, backward and forwards to how you like it.

Click here to read more specifications on the Kia Optima Sportswagon

It was beautiful estate car, and I would honestly recommend if anyone is looking to buy a new car, then to add this Kia Optima Sportswagon to their list. We were so sad to see it go and we still really miss it.

We reviewed the Kia Optima Sportswagon 1.7 CRDi 'GT-Line S' 7-speed auto DCT ISG
Cost on the road: £30, 595
Warranty: 7 year / 100, 000 miles

* We would like to say a big thank you to Kia for letting us review the Kia Optima Sportswagon. We've absolutely loved it, and we were really sad to see it go. Although this is a review and we were paid, all words and opinions are entirely our own.

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