When I was a kid I was known to take part in tap dance classes. OK, it wasn't just tap, it was Celtic dancing too. Yes the Michael Flatley type of dance, however our first name is all we had in common. His feet were never as quick as mine.
There, I've said it. I was a tap dancer, and funnily enough, contrary to what my therapist has said, letting it out doesn't make me feel any better.
Growing up in a rough neighbourhood it wasn't something you advertised.
Now, although my son doesn't want me to sign him up for any more dance classes, he is a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and on Wednesday when both of his favourite dancers were voted off he was in tears.
So to get his mind off it I had to talk about cars and the KIA Sorento I drove this week.
The KIA, like my dance lessons, was something that six or seven years ago you would not particularly want your friends to know you had one.
But it is funny what a few years can do to a carmaker's image and a tap dancer's image for that matter.
The new Sorento is tight, fast, extremely well equipped, looks better, feels better, and with additional features over the 2011 model for the same price it will have you dancing (tap is OK) around the showroom.
New to this year's model - the SX V6 which I drove - are cooled driver's seat, two memory settings for the driver's seat, power fold away outside rear view mirrors and heated steering wheel.
And these extras make a difference. The heated wheel will be perfect for our crappy winters, and the cooled seat is great for the summers - bar this year that is - especially when you have leather seats.
The memory seat is great for my wife and I considering she is five-feet-two-and-a-half inches (I have to mention the half inch or I get in trouble) and I am about five feet nine. This means I don't have to fiddle with the mirrors and try to get the seat right every time I drive the car. It would avoid lots of complaining and my wife doing Jazz hands to distract me before she turns and does a ballet arabesque kick to my face.
The Sorento's engine is a nice piece of work, putting out 276 horsepower, which will have you searching for passing lanes on the highway just to punch it. The cabin remains quiet even at foot-to-the-floor throttle, with a muted growl coming from under the hood.
Gear changes are barely noticeable and the manumatic shifter had been put in just the right place for arm-on-the-console shifting.
Second row seats recline and there is room under the floor in the back for storage,
The Sorento was a very easy to drive SUV.
What I mean by this is, some vehicles you drive, can cause a certain amount of movement while you're driving. It could be moving your butt around on the seat (I must say here, as much as I am not a fan of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, it can be nice to see the female dancers move their butts around) it could be the armrest is in the wrong place for resting your arm, or the door sill is too thin for the other arm and you have to try to place it on the window ledge, or the pedals are not in exactly the right place for your big size 11 boots.
The Sorento was easy to drive in that I specifically noticed after about 45 minutes that I hadn't really moved. The Sorento was moving but I was in the same seating position as when I started the drive.
This is part of the reason why when people ask me what vehicle I recommend, I tell them to get one that fits their butt.
The Sorento came with a power moonroof and the rear passengers got a glass roof bigger than the one in the front.
The Sorento came with three rows of seats with heater vents for all three rows. The third row passengers also get their own fan control. Usually the people in the second row have this control, so this will mean less fighting among siblings.
All the $40,000-plus options have been included like, all wheel drive, Bluetooth, navigation, satellite, voice activation, push button start, TC, ESC, dual zone climate control, backup camera and much more.
The Sorento is the top of the KIA lineup and it shows, and for those of you who own one, unlike me, and my tap dancing lessons, it is OK to admit you are a KIA owner. The pool is getting bigger every week.
KIA Sorento
Vehicle type: 5 door SUv
Transmission 6-speed manumatic
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Horsepower: 276 @ 6,300
Torque: 248 @ 5,000
Mileage: 11.5 l/100 km 25 mpg City 8.2 l/100km 34 mph hwy
Price: $42,945
