Note: the following is a guest post by Lea Ann Christenson

This past November I made a presentation at the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, held in Orlando.

With Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios and SeaWorld right at it’s gates, it’s impossible to go to Orlando and not have a little fun. The attractions of Orlando are spread out so having a car is necessary to explore.

I was fortunate enough to drive the 2016 Kia Optima SX Turbo from the airport, to and from the conference center to my hotel, and to experience some of my favorite Florida attractions including Epcot, Universal City Walk and the newly renamed Disney Springs shopping and dining district.

Here’s six reasons why I loved driving Kia’s newest midsize sedan during my visit to Orlando.

1. Optimal Visibility

Perhaps the Kia Optima should be named the Kia ‘Optimal Visibility.’ With wide windows, the vehicle provided maximum visibility of the Orlando roads and attractions through its wide windows. It also has rear and front cameras. The backup camera made it a breeze to back up out of parking spaces. The front and overhead camera gave a unique perspective to my driving experience, a feature I could easily get use to.

2. Comfortable Driving

The Kia Optima features Driver Memory Seats and Outside Mirror Position. Simply put this meant when I exited the car the seat slid back for easy exit and upon reentry the seat and mirrors slid back into place just for me. This feature allowed me to set my seat position for optimal comfort just one time and have the settings return this way every time I drove.

The driver’s command center has a sleek, horizontal design. The ergonomic steering wheel is comfortable to grip, and did not even heat up when parked for hours in the hot Orlando sun. Although I visited in November, temperatures were in the 80’s every day!

3. Hands-Free Options

The vehicle comes with many hands-free options so you can focus on driving safely. The onboard GPS system was easy to use and gave me speedy directions to everywhere I need to go. It was also easy to set up my iPhone to make hands-free calls. The Kia Optima also boasts a keyless entry and touch button starting.

4. Family Vacation Space

Although I was alone on my trip to Orlando, I much prefer traveling with my family, and thus its important to me that a vehicle has plenty of space. The Kia Optima is very roomy and would have comfortably seated four adults. It comes with dual environmental controls which would make the entire family happy. The roomy trunk could fit luggage for four. It even fit a four-foot poster I brought for my presentation with ease.

The large panoramic sunroof made the vehicle seem even more spacious. After my presentation I went to store my poster back in the vehicle. While in the parking lot there was a sudden torrential down pour which is very typical of Central Florida, especially during hurricane season. I waited out the storm safe and dry while watching the rain pour down through the panoramic sunroof.

5. Safety Features

As a mom, safety is especially important to me. This version of the Kia Optima comes with an ‘auto brake’ which is very useful for moms who are driving with their children. With this feature, when you are stopped at a stop light the brakes lock automatically. In the unfortunate event you take your foot off the brake to reach for something in the back seat or break up an argument between children, this feature makes it impossible to roll in to the car in front of you.

The 2016 model also increases its body rigidity by 150 percent over the 2015 model, meaning it is even more durable of a vehicle to be driving. Other safety features include stability control, anti-lock brakes and seat belts with pretensioners.

6. Style and Power

The Kia Optima SX Turbo drives like its name sounds. It has lots of power under its hood to accelerate past lumbering trucks on the freeway, while still getting 32 MPG on the highway and 25 MPG city/highway. The vehicle also makes smooth turns and has a tight turn radius, making u-turns a breeze.

The Kia Optima comes in a ton of stylish colors, including Snow White Pearl, Metal Bronze, Ebony Black, Corsa Blue and Dark Cherry. The vehicle I drove was Remington Red. The rich red color was easy to spot in the parking lot.

And there you have it- six reasons why I loved driving the 2016 Kia Optima SX Turbo. What’s your favorite reason for driving this vehicle?

Note: This post was sponsored by Kia. However, all thoughts and opinions belong to the author.