KIA SORENT0

A seven-seat PHEV sounds like it would be useful, but what was the reality of family and working life over 7650 miles?

- PIERS WARD

Аpal said to me recently that doing ordinary' well is hard. And that's the quandary Kia faces with the Sorento: it's meant to cope with everything life throws at it and has to do that reliably, but without scope to be wacky.

Ever since the Mk1 Volvo XC90 and the Land Rover Discovery 4, seven-seat SUVs can no longer redefine the sector. Those cars got there first so they were the pioneers, in the mainstream at least. All that the likes of the Sorento can do is to refine the formula and that's where it gets tricky.

The Kia has certainly fitted into our family life effortlessly (mostly-more on that later) but is it a car that we'll look back on with particularly fond memories? Has any journey been seared into our consciousness?

The answer to the first question is yes. Its adaptability and practicality have surpassed expectations, with the sort of space and storage solutions that meant our family holiday this summer was pretty effortless. Of course, we filled the boot and could have done with a trailer or roof box as well, but that's more a reflection on the Ward clan's need to take enough clothes for a full wardrobe change every half an hour.

The cupholders in each rear door and the decent cubby space up front ensured everything was easily to hand and not buried under 15 pairs of boxer shorts. No, this is not sexy (neither the pants nor the practicality, come to think of it) but it's the sort of thing that matters when your car needs to cope with ordinary.