After arriving in Kirkland on Wednesday, I spent two days learning about the newest Kia and driving both it and the recently reintroduced Sportage SUV. With that “work” taken care of by Friday morning, I was free to head for home in a 2006 Kia Rio5, with Kia’s blessing. Not one keen on travel details, I’d guess-timated that the trip home would fall somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 miles, leaving me plenty of time to do some socializing while still putting me back in SoCal by Monday morning.

After tossing my luggage into the Rio5’s hatch and adjusting the seats and mirrors, I beat tracks north to Bellingham, Wash., to meet up with some friends who promised to show me around the area. Initially, they were excited about having a new ride in their driveway, but upon hearing that it was a Kia, suggestions of seeing the sites in their old Subaru soon followed. It seemed that Kia still had some work to do on its reputation.

After assurances were made that the Rio5 wouldn’t leave us stranded, we ditched the Subaru and headed out for the local tour in the Kia, traversing back roads and highways to scout out some remote oceanfront and to find the best view of the mountains surrounding Vancouver, which was situated about 60 miles to the north. Part of the day’s agenda called for a barbecue, so we filled the Rio5 with a portable grill, a cooler, a big bag of food, and a duffle of warm clothes. All of our gear easily fit below the cargo cover, so there was no worry about any sticky-fingered passersby getting site of that rusty but prized cooking machine or bag of Cheetos. Eventually, we found our way to a quiet spot on the water, chowed down some lunch, and meandered back into town for some more sites, cuisine, and for those not driving, a splash of local spirits.

Soon it was Saturday morning, and the Rio5 and I, both rested and well-fed, hit the southbound lanes of Interstate 5. That first traveling day covered the beautiful, forested Pacific North west, and ended just south of the Mount Shasta Region in northern California. For you city dwellers, passing through these mountains at night is a sight to behold – without the aura of city lights, the stars shine especially bright up there. Several times I pulled over, turned off the lights, and stared upward, pleasantly surprised by how the Rio5’s idling engine didn’t intrude on my moment of solitude.

After a quick night’s rest at my favorite road trip resting spot, Motel 6, and sliding some Denny’s vittles down my gullet, it was back onto I-5 and through the barren valley that is central California. To this point, the Rio5 had been returning about 34 mpg, and with an 11.9-gallon fuel tank, fill-ups were relatively easy on the wallet. The day was rather uneventful, aside from the radio’s horrible reception and the slingshot, two-lane traffic. Moments of joy included doing a 95-mph pass-by in my orange Kia, serving to shock and disgruntle well-to-do Mercedes-Benz and BMW drivers. Fast driving not withstanding, the Rio5 and I made it back to Orange County in record time, with a little money left in my wallet and a surprising new perspective on Kia’s econocar.