Couple cooks up great date with a shopping trip in a Kia Sorento Hybrid – Press Enterprise

A great date is even better when it starts with a great ride; just ask Ashley Rodriguez, an expert on creating fun dates in Southern California and beyond. Her tips and videos on social media as @firstdateguide highlight tasty restaurants, romantic getaways and fun experiences, earning her 1.4 million followers on TikTok and 157,000 on Instagram.

Rodriguez said she’s learned over the years that successful dates don’t have to be complicated or extravagant. For instance, she and her boyfriend Paul Castro (@paulsfoodhaul) recently had a great date making homemade pozole after a fun shopping trip in a 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid.

The couple loved the quiet ride, powerful acceleration and great cargo space in the Sorento Hybrid, along with cool tech features like the available 24” combined Panoramic Displays with Navigation and Bose® Premium Audio System with Bluetooth.

Saving money on gas without sacrificing performance was another big plus, Rodriguez said. The Sorento Hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 36 MPG in city driving and has a turbo-hybrid powertrain with 227 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque — the kind of power that makes it easy to merge onto busy SoCal freeways.

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“We’re constantly in a car and traveling all over, so feeling comfortable, enjoying the journey and knowing you’re getting great mileage makes a big difference,” she said.

Ashley Rodriguez enjoys the smooth ride and powerful performance of this 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid.

Many of the Kia Sorento Hybrid’s high-tech features can be accessed via controls on the steering wheel.

The Kia Sorento Hybrid’s Drive Mode Select feature allow you to customize performance based on road conditions.

Tony Medina

The 19-inch, machine-finished alloy wheels on the Kia Sorento Hybrid support optimal performance and comfort.

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Ashley Rodriguez enjoys the smooth ride and powerful performance of this 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid.

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To get what they needed for Castro’s homemade pozole, the couple visited a few stores, including their favorite bodega in Santa Ana, where parking can be a challenge. The Kia Sorento Hybrid’s available 360° Surround View Monitor helped take the guesswork out of maneuvering into tight spaces, Rodriguez said.

“I loved being able to see the cars around me and feeling confident that I had all the room I needed,” she said. The Sorento Hybrid also has an available Blind-Spot View Monitor that displays a live video feed of rear blind spots on the vehicle’s digital dashboard — a feature that helped the couple avoid a run-in with a stray shopping cart.

Once the shopping was complete, the Sorento Hybrid’s fold-down third-row seat left plenty of cargo space to hold all the supplies, and then some. The spacious hybrid-electric SUV has 75.5 cu.ft. of cargo room behind the first row of seats and up to 40 cu.ft. behind the second row.

“We live in a third-floor condo and use a fold-up cart to haul our groceries so we can avoid making multiple trips back and forth to the car,” Rodriguez said. “It was so nice to fit that cart and everything else we needed into the Sorento Hybrid, and still have room for more.”

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Paul Castro loads supplies into the back of the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid after folding down the third-row seat to access an impressive 40 cu.ft. of cargo space. When the Sorento Hybrid’s second row is folded down, cargo space grows to 75.5 cu.ft.

Courtesy of Ashely Rodriguez

Paul Castro cooks up his signature pozole after a successful shopping trip in the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid.

With the pozole done, Ashley Rodriguez is ready to dig in.

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Tony Medina

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Paul Castro loads supplies into the back of the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid after folding down the third-row seat to access an impressive 40 cu.ft. of cargo space. When the Sorento Hybrid’s second row is folded down, cargo space grows to 75.5 cu.ft.

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She said she and Castro have been dating for five years and enjoy cooking together. Castro’s pozole — a hearty soup with cabbage, spices, fresh garlic, hominy, chicken and guajillo chilies — is their go-to recipe when the weather gets cold.

Rodriguez grew up in Southgate and started @firstdateguide in 2017 after graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a degree in communications. She initially focused on posting photos on Instagram, but expanded into video as TikTok was just taking off.

Rodriguez said her content appeals not just to couples, but to anyone who wants to have fun experiences with someone they love, whether it’s a friend, sibling, parent or grandparent.

“It’s really about being together and trying new things as a way to connect and feed your relationships,” Rodriguez said.

She and Castro practice what they preach, taking time to celebrate moments big and small. Sharing experiences together is what it’s all about, whether it’s a date night at home or enjoying time together on the road, she said.

“We recently started listening to audiobooks as a fun thing to do together when we’re driving,” Rodriguez said. “That’s another reason why we loved the quiet ride and amazing sound system in the Kia Sorento Hybrid. It made our date feel extra special.”

This article was produced by Skyline Studio, the in-house creative agency for Southern California News Group and The San Diego Union-Tribune. The editorial staff of SCNG and the U-T had no role in this post’s preparation.

Originally Published: February 20, 2025 at 5:05 PM PST