2017 Kia Sorento vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

Parenthood is a funny thing. And not always in a 'ha ha' way.

There you are one minute, living it large, travelling to amazing locations, climbing the career ladder, partying 'til dawn, with money in the bank, and a fabulous shoe collection. The next you are a parent. And the world changes. Or yours does, in every way.

The flash sporty car makes way for a sedate sedan or SUV. As the kids grow you play taxi driver to not just them, but their friends as well. That seven-seater you scoffed at on your way home from a weekend music festival just a few short years ago, is now a coveted prize.

If this scenario feels familiar, Kia's award-winning Sorento may be just the ticket. We put the all-wheel drive (AWD) Platinum to the family test.

The Mazda CX-5 was a genuine phenomenon. It pretty much came out of nowhere and knocked off a few cars we previously thought had an unassailable grasp on the Australian SUV budget.

Even more extraordinary was the fact the stylish CX-5 came from a company that had given us a fairly bland decade of cars, after a flourish in the late '90s descended into a series of dull boxes (although the 3 did signal a revival).

I drove a first-gen CX-5 late in its life and found it hard to believe it needed replacing. But in 2017 that's exactly what Mazda did. Fresh sheetmetal, lots of detail work, and a new interior were all dropped on to a lightly updated chassis to give us the second-generation CX-5.

And a lot faces ended up buried in hands at other car companies because it turns out Mazda did a smashing job second time around.