CD Article: 2007 Kia Rondo

[Schmengie]

  I just priced-out a Rondo with the third-row seating option at Kia.ca and it's an eye-opening $23,995, 4 grand more than a base Mazda5 which comes standard with a third-row seat. Adding A/C, 4-speed AT and leather still leaves the Mazda $870 cheaper! On the Rondo, you have to pay for leather seats, which I despise, bigger wheels and tires and a bunch of chrome trim, which I also despise, just to get the third-row seat. Then there's the ugly rear end, which looks like someone smacked it with a large piece of dimensional lumber, and the fact that you can't get a maual transmission on the Rondo at any price, which are deal-breakers as far as I'm concerned. I fail to see any advantages over the Mazda, which is produced in Japan by a long-established company famous for it's high-quality, sporty vehicles, as opposed to Kia, which is still a relative unknown. No sale.

[Lurker]

If 6 person seating is your only concern then the 5 GT is a good option.  My beef with the 5 is that they make you move up to the GT in order to get all of the side air bags.  Ridiculous.

[Schmengie]

If 6 person seating is your only concern then the 5 GT is a good option.  My beef with the 5 is that they make you move up to the GT in order to get all of the side air bags.  Ridiculous

[Schmengie]

If 6 person seating is your only concern then the 5 GT is a good option.  My beef with the 5 is that they make you move up to the GT in order to get all of the side air bags.  Ridiculous

          Sorry about the double-post. Why the manufacturers make stupid marketing decisions like that is beyond me. Do they think your life's worth more because you can ante up for the GT to get the airbags? I'd like to hear Mazda's justification for this one.

That said, the Mazda5 GT with A/C is $23,995 (exactly the same as the 3-seat Rondo), with the optional AT it's only $1000 more. Mazda at least gives you a choice of transmissions, the Rondo is AT only. If the Rondo were 2 or 3 grand cheaper, I MIGHT give it the edge - as it is, the 5 wins by a country mile.

[Gary Law]

I see all ineteresting fizz and rather bloody comparisons here about the Rondo and the already successful Mazda5.

No doubt Mazda was brilliant with the tall wagon idea, that came way sooner before any other manufacturers could benifit from this area of the market. The sexy looks of the 5's exterior sure would divert all those non-minivan buyers to take a second glance of this type of vehicles, even a test drive.

Now comes the entry of the Rondo. With ABS, stability/Traction control, 6 airbags, smoothness of the V6 powerlant plus the available 5-speed autobox for a tad under $23k, I have no complains here. 

[gottarondo]

We got a Rondo about a month ago, the top model with 7 seats, the V6, and power driver's seat.  We're pretty pleased with it; I mean, it's not the Audi TT coupe we'd really lilke to be driving, but it is perfectly suited for the job it needs to do. 

In this category of car, it seems to me that the key to success is just to make no fatal mistakes in the design, and Kia has accomplished that.  Relative to the Chevy HHR, for example, which puts window controls on the centre console (what were they thinking???) and has poor rear visibility, and the Mazda 5 in which the 2nd row seats don't fold down to make a flat floor (how would you load paving stones into that?), and the Scion Xb which has such "distinctive" styling that my husband could barely be induced to look at it, there is nothing wrong with the Rondo at all. 

It's a nice size so it parks easily, only about 6 inches longer than the Suzuki Esteem Wagon that we've been driving, but a little taller than I expected from seeing it in the showroom; we're really right up at SUV height.  Feels stable enough in cornering, though (not that I've really pushed it, mind you).

Kia shows it with tinted windows, but glory be (I hate tinted windows), the Canadian government found some reason to disallow them on this model and so they had to put clear glass into them instead. 

We went to the top of the line model for the power seat, as I'd been having trouble with the seating position in our old car, and I think there might be a sacrifice of a bit of legroom for the power seat.  I'm not sure I would make that choice again, especially since it also stuck us with leather seats which are freakin' cold in winter; the heating in the seats is an imperfect compensation for this and the heating system is slow to get warmth to the back seats, where the kids are shivering.... What I do like about the seats though (mentioned in one posted review) is that there is no excessive side bolstering to clamber over every time you get into and out of the car.  I mean, c'mon Mazda, Subaru, and others, we're not rallying out here, we're going for groceries. 

The 7 seats are a very cool option, and are really easy to put up and down.  One unexpected problem, though, as we only saw the 5-seater in the showroom; you don't get a trunk cover with the 7-seater as you do with the 5, so there is no hidden storage in the car (well, there are small compartments but no big ones).   

The only other thing I distinctly don't like (though not a deal breaker) is that the trunk latch is electronic; that is, if your battery is dead, the hatch won't open.  But then, I still prefer wind-up windows too. 

[safristi]

Welcome Rhonda...............a very complete and well written first post.How the hell are we gonna "handle" ya around here...........I am Woman hear me ROAR....

  Help,Help me Rondo.....oooo hh Oww wooo...surfs UP in White_Rock by any chance?

[Snowman]

We got a Rondo about a month ago, the top model with 7 seats, the V6, and power driver's seat.  We're pretty pleased with it; I mean, it's not the Audi TT coupe we'd really lilke to be driving, but it is perfectly suited for the job it needs to do. 

In this category of car, it seems to me that the key to success is just to make no fatal mistakes in the design, and Kia has accomplished that.  Relative to the Chevy HHR, for example, which puts window controls on the centre console (what were they thinking???) and has poor rear visibility, and the Mazda 5 in which the 2nd row seats don't fold down to make a flat floor (how would you load paving stones into that?), and the Scion Xb which has such "distinctive" styling that my husband could barely be induced to look at it, there is nothing wrong with the Rondo at all. 

It's a nice size so it parks easily, only about 6 inches longer than the Suzuki Esteem Wagon that we've been driving, but a little taller than I expected from seeing it in the showroom; we're really right up at SUV height.  Feels stable enough in cornering, though (not that I've really pushed it, mind you).

Kia shows it with tinted windows, but glory be (I hate tinted windows), the Canadian government found some reason to disallow them on this model and so they had to put clear glass into them instead. 

We went to the top of the line model for the power seat, as I'd been having trouble with the seating position in our old car, and I think there might be a sacrifice of a bit of legroom for the power seat.  I'm not sure I would make that choice again, especially since it also stuck us with leather seats which are freakin' cold in winter; the heating in the seats is an imperfect compensation for this and the heating system is slow to get warmth to the back seats, where the kids are shivering.... What I do like about the seats though (mentioned in one posted review) is that there is no excessive side bolstering to clamber over every time you get into and out of the car.  I mean, c'mon Mazda, Subaru, and others, we're not rallying out here, we're going for groceries. 

The 7 seats are a very cool option, and are really easy to put up and down.  One unexpected problem, though, as we only saw the 5-seater in the showroom; you don't get a trunk cover with the 7-seater as you do with the 5, so there is no hidden storage in the car (well, there are small compartments but no big ones).   

The only other thing I distinctly don't like (though not a deal breaker) is that the trunk latch is electronic; that is, if your battery is dead, the hatch won't open.  But then, I still prefer wind-up windows too. 

     Great post and review Gottarondo. Welcome to CTC!

[jww]

We got a Rondo about a month ago, the top model with 7 seats, the V6, and power driver's seat.  We're pretty pleased with it; I mean, it's not the Audi TT coupe we'd really lilke to be driving, but it is perfectly suited for the job it needs to do. 

In this category of car, it seems to me that the key to success is just to make no fatal mistakes in the design, and Kia has accomplished that.  Relative to the Chevy HHR, for example, which puts window controls on the centre console (what were they thinking???) and has poor rear visibility, and the Mazda 5 in which the 2nd row seats don't fold down to make a flat floor (how would you load paving stones into that?), and the Scion Xb which has such "distinctive" styling that my husband could barely be induced to look at it, there is nothing wrong with the Rondo at all. 

It's a nice size so it parks easily, only about 6 inches longer than the Suzuki Esteem Wagon that we've been driving, but a little taller than I expected from seeing it in the showroom; we're really right up at SUV height.  Feels stable enough in cornering, though (not that I've really pushed it, mind you).

Kia shows it with tinted windows, but glory be (I hate tinted windows), the Canadian government found some reason to disallow them on this model and so they had to put clear glass into them instead. 

We went to the top of the line model for the power seat, as I'd been having trouble with the seating position in our old car, and I think there might be a sacrifice of a bit of legroom for the power seat.  I'm not sure I would make that choice again, especially since it also stuck us with leather seats which are freakin' cold in winter; the heating in the seats is an imperfect compensation for this and the heating system is slow to get warmth to the back seats, where the kids are shivering.... What I do like about the seats though (mentioned in one posted review) is that there is no excessive side bolstering to clamber over every time you get into and out of the car.  I mean, c'mon Mazda, Subaru, and others, we're not rallying out here, we're going for groceries. 

The 7 seats are a very cool option, and are really easy to put up and down.  One unexpected problem, though, as we only saw the 5-seater in the showroom; you don't get a trunk cover with the 7-seater as you do with the 5, so there is no hidden storage in the car (well, there are small compartments but no big ones).   

The only other thing I distinctly don't like (though not a deal breaker) is that the trunk latch is electronic; that is, if your battery is dead, the hatch won't open.  But then, I still prefer wind-up windows too. 

Ditto to what snowy said.

Insofar as leather is concerned, either you love it and can't/won't live without it or you hate it. Personally, no offense to our vegans, we are leather-hollics. We have leather couches and chairs at home, and are on our second car with leather interior. I can see that some don't like it, though.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

We got a Rondo about a month ago, the top model with 7 seats, the V6, and power driver's seat.  We're pretty pleased with it

Congrats on your Rondo.

What colour'd you pick?

[gottarondo]

It's red.  The red is a bit of a brick tone, quite nice. 

Thanks for the welcome, guys.  Didn't realize I was wandering into a man's world here...??

Seems like all the options are kind of a personal, idiosyncratic thing... leather, keyless entry, power windows, manual transmission, rows of seating.  With leather, mind you, I suspect there is a quality difference between the leather you'd find in a budget car (say, a Kia...) and on a good couch, but even so... some people might still prefer cloth. 

It really is a bit of a fiction that the manufacturers can design "packages" of options that satisfy most people most of the time.  Honestly, picking the option package for this car (and hypothetically for others we looked at) almost drove me crazy and I'm still second guessing my choices and being annoyed at the compromises we had to make.  Surely the technology is advanced enough that they should be able to construct a car to order if you order far enough in advance.  I gather than Scion does this with the cosmetic add-ons at the port, but does anyone do it at the factory with the substantive items?  Probably not in this price range...

[Julie]

Didn't realize I was wandering into a man's world here...??

There are a few females here, but we're in the minority.

Welcome Rondo. 

[jww]

Didn't realize I was wandering into a man's world here...??

... There are a few females here, but we're in the minority.  ...

And well respected by the gents on the board.

[gottarondo]

Thanks Julie!

In terms of competition to the Rondo, in addition to the Mazda 5 one should probably also consider some SUVs that offer third row seating (although we didn't look at these).  For my very urban use, where I mostly park on the street and not in parking lots, the Rondo was about as big as I was willing to go, but the Toyota Rav4 and the Hyundai Santa Fe are just 2 and 5 inches longer, respectively. 

[Bullet Blue]

Congrats on the Rondo. Did you post pics in the show n' shine section? If not, that's your next step

Welcome to the forum!

[Julie]

... There are a few females here, but we're in the minority.  ...

And well respected by the gents on the board.

Oh gee, thanks jww. There are several swell gentlemen on this forum too, as you can see. 

For my very urban use, where I mostly park on the street and not in parking lots, the Rondo was about as big as I was willing to go... 

Yes, I agree gottarondo, for city driving/parking + moderate cargo space, the Rondo is very practical. Something I really like about this vehicle is its large glass areas (great visibility). We seem to be missing more and more of that as models evolve.

[Dana]

For anyone who would like to say that Kia would bring a low reliability factor, I would like to argue that point. 
In early 2005 my wife and I purchased a Spectra5, I was skeptical as I'm a huge GM whore and had the same beliefs of Kia being below average quality of a vehicle.
Since then we have driven from our home (toronto) to visit my family (Halifax, Fredericton) 2-3 times each year in the summer and winter besides the daily wear & tear. Now being in 2007, I can honestly say that it looks and runs the exact same since our purchase. No problem repairs of any kind. My only beef is that the mileage is misleading (we get around 550-600 kms per tank vs the 700 kms per tank I got with our '98 cavalier previously).
My wife now wants to get a Rondo and I do agree with her. Our family is growing so the third row would be great, and the Mazda5 is kinda out of the question as my wife can't drive stick (I've tried to teach her....oh lord how I've tried).

[slybry]

 
In early 2005 my wife and I purchased a Spectra5,. My only beef is that the mileage is misleading (we get around 550-600 kms per tank vs the 700 kms per tank I got with our '98 cavalier previously).

Our family is growing so the third row would be great, and the Mazda5 is kinda out of the question as my wife can't drive stick (I've tried to teach her....oh lord how I've tried).

Korean cars have come a long way but one consistant weakness seems to be fuel economy. Hyundia seems to get lower results than other brands. Even the tiny Korean made GM's are getting terrible results in fuel economy ratings in side by side comparisons with Japanese rivals.

That being said I have to say one of my pet peeves is when people relate fuel economy to how many Kms they get per tank. Tank sizes can vary greatly from one car to another so providing this information means nothing. In this case the tank capacity difference is not great between Spectra and Cavalier (55L vs 58L).

I do not understand comment about your wife not being able to drive Mazda 5. It is available with automatic as well.

[DoubleClutch]

I do not understand comment about your wife not being able to drive Mazda 5. It is available with automatic as well.

Maybe he's talking about the antiquated 4 speed auto on the Mazda5. Combined with the I4 on the Mazda5, the Rondo's V6 with 5 speed auto sure looks better than the Mazda5.

[gottarondo]

Since the topic of fuel has come up, I decided it was time to ferret out of the 2-inch thick owner's manual how to use the trip computer on the Rondo.  It shows that the fuel consumption to date (1000 km) is indeed high, and is in fact it is higher than the official promise.  I'm not sure if the first 1000 km of a car's life is a fair reading, however, so won't report it here just yet.  If the consumption shown is correct, it would suggest strongly that the 4 cyl would  be a better purchase.  At least it's using regular gas!

Hey Dana, have you tried letting your wife take the car out and work on driving a manual shift by herself?  Trust me on this one, having a husband sitting next to you "teaching" is NOT condusive to learning.  The car will survive, really.  But having said that, I thought too that the Mazda 5 comes with an automatic.