CTC Review: 2008 Kia Rondo

[wing]

The seats do fold flat in the Rondo, you have to raise the bottom, there should be pics in the gallery or perhaps the 2007 gallery.

[stodge]

I sat in a Rondo at the dealership a couple of days ago. It was the 7 seat with leather. Funnily enough, the batter was dead and the trunk wouldn't open - ever hear of recharging the battery???

I thought some of the plastics were hard and felt cheap and the leather felt cheap too - I didn't like the feel of it. I haven't owned a car with leather seats. I thought it was comfortable enough, but I didn't have time to go for a spin. The doors clunked nicely and the interior room was good. I know I already mentioned this, but I don't like having the 60% split behind the driver. I do prefer the captain chairs in the Mazda5; it's a novelty for me I guess and differentiates the vehicle from other cars.

One thing I did like was the ability to put my feet under the front seat when sitting in the second row. Gave me a little more room.

[MedicineMan]

In some overseas markets, the second-row bench has a nifty feature where portions of the seatback can be folded down to serve as armrests.



Besides the two armrests on the sides, there's also a shared armrest in the middle (you can sort of visualize from the above pic how the seatback portion with the center headrest can be folded down).  With this setup, you get the best of both worlds--bench seating for three or bucket seat-like comfort for two with the armrests down.

Anyway, that setup obviously isn't available here.  I wouldn't mind seeing it as an option or even standard in future incarnations of the Rondo (too late for me, though).

[gottarondo]

For occasional use read never for me.

I think the key word is flexibility.  I like it that I didn't have to make a decision at the dealership whether I wanted to carry cargo or people and in what configuration; I can carry lots of either at a moment's notice.  Just not both, which is fine for me. 

And the 7-seater seats fold flat as a pancake too - I'll try to post a picture later as they're folded down just now.

[mmret]

I sat in a Rondo at the dealership a couple of days ago. It was the 7 seat with leather. Funnily enough, the batter was dead and the trunk wouldn't open - ever hear of recharging the battery???

I think it might be better for battery lifespan if you just leave it dead or something. Not totally sure though.

Or maybe there's just not enough juice even on a full charge to go through a day of showroom gizmo abuse?

[wing]

Didn't mention it in my review but the Rondo suffered from the Korean weak battery / alternator issue.  ABS + lights + radio == dimmed lights.

[Cortina]

Didn't mention it in my review but the Rondo suffered from the Korean weak battery / alternator issue.  ABS + lights + radio == dimmed lights.

It really doesn't sound good at all after reading your blog. I wouldn't even think about buying one. Way too many issues for a brand new SUV. I don't find it very cheap either. I say stick with the Hyundai Santa fa If you are buying from Hyundai, forget the Kias, they need some improvements.

[MedicineMan]

Well, Cortina, I guess we see what we want to see (including me).  I read James's blog and, unless I'm severely mistaken, it seems as though he concluded with a more-or-less favourable impression of the Rondo. 

The issues that he pointed out were either solvable (e.g., turn off the ESC if you think it's acting too flaky, replace the stock tires with winter tires--which most people recommend doing during the winter anyways), weren't a big deal to me (e.g., front map lights don't turn on automatically while entering/exiting the vehicle but the rear dome lights do come on, the lack of telescopic steering) or were issues I haven't experienced at all (e.g., inadvertently pressing the steering wheel controls, the airbag light being mysteriously on one night, the leather peeling from the steering wheel).  As for the "ABS + lights + radio == dimmed lights" issue, I haven't noticed that at all, but perhaps you only notice that when ABS happens to be activated while braking?

From my personal day-to-day experience of driving the Rondo for eight months, all of those aforementioned "issues" either don't exist or are non-factors.  The only issue that might concern me is the ESC.  I can't say much about the ESC since I have yet to experience it in action (seldom snows in Vancouver).  If I also determine that it is flaky, I can always turn it off (yeah, ideally, the ESC should work more smoothly in the first place, but at least you have the option of turning it off).

My biggest issue is that the seven seater doesn't come equipped with a privacy cargo cover for the area behind the second-row seats.  It's not all that smart leaving your stuff out in the open in Vancouver.  I use a tarp to cover any items that I might have back there.  If anything, this issue comes closest to being an "Achilles' heel" in my humble opinion.

Other than that, it has been problem-free driving.

[wing]

It was a good car, my tester had a few issues obviously certainly some things I pointed out may not concern some people which is great.

The cargo cover issue I came across on the weekend shopping, good thing I didn't have much to do.

[Cortina]

Other than that, it has been problem-free driving.

I'm really glad it is and so it should be. Cars are such an emotional and expensive purchase regardless of manufactor. So you want it to be perfect. So I'm glad it has worked out for you, lets hope everyone else who buys a Kia has such a positive experience like you.

[MedicineMan]

After looking at the gallary photo's I see that the floor with the folded seats is indeed acceptably flat but those seat backs look like unsupported material not meant for resting articles on. Is this the case.

Those seatbacks are pretty solid so it's no problem resting heavy items on it (that's part of this vehicle's reason for being, after all).  You need to cover the cargo area floor with a tarp or a liner, though, or else you might scratch or gouge the folded-down seatbacks.

[gottarondo]

I wrote a response last night and tried to post pictures, but it seems to have gotten lost - but here's another attempt to post a photo of the seats of the 7-seater reclined.  You'll notice that the folding mechanism is, as James said, to fold up the seat bottoms first (removing headrests first) and then flipping down seat backs.  Unlike in the five-seater, it's not a one-handed operation.  And man, is rearward visibility ever better with the seats folded down (even pushing down the rear headrests makes a difference). 

The seatbacks are certainly pretty solid - I have a habit of buying landscape rock quite often and have pushed the barriers on this.  I do sometimes put a sheet of plywood down first when I'm getting BIG pieces, but these seat backs have taken a fair load without that protection as well, with the surface just protected with a towel. 

All that, and trouble-free driving to 11000 km.

[gottarondo]

I've had so much trouble posting this that I didn't dare try two photos in one posting.  Here is a side view.  There may be a slight elevation change between the two rows of seats, but to all intents and purposes they are level.  The gap is an irritant - the five seater definitely has more utility on the basis of the seat-folding mechanism as well as the underdeck storage - but not a prohibitive one. 

[airbalancer]

but how far does the drive slide back now?
Can anyone over 5ft drive the car with the back seat down?

[Allen]

just saw my first Rondo on the road, it is butt ugly from the back

[gottarondo]

but how far does the drive slide back now?
Can anyone over 5ft drive the car with the back seat down?

I'm 5'10" and if I recall correctly, MM is taller.  It works for me, although there are moments where I could use another inch or two, but that has nothing to do with seats being down - seat extends to max position when seats are down, as I imagine to be the case in any wagon or SUV where the back seats fold - and is in my experience.

just saw my first Rondo on the road, it is butt ugly from the back

Yupper!  But I don't see real beauty in the butts of any wagon/SUV with the possible exception of the Infinity FX 45, the Nissan Murano, and Mercedes or maybe BMW wagons.  If it's not an Audi TT coupe, it's not going to have the butt of one, is it?

What makes the back end work in the Rondo is that the bump-out at the bottom of the glass allows the glass to be out far enough that almost the full length of the floor can be used to almost full height.  Having formerly driven a Saab 900 for many years, I know the slope of the glass can be a limiting factor - in the Rondo, it isn't.  I have transported a bookshelf 5 feet tall and 30" wide (we had to put it on its side so my kids could still sit in 2nd and 3rd row respectively), so it became a box 5' long, 30" high... we were able to fully close the hatch with no threat to the glass.  For its footprint, it's got serious capacity.

[MedicineMan]

Like Gottarondo said, the front seats can be slid back as far as it can go and the back seats will still fold down.  Yup, I'm over 6 feet tall and I have no complaints about things being too cramped.

As for the comment about the Rondo being butt-ugly from the back, I'm surprised that you find it butt-ugly only from the rear because some people think that the front and the side and the top and the undercarriage are butt-ugly, too.  The Rondo is utilitarian to a fault, making no apologies for its lack of sports-car aspirations when it comes to its handling, performance and looks.  The Rondo, quite simply, is a mini-minivan disguised as a tall station wagon.  If the Rondo is ugly, it's ugly for the same reason any minivan is ugly--it's all about the utility and versatility, baby, so deal with it.

This snippet comes from a World of Wheels review and it sums things up quite nicely:

Styling? Well, what can you say? Let’s say such nondescript styling really works well with Rondo’s overall mission of substance over style. Curious, too, that when many manufacturers bust a gut to make their crossovers all macho and SUV-like, we have Kia opting to make a crossover more minivan like. But again, if the most efficient use of space means a minivan profile, then that’s what we should get.

[conwelpic]

to give you a comparison here is the storage room in my 5-seater Rondo, where you can actually recline the passengers seat to give you extra space through to the dash - handy for those 8' boards!




plus this rear under floor storage



and with a 4' x 6' piece of carpet for protecting the original covering (and keeping the dog hairs off).  I have carried a 200 lb large item in there with no problem.  Both front seats are at there maximum rear position and yet don't actually touch the folded rear seat.

[Seafoam]

to give you a comparison here is the storage room in my 5-seater Rondo, where you can actually recline the passengers seat to give you extra space through to the dash - handy for those 8' boards!




plus this rear under floor storage



and with a 4' x 6' piece of carpet for protecting the original covering (and keeping the dog hairs off).  I have carried a 200 lb large item in there with no problem.  Both front seats are at there maximum rear position and yet don't actually touch the folded rear seat.

It  definately gives you a lot of room for transporting stuff when the seats are out of the way for the size of the vehicle. That's was one of the reasons i chose my Fit for the cargo space even though it is a very small vehicle.

[MedicineMan]

It  definately gives you a lot of room for transporting stuff when the seats are out of the way for the size of the vehicle. That's was one of the reasons i chose my Fit for the cargo space even though it is a very small vehicle.

Funny you should mention the Honda Fit because I've always thought that the Rondo and the Fit have a passing resemblance to each other (I'm sure I've just insulted some Fit owners or Rondo owners or both).