Forgive the craptacular photo, but when coming down to my parking garage last week, I was struck by how jumbo our Kia Rondo looked next to a Mazda 3 5-door. According to Edmunds' vehicle classification, both of these are wagons, yet obviously, they couldn't be more different. The Rondo's shape sort of looks like someone stuck an air hose into the 3 and inflated it to bulbous proportions. I like the idea of mini minivans like the Rondo, but I think the Mazda 5 and other small MPVs from Europe (Ford S-Max, Opel/Vauxhall Vafira, Renault Grand Scenic) are much better realizations...
James Riswick, Associate Editor @ 2,303 miles
bimmerjay says:
09:45 PM, 10/23/07
James, I think we need to see it next to the blimp-like Versa to really get a feel for the Rhinocerosness of the Rondo.
dalaw says:
12:07 AM, 10/24/07
let me add more MPVs to that list: Mitsu Grandis, Toyota Verso, and Honda Stream
tackepj says:
05:04 AM, 10/24/07
The staging of this pic would make an Aveo 5 tower over the Mazda3. Let's see how truly gargantuan the Rondo is when parked beside its competition.
roar02ram says:
05:51 AM, 10/24/07
You guys forgot one of the snazziest Euro-wagons: the Citroen Picasso!
webxtest says:
06:37 AM, 10/24/07
Hey, at least it doesn't look like an oversized sneaker like the Pontiac Aztek did.
flipb says:
08:00 AM, 10/24/07
webxtest, one of the first things I noticed about my Rondo is that it is, in fact, shaped like a shoe - albeit one with a short toe. The description of an overinflated Mazda 3 also seems rather accurate.
However, I will say this in favor of its size. Shortly after I bought my Rondo, I found myself parked in between a Corolla and a Dodge Caravan. I looked to my left and thought, "this thing's hardly any bigger than that Corolla." Then I looked to my right and noted that it seemed only slightly smaller than the Caravan. How'd they do that???
If the Rondo eventually achieves sales success, I'll attribute it to Kia building a quality, reliable vehicle that fills an almost empty niche for size. More car-like than small SUVs (CR-V, RAV4, Escape), roomier than compact wagons (Mazda 3, Versa, Fit), smaller and more efficient than minivans and midsize SUVs.
I hope that more of these tall wagons make it onto the US market and maybe a few families will trade in their 18-mpg SUVs for a 25-30-mpg wagon with just as much on-road utility.
iancar says:
08:08 PM, 10/24/07
That car is just ugly. I will take that Mazda 3 instead.