A few nights ago I stayed in a hotel. When checking in, the guy at the desk asked what I was driving so that he could give me a parking lot pass. "A Kia Rondo," I said with a bit of unintended Rondo soda enthusiasm...
I really do like our Rondo. It's versatile, roomy, of high quality and pleasingly affordable. But I think Kia faces an uphill battle. Nobody knows what it is. Plus, a female associate of mine had this reaction upon seeing it: "I would never drive it. It looks like a minivan." I suspect there are plenty of other young drivers out there with a similar opinion.
Then again, Kia and Mazda have the "mini minivan" market to themselves right now. So maybe they don't need a homerun since a double will do. If you're curious, here are the November 2007 YTD sales figures as reported by Automotive News.
Kia Rondo: 24,128
Mazda 5: 12,089
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
daytona_500 says:
10:37 AM, 12/20/07
Why did he need to know what you were driving? Usually at a hotel you just give the plate number for your car. In any case I would imagine that someone whose job involves knowing a bit about cars would have that knowledge instead of laughing.
I think the Rondo is a great value, a lot of car for little money. Too bad some cant see that.
SubyTrojan says:
10:57 AM, 12/20/07
I think Kia needs to make an AWD rally Rondo! j/k :o) If Kia really wanted to get its name out there, it's really not that bad of an idea. Isn't it safe to say (a few) more people know about the Suzuki SX4 thanks to the WRC program Suzuki is about to embark upon?
Suzuki SX4 WRC (HTML used due to link length)
Hyundai Tiburons and Accents have been rallied with some success over the years. Granted the road cars haven't been that great, but I'm confident Hyundai's past rallying efforts helped with brand and model recognition. Whether they saw a decent ROI on those efforts is a different story.
ahightower says:
11:00 AM, 12/20/07
"it looks like a minivan." Umm, it is a minivan. Just accept your fate, parents. We gave up being cool a long time ago. Tint the windows if you don't like being in the "dork viewing box", as Bill Engvall describes it.
jriz says:
11:11 AM, 12/20/07
I've actually been surprised by how many Kia Rondos I've seen here in Los Angeles. Judging by those sales figures, I would bet that the sliding doors have hurt the Mazda 5 -- which is stupid, because they make a tremendous difference in using it every day. The fact it has a four-cylinder probably doesn't help either.
benson2175 says:
11:17 AM, 12/20/07
SubyTrojan
Or they could get Britany Spears to drive it and show her who-ha as she gets out of it. She could put all her kids in it. The Rondo not the who-ha.
jriz says:
12:01 PM, 12/20/07
That implies she knows where her children actually are.
penboy says:
12:53 PM, 12/20/07
"I would never drive it. It looks like a minivan."
Wow. Just, wow.
crowb says:
02:33 PM, 12/20/07
Am I the only one who thinks suby deserves some credit for managing to work "who-ha" into a post on a car website?
hehe...who-ha...its just funny to say...heh...who-ha!
I feel like Al Pacino...
What is a BAIRD MAN? WHO-AHHHH!!!
z479 says:
08:18 PM, 12/20/07
come on guys, britney spears is going through a rough time. just look at her 16 yr old sister, now she has to raise a child on her own too. i think she was jelous of all of the attention britney was getting haha
flipb says:
10:05 AM, 12/21/07
"I really do like our Rondo. It's versatile, roomy, of high quality and pleasingly affordable. But I think Kia faces an uphill battle."
And they didn't do themselves any favors with the goofy name.
trackwrex says:
02:55 PM, 12/27/07
C'mon Honda Stream!!! :) I think if Honda prices the Stream right, adds the AWD system and doesn't fudge with the styling too much- they'll take this category...
firstwagon says:
09:04 PM, 12/30/07
"I've actually been surprised by how many Kia Rondos I've seen here in Los Angeles. Judging by those sales figures, I would bet that the sliding doors have hurt the Mazda 5 -- which is stupid, because they make a tremendous difference in using it every day. The fact it has a four-cylinder probably doesn't help either."
I see Mazda5's everywhere I go. They are the most popular minivan at my daughters school. However I have never seen a Rondo.
Not sure why but just maybe Vancouver has better taste in cars then LA. :)
ken7966 says:
08:57 PM, 01/ 2/08
"Mini Minivan" Sounds like a shudder... How about "Pocket Minivan"? KC
bgw says:
05:51 AM, 01/ 3/08
Or "Minivan Lite"
Or "Minivan Redux"
I have an 07 EX V6 and LOVE it!