There's something about the Kia Rondo's boxy proportions that make me think that it's wheels look too small. Twice this weekend I approached the Rondo thinking, man, those are some smmaaaall wheels, only to remind myself that they are in fact, 17-inchers.
Do you agree?
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 10,354 miles
louiswei says:
04:03 PM, 06/ 2/08
The wheels look okay, I think if the beltline was raised by a little then the proportion will look much better.
misterfusion says:
04:33 PM, 06/ 2/08
Kelly is right on both counts: Yeah, the wheels do look a bit small, but it's merely a perspective trick resulting from the car's proportions.
I wouldn't shrink the greenhouse, though -- good visibility is very important to me. I'd get over the small-looking wheels quickly, but bad visibility would be a dealbreaker.
In a market where other small wagons have unreasonably massive C-pillars (Rabbit, Matrix, all Scions), the Rondo stands out by being sensible.
[Edit: And yet, someone still managed to back it into a shelf... :P ]
johnnyturbo says:
04:34 PM, 06/ 2/08
It's the Rondo's tall body that causes the relatively big wheels to look small. An even worse offender is the Suzuki Aerio.
There's a lot of sheetmetal above the wheel openings -- it's the relationship of that visual mass to the wheels that creates this illusion of sorts. Look at an '88-'91 Honda Prelude for the opposite effect.
The upside of the tall architecture is a spacious cabin, the downside is you could put 19s on it and they still would manage to look smallish.
bimmerjay says:
06:04 PM, 06/ 2/08
Yup, it's the dorky fishbowl greenhouse that does it.
hondacura4 says:
06:42 PM, 06/ 2/08
I see these things EVERYWHERE!
cx7lover says:
07:50 PM, 06/ 2/08
they do look tiny, like 15's almost if you look at the entire car, just looking at the wheels, they look their size, the fat spokes could have something to do with it.
beckycake says:
08:48 PM, 06/ 2/08
Is this thing really that big? We are shopping to replace our Plymouth Grd Voyager and were going for a Sienna. My Dad goes by a Kia dealer this weekend (who NEVER would've bought one of these things years ago!) and picks out a Sorento. He swears the Rondo is bigger and that we should look at Kia before we buy. They bought the Sorento today and think it drives great. Do tell??
cx7lover says:
09:59 PM, 06/ 2/08
The Sorento is nice for the money, esp with the new V6. But it's pretty compact on size I would say the Rondo is longer... I would get the Rondo though, better interior.
tmanz says:
10:33 PM, 06/ 2/08
When I first saw the post title and picture I thought "No, 14" wheels are fine for a vehicle like that." Then I saw where they were 17" In that case they do look small. Anyone got a Rondo on 22"s?
johnnyturbo says:
11:16 PM, 06/ 2/08
beckycake,
The Sorento is about two inches longer but, being a traditional SUV weighs nearly 1,000 pounds more than the Rondo, which can't be had with 4-wheel drive.
As you were talking about minivans (G. Voyager, Sienna), the Kia that compares more closely to them would be the Sedona minivan.
To answer your question about the Rondo's seeming "bigness", a Toyota Sienna is nearly two-feet longer and 1,000 pounds heavier than the Rondo.
vvk says:
05:02 AM, 06/ 3/08
Common, through some 13-inchers on it! Stand out from the crowd! Be an individual!
vacagrande says:
06:30 AM, 06/ 3/08
Even if it makes the wheels look dinky, props to Kia for not bringing the beltline up so high as to give it those horrible gunslit windows that infest so many modern cars.
mrryte says:
07:03 AM, 06/ 3/08
"In that case they do look small. Anyone got a Rondo on 22"s?"
I'm sure someone out there has got a Rondo rollin on 19s or 20s....
SnakeDoctor says:
09:59 AM, 06/ 3/08
I agree. Anything smaller than 18s look dinky nowadays.
But putting Dubs on the Rondo is like putting lipstick on a pig.