Last week our 2009 Mini E went over to Nick Alexander Imports for its 3-month service. Mini demands "owners" service their Mini E at 3,000 or three-months. And we mean demands, they called us every day from the 3-month mark on until we relented and brought the car through the frozen-fish-warehouse district of Downtown LA to the closest authorized Mini E service center.
And as it turns out, driving through the industrial heart of Los Angeles in typical horrible traffic was the least aggravating part of the entire experience.
(Warning: Long)
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo,2009 Mini E
I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.
The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.
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Categories: 2002 BMW M3,2004 Toyota Prius,2005 Ford GT,2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI,2006 Lexus RX 400h,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Ford Edge SEL,2007 Honda Civic GX,2007 Honda Fit Sport,2007 Kia Rondo,2007 Saturn Aura XR,2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab,2008 BMW 135i,2008 BMW X5 4.8i,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe,2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6,2008 Hyundai Veracruz SE AWD,2008 Mazda CX-9,2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2008 Scion xB,2008 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe,2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Nissan GT-R
I was offered the chance to drive the Rondo on its last night, provided I wash and gas it before we give it back. I hadn't driven the Rondo at all so I thought it fitting that I drive it on the last full day it's here.
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
Our Kia Rondo's overall functionality has earned it numerous unenviable assignments, and once again it finds itself vacationing in the 114-degree California desert.
Cool air conditioning, a wide-opening rear hatch, and a no-frills interior make it the perfect sand city compadre.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 18,536 miles
Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
I'm always a little surprised when I fire up the Rondo's engine and find that this Kia leaps into action with the eagerness of, um, a car that doesn't look like a dull compromise. As many times as I've driven it, you'd think I'd know what to expect. But the Rondo just looks so darn functional; it always lulls me into anticipating the very worst.
Acceleration from the V6 is enjoyably quick. The 5-speed automatic transmission is a pleasure as well, with fluid shifts that keep things creamy smooth. Nice choice if you're looking for a roomy family hauler that won't leave you in Snoozeville when you're behind the wheel.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 16,371 miles
Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
We took the Rondo to Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica to figure out what was going on with our tire pressures. We got some funky readings:
Left front: 10 psi  Â
Right front: 25 psi  Â
Left rear: 26 psi
Right rear: 11 psi
Recommended: 32 psi
A nail was the culprit in the right rear, which the guys at Stokes patched. At our request, they also did a thorough examination of the front left tire that was reporting 10 psi. They pulled it off, inspected it, replaced the valve stem core, cleaned the wheel bead and the rebalanced it. No other leaks were found. All four tires are now up to the recommended pressure.
Total cost: $42.50
Laura Burstein, Automotive Editor @ 16,268 miles
Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
When we last checked on our Kia Rondo, the odometer was shy of 11,000 miles and its long-term test was 3 months from completion. At this rate we still had 9,000 miles to reach our goal. So we found a volunteer.
"Don't come back until it turns 20k," blurted a shapeless mass of editors as it shoved our eager volunteer out the door. "Welcome to the team."
One month and 5,000 miles later the Rondo returned. Our mileage experiment fell short of expectations, but the Kia took it all in stride. At one point the tire pressure warning light clicked on. We topped off the tires for now, and will check them again in a couple of days.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Coordinator @ 16,264 miles
Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
Upon arriving home from work today I was greeted by my wife's grade-school chum and her two daughters. They were hungry. "Let's go the the pub," my wife suggested.
No, the pub in question was not the Winchester, and we were not being persued by suburban zombies (not that we know of, anyway.) We were headed to The Olde Ship, an authentic family-friendly joint about a dozen miles away.
With Shepard's pie and curry in our sights, I loaded everyone into our 2007 Kia Rondo for an impromptu test of its 7-passenger capability.
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
Temperatures in Southern California this weekend were in the 90s and 100s. Hooooowee, that’s hot! Not the best time of year to grab the keys to the big greenhoused long-term Kia Rondo, it turns out. I confirmed that that big space can be hard to cool down...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
What makes the Rondo feartastic?
Well, it's not dissimilar to the Fit in the acceleration category. That is, if you yanked out the Fit's sewing machine motor and dumped in a 500ci V8 from a 1970 Eldorado. And strapped on a blower. What it may lack off the line, it more than makes up for once you're up to speed...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
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
Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
The Kia Rondo has endeared itself to many of our staff because of its pleasant personality. Believe it or not, most of the time we're not blazing around a race track or tearing down the quarter mile. Like most folks, we're usually either commuting (i.e. slogging) through "rush hour" traffic or running errands. The Rondo is smooth, quiet, roomy and comfortable. It's also easy for shorter people to get in and out of thanks to its low step-in. Though it may look like a compact crossover SUV, the Rondo is actually a tall wagon (AWD is not available) so the step-in height (measuring at 13 inches to the door sill) is lower than your typical crossover's. Just another way the Rondo reduces hassles.
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
If the marketing folks at Southwest Airlines run out of ideas for their commercials, they should give me a call.
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
I don't know why but every time I'm out driving around and I see a cop car, I get nervous as if, "The jig is up! They found me!" And then I'm ultra aware of every movement I make, trying to toe the line so that I won't get pulled over and arrested for...whatever. Yes, I just have an exaggerated respect for authority.
I was driving our 2007 Kia Rondo to work this morning when I had an encounter with a cop car...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
When I was a kid my dad always said "You've got to use the right tool for the right job." Turns out screwdrivers don't make very good weed diggers or gasket scrapers. I admit it, he was right.
The Kia Rondo is like one of those screwdrivers I regularly abused, it doesn't work for everything. However, find a nice big standard screw and that wood handled driver works perfectly...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
Our long-term 2007 Kia Rondo defies categorization. For lack of a better word, we call it a people mover. Undignified, to say the least. Because it's not really a station wagon, and it's not an SUV, and it's not really a sedan, and it's not a crossover...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
I took the keys to the Rondo this weekend with the intention of putting its handy third-row seat to the test, to really get the full effect of its mini-minivan utility. Unfortunately, I quickly realized it couldn’t be done with a child seat installed in the center position of the second row (my current reality), unless my third-row passengers didn’t mind crawling into their seats from the Rondo’s cargo area. You just can’t access that third-row the proper way without canting and sliding one of the second-row seats forward, which you can’t do with the car seat in the center position (well, you can cant it a bit, but not nearly enough, as you can see in the photo). Third-row access is quite convenient when one child seat is mounted at an outboard seat position...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
I was given a rather odd assignment earlier this month: test drive and "test live" an RV for three days from Riverside, Calif., to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLII. Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath went along with me, but certainly not to add experience to the ticket. The closest either of us had previously come to a recreational vehicle was blowing by one at high speeds on the freeway, and being in our mid 20s, we were hardly stereotypical RV folk. And as our drive story Two Guys, a Truck and a 31-foot Fleetwood shows, it was hardly smooth sailing. But unlike Top Gear, at least we didn't burn down our Caravan...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
That old, vaguely creepy adage states that children should be seen but not heard. Of course, this isn't meant to imply that kids should be struck mute. Instead, it makes reference to the fact that some folks think that obedient children should exist with invisible efficiency, getting the job done (whatever that may be) without ever furrowing the brows of us busy grown-ups with behavior that's in any way challenging or wayward.
The Kia Rondo is a model of this kind of obedience...
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
This weekend, I had our long-term Kia Rondo and the pleasure of taking my husband, two of his cousins and our child out to dinner. Given that the Rondo is marketed as a family-pleasing shuttle, I seized it as an opportunity to assess the seating comfort of the Rondo when carrying more than just my little family.
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Categories: 2007 Kia Rondo
