Kia Presents: Rondo Redux

by Derek Kreindler

Published: September 19th, 2012

Remember the Kia Rondo? If you’re reading this, then you probably do. The other 99.9% of the American public definitely doesn’t.

The compact minivan segment was never a hot one in the United States, and the Rondo was always inferior to the Mazda5, so don’t expect Kia to bring the next-generation Rondo (known as the Carens elsewhere) to our market. In Europe, it will do battle against cars like the Ford C-Max and Opel Zafira, in a crowded segment that just got disrupted by the cut-rate Dacia Lodgy.

Oh, did we mention it’s available with a manual as well?

#Kia #KiaCarens #KiaRondo #Minivan

Derek Kreindler

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Kabayo on Sep 20, 2012

It's not a minivan! It's a tall wagon.

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Luke42 on Sep 20, 2012

The problem with compact minivans is that they're smaller with the same MPG and roughly the same pricetag. My wife and I both liked the Mazda 5, but couldn't get past the fact that it's MPGs are within rounding error of the Sienna. The Prius V and the C-Max both at least get you MPGs. But, at 2-rows, they're wagons and not compact minivans. But you get something other than parkability for going smaller.

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- Psarhjinian on Sep 20, 2012
  
  "The problem with compact minivans is that they’re smaller with the same MPG and roughly the same pricetag." This is largely true if your mileage is mostly highway. In the city the mileage gap widens and the parkability of a 5, Rondo or Orlando becomes notable. That said, I'd really have liked Toyota to release a seven-seat Prius V, and I suspect they didn't so as to protect sales of the (much more expensive) Highlander Hybrid.
  
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