2007 Kia Rondo
Kias have an awkward reputation. The company has never made eye-catching or exciting cars, but rather affordable and practical ones. At a glance, it’s hard to tell what class the new Rondo falls into, looking like the product of a strange breeding between a Kia Sedona and a Mazda5. One thing is for sure: it’s a usable vehicle with room for five adults.
The four-cylinder Rondo produces 162 horsepower and is mated exclusively to a four-speed automatic transmission. We would have preferred a five-speed manual, and would have settled for a five-speed automatic, but that requires a step up to the six-cylinder model. We drove the 2.7-liter V-6 Rondo, and prefer it tenfold to the standard four-cylinder equipment.
Why? The four-speed’s shifts are rough, especially early on. First gear is held on to far too long, causing a jolt into second and a lag in acceleration. While a boost in low-end torque would solve this problem, a better solution would be a well-judged five-speed transmission.
The base Rondo’s engine could use some refinement, as it sounds really coarse. The four-cylinder is good for jaunts in and around town, but it fails to provide the “pep-in-your-step” power for spirited drives on twisting back roads.
The vehicle does have an interesting, functional shape and offers loads of cargo capacity. It feels well-built, and good-quality materials are used throughout. Kia’s parent company, Hyundai, has consistently been moving in this same forward direction, and it’s nice to see this reflected in a Kia.
But in order for the Rondo to contend with the Mazda5s and Chevrolet HHRs of this world as a better answer to the small crossover or minivan question, Kia will need to give its buyers a more refined drivetrain, especially in the base model.
Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 21
Comments
Beelzebubba
The Kia Rondo is a surprisingly good vehicle. It's too bad that few people even know it exists. I've seen little to no marketing effort for this vehicle.
Recently, while helping a friend of my mom shop for a new vehicle, the Rondo didn't even enter my mind even though it fit her needs quite nicely. The Mazda5 was my top recommendation, but being an older widow it was a little "racier" than she wanted (her words). It was only by chance that we drove by a Kia dealership and a Rondo was sitting out on the lawn. She liked the way it looked and, after a test drive and negotiating $2500 off the sticker price, she's a happy Rondo owner for five months now.
We both test drove the LX V6 model that she ultimately purchased and, for comparison, an EX 4-cylinder model. I was surprised by how little difference there was in terms of acceleration between the two engines. The 4-cylinder makes 162hp and the V6 only bumps that up to 185hp, which hardly seems worth the extra $1,000 or so...at least on paper. In reality, the V6 is so much quieter and smoother than the I-4 and the fuel economy drops only 1mpg city and remains identical on the highway for both engines at 26mpg. The V6 also includes a 5-speed automatic transmission in place of the 4-speed auto that comes with all 4-cylinder models.
The V6 option is actually a no-brainer, in my opinion. I would be reluctant to recommend the 4-cylinder model to a prospective buyer, but the V6 eliminates any reluctance and I highly recommend it.
Final note- The Rondo is built off of the mid-size Optima's architecture/platform and offers the same two engine choices as the Optima. However, the Optima is equipped with a 5-speed automatic regardless of engine. It's puzzling to me why Kia doesn't do the same in the Rondo instead of saddling the 4-cylinder Rondos with an inferior 4-speed automatic. Interestingly, the Optima with 4-cylinder/5-speed automatic doesn't suffer the same noise issues as the Rondo...amazing what an extra gear can do!