1. Overview
2. Gallery
   • Photo Gallery (35)
   • 360° View
   • Video
   • Web Videos (44)
3. Trims and Specs
   • Select a Trim (5)
4. More Resources
   • Related News (0)
   • Other Expert Reviews (5)
   • Consumer Opinions (185)
   • Car Tweets
   • Q&A (0)
5. Next Steps
   • Get Kia Insurance Quotes
   • Get Kia Financing Quotes
   • Check Local Classifieds
   • Find a local dealer

     Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Select City
     

     See all Kia dealers

April 3, 2008 http://www.thecarconnection.com/fullreview/kia_rondo_2007

  Bengt Halvorson
EditorBengt Halvorson

 

By now you’ve probably seen Kia’s aggressive “Rondoism” campaign that includes terms like cabinosity, giddyupedness, and safety all-overness, with backdrops of rainbows, puffy clouds, and soulful singing. It’s weird, but memorable.

 

Yes, like its advertising campaign, the Rondo is a little…different. In a lot of ways, the Rondo — and its proportions — reminds us here at TheCarConnection.com of the Toyota Matrix or the now-defunct Suzuki Aerio, scaled up a bit in size to better fit the needs of most Americans.

 

But there’s really no need to be cute, in words or appearance. All you need to do is open the door and glance inside. After that, the whole design makes a lot more sense; it’s clearly a case of conceiving the interior first then tailoring an exterior to accommodate it.

 

The Rondo is the most space-efficient vehicle we’ve driven in recent memory. In its very small footprint — 179 inches long and less than 72 inches wide — the Rondo is nearly a foot shorter than most mid-size sedans, yet it manages to fit seating for seven with cargo space to boot. We’re not talking about little jump seats in back, either; the third-row seats are large enough for small adults, if they’re willing to do a little scrambling to get back there, and the second row slides fore and aft nearly a foot to balance out legroom. The 50/50-split third row folds down to a perfectly flat cargo floor, too, so when they’re not in use there’s plenty of very usable space back there, while the 60/40-split second row also folds down. In all, there’s enough room for two adults and five kids — or two adults, three kids, and their cargo. MORE--

 

 

Nifty interior for seven

  By now you’ve probably seen Kia’s aggressive “Rondoism” campaign that includes terms like cabinosity, giddyupedness, and safety all-overness, with backdrops of rainbows, puffy clouds, and soulful singing. It’s weird, but memorable.   Yes, like its advertising campaign, the Rondo is a little…different. In a lot of ways, the Rondo — and its proportions — reminds us here at TheCarConnection.com of the Toyota Matrix or the now-defunct Suzuki Aerio, scaled up a bit in size to better fit the needs of most Americans.   But there’s really no need to be cute, in words or appearance. All you need to do is open the door and glance inside. After that, the whole design makes a lot more sense; it’s clearly a case of conceiving the interior first then tailoring an exterior to accommodate it.   The Rondo is the most space-efficient vehicle we’ve driven in recent memory. In its very small footprint — 179 inches long and less than 72 inches wide — the Rondo is nearly a foot shorter than most mid-size sedans, yet it manages to fit seating for seven with cargo space to boot. We’re not talking about little jump seats in back, either; the third-row seats are large enough for small adults, if they’re willing to do a little scrambling to get back there, and the second row slides fore and aft nearly a foot to balance out legroom. The 50/50-split third row folds down to a perfectly flat cargo floor, too, so when they’re not in use there’s plenty of very usable space back there, while the 60/40-split second row also folds down. In all, there’s enough room for two adults and five kids — or two adults, three kids, and their cargo. MORE--     Nifty interior for seven By now you’ve probably seen Kia’s aggressive “Rondoism” campaign that includes terms like cabinosity, giddyupedness, and safety all-overness, with backdrops of rainbows, puffy clouds, and soulful singing. It’s weird, but memorable. Yes, like its advertising campaign, the Rondo ...