A Duo of Rondos

Thule racks fitted.

The rondo form as a musical genre emerged in the baroque period and became increasingly popular during the classical period.

I'm not sure if there is any connection between music and motoring, but the Kia Rondo, as a vehicle, was never really given a chance to become popular in the Australian market, as Kia stopped selling them here early in 2019.

This has never made sense to me. They sell well in Europe and Canada, although under the name "Carens", which derives from the word "car" and "renaissance". That nomenclature makes about as much sense as calling a car after a musical genre, but there you go....

The reason to stop selling them in Australia, according to Kia, was slow market take up, claiming to have sold only 150 buyers in 2018, and 226 in 2017. Our household has two of them.

Come to think of it, I can't recall any promotion of the model, either online or in the print media. They didn't sell, because buyers weren't aware of them. They're not SUVs, so by definition, were not trendy. This state of affairs defies logic, as the Rondo had more interior space and a smaller road footprint than the Sportage, and cost about $5000 less.

Perhaps posing as a four wheel drive vehicle was the rationale for the extra dollars. Bigger wheels and more expensive tyres was really all you scored for your extra.

So now, our household owns two of them.

There are a number of good reasons for this. First, they came with a seven year warranty, which is always a good sign. If a manufacturer has enough confidence in the product to provide this, you can be pretty sure the thing has been well engineered and well put together.

Kia has made massive strides in quality in a very short time. Early Kias were sound, but boring. Current models have cutting edge styling, and are very well equipped. The styling of our two are a result of the head-hunting that Kia employed in 2006 when it stole Peter Schreyer as chief design officer from BMW.

Apart from the appearance of the vehicle, which disguises its people mover attributes, the body styling ensures good aerodynamics, which becomes apparent on long open road journeys, when subseven litres per one hundred kilometres are par for the course.

The other one.

The volumetric capacity of the interior, with seats folded, is 1650 litres, and it can seat seven. I have carried large items of furniture (dressers) without too much trouble. The Rondo was second only to a ute in practicality when we moved house a few years ago.

They handle well, and the high seating position makes placing them on the road very straightforward, and entry and egress is kind to my aging (and damaged) spine.

The fitting of a state of the art stereo compatible with Apple Carplay has made the white one much more user friendly, although I'm not keen on touch screens. The magic wheel, as fitted to my CX-3 was a better proposition.

Before

After

There is sufficient room in the Rondo to create a sleeping space, and that is the next project. I have designs on converting the white one into a minimalist camping wagon.

The plan is to avoid any permanent installations, and I have a way of doing that.

The Thule pack racks are the first step.Watch this space.