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Vans & Minivans Mazda Mazda5 Mazda 5 vs Kia Rondo
803 messages, Last post on Nov 16, 2009 at 3:25 PM
You are in the Mazda Mazda5 Forum. Your Host is Karens
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about the comment that the Rondo shakes on the highway, WRONG- I have a '08 EX 5-seater with the 2.4L and its great on the highway, very smooth, handles great, lots of power and quiet. Personally I like its looks and is extremely functional and doesn't look like anything else on the road. I also notice that it is much more stable in side winds that my other vehicle that was 10" lower. I also appreciate the large "greenhouse" visibility which adds to the safety of this vehicle. Its the top seller KIA vehicle in Canada. MM - always a pleasure to ready your comments.
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It is unfortunate that many people online post snap judgments or post topics suck as my car/boat/camera/etc is better than your car/boat/camera/etc. Both the Mazda 5 and Kia Rondo off good approaches to a problem. Neither vehicle is really "better" than the other, each simply fills different needs. My wife an I have a Mazda5, but also looked at the Rondo. My wife was apprehensive about Kia historical reliability. This is not really fair to the latest Kias, but is an unfortunate hurdle to clear for prospective buyers. Honestly, the big selling point for us was the sliding doors on the Mazda5. Our 2 car garage is extremely small, making it difficult to get 2 decent sized cars in there along with all of our stuff. The sliders are much easier for us in this tight space. Other have often posted about the Kia's V6, especially for towing. while it is not a factor for me, I can see the draw, as the Mazda5 is not rated for towing at all. Also, the ability to seat 5 and have generous cargo room is missing in the 5. For us, it is not a big deal, but adding any visitor into the 5, along with the baby stroller fills it right up. On a side note, I think the Rondo looks VERY different depending on the trim level and paint color, wheres the 5 looks about the same in all levels/colors. Also, looks are overrated in cars (except maybe the Pontiac Aztec.... I just don't get that one)
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Replying to: mrbwa1 (Feb 07, 2008 2:41 pm)  . Purely commuting with adults, yes, I agree, 7-seater > 6-seater. For babies, it is funny how those small sized troublemakers can need more gear than 2 adults all together  And yes, I agree, I'm also able to load/unload (including baby of course) my Mazda5s inside the garage in a cold Winter morning. The space is tight, so with no sliding doors, I would not have been able to do so.   ">
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Replying to: conwelpic (Dec 06, 2007 5:54 am) Although I really wanted an AWD vehicle my thought was to get the most features within my budget of $500.00 / mo all in... including warranty beyond my payments term. Features I was used to not going to do without were leather, nav, stereo and sunroof... and enough room to sleep in the back (no its not intended to be my home lol) This took Honda and Toyota out of the picture unless I wanted a smaller Fit size vehicle... I have owned the 92 Accord EX Wagon (My fav vehicle so far .. I sold it still in great running condition with 498,600 Kms ) and 95 - 4Runner that had everything but leather which convinced me I wanted leather Tuscon just didn't so anything for me .. not sure why, it just didn't... Jeep kind of scares me as it is a domestic vehicle... living in Windsor for 20 years taught me that some of us just dont care enough about making a good vehicle every day we go to work ... BTW Never buy one made on a Friday or Monday of a long weekend was the word of caution from workers ... NOT kidding .. but calm down patriots, I just traded in my Eddie Bauer Explorer. The Rondo was my first test drive on the first day of my Ï want to buy a new vehicle excursion... It had it all .. includiung the warranty ... ok so the sunroof was more for the back seat .. so what , I took it out and I really loved the way it handles (even on hwy) and loved everything about it .. untill i noticed I was starting to feel uncomfortable .. my arms had no place to rest ... I am used to that centre console and side arm rest... I started thinking of what I liked in the Explorer so I turned on the stereo .. and it was poor .. not even fair .. I would consider it poor ... when back at the dealership .. I asked about arm rests and stereo upgrade and told no to armrests and that was the upgraded stereo ... Next door was the Subaru dealership ..Legacy was my dream vehicle ... I absolutely LOVED that vehicle ... but to get most of the top features on my list it had to be the GT model or after market products (sunroof and nav) which again scares me ... hmmm do I scare too easy ... perhaps lol) So I went to see about the Mazda .. and I too only seen them on the road ... I loved the sliding doors ... rode pretty darn good... lots of room ... and wow I can get it fully loaded within my budget ... 6 year financing and 7 year warranty ... I bought the black one out of the showroom with 8km on it ... Never did get into the Outlander .. ohh well |
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Replying to: conwelpic (Feb 07, 2008 8:15 am) I always enjoy your posts, mrbwa1. Sometimes, people try to be balanced but you can often sense that they're holding back what they really think. I don't sense that in you. Coolmazda5, for my own situation, I've utilized all seven seats in my Rondo on the rare occasion with a mix of adults, kids and up to two child seats with an umbrella stroller behind the third row (a larger stroller will not fit). With six occupants, a larger stroller can fit by folding down one of the third-row seats. I've had no problems seating two adults and a child seat (maybe not your child seat) in the second row. It's a given that sliding doors would make loading even easier, but I've had no major difficulties loading the vehicle with adults, kids or child seats in my rather thin two-car garage. becp, welcome to the forum. The Rondo does have armrests up front, one on each of the doors and a shared armrest (more like an elbow rest, really) on the center console. I'm sure you must have noticed them, but perhaps your height is a factor? I'm over six feet tall and my arms rest quite comfortably on the armrests. I have no real opinion about the stereo because I'm one of those rare individuals who mostly drive with the sound system turned off.
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Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 07, 2008 4:43 pm)
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Replying to: medicineman (Feb 07, 2008 11:44 pm)
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Replying to: bobw3 (Feb 08, 2008 9:15 am) http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_stroller_001.jpg- - - /photo/v./photo.jpg http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_stroller_003.jpg- - - /photo/v./photo.jpg And I have added the ones with the car seat. Captain chairs just make it work well, the baby seats are extremely wide  
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Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 07, 2008 4:43 pm) I'll also second the amazing amount of space that baby "stuff" takes up in a car! Another nice thing about the 5 is the shallow tray in the back. I just checked and ours is filled with extra wipes, diapers, etc. All and all, I think the 5 has some very kid-friendly features that helped sway opur decision. BUT, if I were putting in a bunch of adults, or perhaps needing to tow, than the Rondo has some advantages there. |
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becp - congratulations on the purchase of the '08 Mazda 5, I'm sure you will enjoy it very much. However I was extremely surpised regarding your comment "my arms had no place to rest ... I am used to that centre console and side arm rest... I started thinking of what I liked in the Explorer so I turned on the stereo .. and it was poor .. not even fair .. I would consider it poor ... when back at the dealership .. I asked about arm rests and stereo upgrade and told no to armrests and that was the upgraded stereo ... " this is totally opposite to my findings, the combination of the door rest and the centre console armrest makes it very confortable and just at the right height and I also find that if you are using the transmission manually, that resting your arm on the console armrest to shift is the ideal height - couldn't be more perfect set up. I have the seat all the way back and I'm 5'-11". Regarding the stereo - I find it outstanding and listening to my CD's through the six speakers, I couldn't ask for a better sound. It's so easy to operature, maybe it wasn't set up right? Very puzzling comments, almost like you are not driving the same vehicle I own. some pictures carrying a large item in the back of my Rondo  possible storage capacity in the 5-seater model 
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