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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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Replying to: kubas (Jun 04, 2008 1:08 pm) |
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Replying to: garnermike (Jun 07, 2008 4:52 am)
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May 2008 sales: USA: Rondo - 1566 Mazda 5 - 2076 (this is the first time in the US that the Mazda 5 has passed the Rondo in sales since April 2007) Canada: Rondo - 1001 Mazda 5 - 1509 (in Canada the Mazda 5 has always outsold the Rondo) For comparison the US population is 9.5 times larger than Canada 2008 Rondo EX PEC, Ontario, Canada
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Replying to: conwelpic (Jun 08, 2008 2:41 pm) 
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Replying to: kubas (Jun 07, 2008 7:19 pm) My I-4 Rondo mpg in pure city driving is 20 and my pure hwy mpg is 30. I average 25 mpg. Can I ask what you paid for your Mazda5?
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Replying to: garnermike (Jun 09, 2008 8:15 am) I paid 22500$ for my M5 but the dealer also paid 1000$ more than KBB excellent value for my Sonata.
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Replying to: kubas (Jun 09, 2008 9:33 am) I got a 7-seater LX I-4 Rondo with all the options I wanted. As I noted, I'm happy with the overall mpg. I paid $9,700 plus my trade--a 2001 Canry with 80,000 miles. Dealer gave me $800 over KBB at the time, i.e. $7000, for it. Total cost for the Rondo was $16,700. |
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They are even born in them  http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=222b561d-9bb3-463b-8b35- -6317f0f87ddc |
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The Rondo is NO match for the 5! There's just no comparison. I have been holding off writing in this section of the forum until I spent enough time in a Rondo to fairly compare it to my 5. But, I can safely say that you definitely get what you pay for with the Kia, and that it just can't hold a candle to the 5. It has its merits, to be honest, but, all in all, I really disliked the Rondo. We just recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico where we rented a Rondo. I, willfully, picked it since I wanted to compare it to my 5 and since I wanted a car with an Auxiliary port for our iPods. First disappointment: The LX didn't have an Aux port! We had to contend with a few CD's we had for the trip. Second disappointment: none of us found the seats truly comfortable and their material seemed cheap. Third immediately apparent disappointment: the steering. It was HORRIBLE! It felt like a rubber band. And, I had to contend with many "broken K" turns that my 5 wouldn't handled as proper "U Turns" since the Rondo's turning circle was significantly larger than that of the 5's. Some positives: the AC worked well! The engine has good pick up - felt powerful. And the build quality of the interior was good, too! See? I can be objective. I also liked the various nooks and compartments in the front and in the rear-most sections where one can hold stuff. Also, I like the styling of the REAR of the car, only. The rest is WAY too dorky - an opinion shared by all seven of us who went on the trip. Another positive was the fact that all seven of us could fit in the Rondo. We wanted to travel together and that helped out. BUT, we were regretful of that decision. The suspension, which at first seemed just ALRIGHT (actually, TOO soft, yet contradictory, since it would still let in harsh impacts way too...well, harshly) completely bottomed out and practically fell apart when we were all in. It's definitely NOT meant to carry seven passengers! The ones riding in the back were very uncomfortable and their butts literally HURT when they got out of the car due to all the unfiltered bumps we experienced. To be fair in my assessment, I no longer carried that many people in the car, but even with just four adults riding inside all bumps came through harshly. We were all in agreement in saying that the suspension outright SUCKED, and all agreed that my 5 rode WAY better. Again, the suspension gave the impression that it was soft and provided a comfortable ride, until a bump/pothole presented itself. Then, the truth of the cheapness of it came through loud and clear. NONE of us 7 liked the suspension, much less the car, overall. The handling also left MUCH to be desired. Whereas I revel in turns and curves and roundabouts in my 5 (singing "zoom zoom zoom" in my head all the while), I proceeded with caution in the Rondo. The car's steering, as previously mentioned, felt like a rubberband and just felt CHEAP; the Rondo rolled heavily and just couldn't keep up with any speed through any curve or corner or turn. NO fun driving this thing at ALL! Another disappointment, even though I had the LX 4 cylinder, the fuel economy was disappointing. The 5 definitely gets better gas mileage AND it is SIGNIFICANTLY noticeable! We drove a mix of city and highway and the Rondo, with a full tank of gas, couldn't reach 300 miles of travel, whereas with my 5 that is a regular occurrence. It wasn't even great on highway alone. Another thing we definitely missed: cruise control. The Kia didn't have it. I thought this would have been standard in such a supposedly "well-equipped" car at a low price. Whatever! To sum it up, when five of our friends left back to NY and my wife and I stayed in PR, we disliked the Rondo so much that we ended up going back to the rental agency and going through the hassle of exchanging it for the remainder of our trip. I ended up taking a new Scion XD and was very impressed with the car. We both liked it very much and enjoyed its comfort, its good handling, and its great sound system where we heard our songs from our iPod through its auxiliary port. The 5's looks are so much better than that of the Rondo's, and it looks infinitely cooler and sportier. The 5 drives WAY better, rides WAY nicer, handles a MILLION times better, has a way better tranny and feels WAY more refined than the Rondo. The interior is better, too. The seats, in and of themselves, are more comfortable than the Rondo (my 6'4" friend agreed) including the third row. The 5 gets better fuel economy, has a better sound system and MANY more conveniences are offered over the Rondo. Besides the fact that the Rondo can TECHNICALLY hold 7 people vs. the 6 people the 5 can hold, I can't think of ANY advantage the Rondo has over the 5. Even its cheaper price isn't really an advantage since you get a CHEAPER car that definitely FEELS cheaper, too. Sorry, just had to add my two cents for all those deluded Rondo owners out there who try to convince themselves that their car is better than the 5. 
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Replying to: nissmazlover (Jun 11, 2008 10:35 am) I am a Rondo owner. I am loving it. I note that in several reviews I've seen, Rondo bests the 5, so I know there are those out there who feel the same as I do, and differently than you do. To each his own.
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