859 messages,
Last post on Aug 22, 2010 at 8:13 PM
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Kia Rondo Forum.
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Mazda MAZDA5, Kia Rondo, Car Comparisons, Car Buying, Wagon
#836 of 859 I-Start
by bobw3
Feb 24, 2010 (11:48 am)
I wonder if the I-Start technology replaces the starter for cold-starts??
#837 of 859 After a year w/our '08 Rondo LX V-6 we're happy w/it.
by smoothsailin
Feb 24, 2010 (1:16 pm)
We have put about 10.5k miles on our Rondo and so far have not had a single problem w/it. Fuel economy has been a bit disappointing, but whenever my wife will be the primary driver I've come to expect subpar results from any vehicle. Part of the problem is that we only live about three miles from where she works. As a result she tends to to make a lot of short trips and especially in winter I've come to realize that short trips can murder any vehicle's average fuel economy results.
Note that for the first 2k miles I was the primary driver of our Rondo so that I could be sure it was driven carefully during the break-in period. While I was doing most of the driving most of the initial tank averages fell in the 24-to-29 mpg. However, since my wife took over as primary driver it's been fairly rare for her to top 20 mpg/per tank except when she's driven the car to visit family members living 60-80 miles from our home.
Except for (my wife's) fuel economy results we've both been very happy with our first Kia. The Rondo appears to be a well-built, reasonably comfortable, fairly quiet, suprisingly roomy, reliable and versatile vehicle (ours is equipped w/the third-row seat).
I'll mention that I also own a '05 Mazda 3i which has also been totally problem-free as the car's 5-year anniversary approaches with just over 71k miles on the odometer. With conservative driving so far I've averaged 38.8 mpg with my 3i (2.0L w/5-speed manual) with most of the miles accumulated while commuting between home and my office
~55 miles/day. Note that this average is based on all miles driven and gallons purchased since I brought the car home from the dealership on 3/1/05.
While I admittedly like the looks of the Mazda 5 somewhat better than that of our Rondo, I have no regrets over our decision to purchase our Rondo vs. a Mazda 5 due to the better deal we were able to negotiate. We ended up paying 15.1k for our '08 LX V-6 before taxes and fees. MSRP per the window sticker including options for our LX V6 was ~ $22k.
#838 of 859 Re: I-Start [bobw3]
by 9394
Feb 24, 2010 (9:17 pm)
i don't think I-Start will work very well on a cold engine, in freezing winter.
.
#840 of 859 Where are the '10 Rondos?
by irritatrix
Apr 14, 2010 (10:50 am)
Did KIA even produce a 2010 Rondo? My local dealers all have only '09s. I have a Sedona minivan which is just too large for my current needs, so I've been looking at the M5 and the Rondo. I've been extremely pleased with the Sedona and would buy a new KIA again without hesitation, though I'm not nuts about the front end appearance of the Rondo - it looks like a Pixar car.
<---- or like that icon. I find it funny that CR gave the Mazda5 the most points for large wagons, and yet the reliability rating they gave it is just average - and is worse than the Rondo's.
Apr 14, 2010 (3:18 pm)
Kia doesn't make a 2010 Rondo. They stopped and several have pointed to the 2011 Kia Sorento as a likely replacement for it.
#842 of 859 Re: Where are the '10 Rondos? [irritatrix]
by coolmazda5
Apr 14, 2010 (8:33 pm)
Yup, if you live in the US it seems that the '10 Rondo model never made it. Only Canadians got it for North America.
Brand new '09 Rondos are still for sale I believe, run while they last
#843 of 859 sorento vs Mazda 5 Cost
by bobw3
Apr 15, 2010 (8:50 am)
The Sorento can cost between $22-29K depending on options. That seems too high compared to a Mazda 5.
#844 of 859 Re: sorento vs Mazda 5 Cost [bobw3]
by coolmazda5
Apr 15, 2010 (9:53 am)
Apart from the cost, the Sorento is an SUV, completely different type of car IMO (I never looked at the Mazda CX-7 nor the Mazda CX-9 when comparing with the Mazda5 as an example)...
#845 of 859 Re: sorento vs Mazda 5 Cost [bobw3]
by conwelpic
Apr 15, 2010 (3:02 pm)
can't see the comparison between the Sorento and a Mazda 5 (or even a Rondo), they are totally different vehicles, if you were comparing Mazda products to the Sorento, like coolmazda said you would compare the CX-7 and 9 and I would also add the Tribute.