Budget Car For Big Families

The Age

Wednesday August 27, 2008

Joshua Dowling

This people-mover is good, but it could easily have been better, writes Joshua Dowling.

IT'S ONE of the unfortunate realities of the automotive world: those who most need a seven-seater are often the people who can least afford one because of all the mouths they have to feed.

So the arrival of the Kia Rondo is big news for big families on a small budget. It's the first mainstream people-mover available new for less than $30,000 since the ill-fated first-generation Kia Carnival.

That model, sold between 1999 and 2005, put a lot of families in a brand new vehicle for less than the cost of a new Holden Commodore. Sadly, it also left thousands of families stranded with blown engines and big repair bills.

About 5500 of the 20,000 Carnivals sold in that time were fixed under warranty and a few hundred had their engines replaced twice.

But the good news is the latest Carnival introduced three years ago - and its just-released smaller sibling tested here, the Rondo - have nothing in common with Kia's first people-mover.

First impressions? It's a good thing and one of the better cars to come out of South Korea. But it could easily have been better.

There are three models, priced from $24,990 to $31,990 plus on-road costs, that undercut their competition by several thousand dollars.

The Rondo is not as big as the most popular people-movers such as the Carnival, Toyota Tarago or Honda Odyssey but it makes good use of its space. Bumper to bumper, the Kia Rondo is about 30cm longer than a Toyota Corolla.

The Rondo's cabin is clearly designed with families in mind, with plenty of large storage pockets in the doors, dash and centre console, as well as eight cup holders. Basic features include remote locking, power windows, CD player and dual front airbags; all seven seats have lap-sash belts and adjustable headrests.

The Rondo has a clever seat layout that is easy to adjust quickly. The middle row has a 60-40 split and can slide forward 25cm to give third-row occupants more room. Folded flat it creates a massive cargo area.

I sat in the back seat (50-50 split) and was surprised by how easy it was to get in and out and how much knee, shoulder and headroom there was for my 178cm frame. There isn't much room for cargo when all rows are used (between 20 and 25cm of space in the back) but when the third row is folded flat the cargo area stretches to a metre.

Over-shoulder vision is good thanks to the wide-view mirrors but small rear windows make parking a little difficult. Rear parking sensors are a dealer-fitted option ($350 plus about $70 in labour) but they should be standard.

There is another unfortunate anomaly on this family car. Curtain airbags, which protect the occupants' heads in side-impact crashes and, on the Rondo, cover all three rows of seats, are not standard on all models. The starting price of $24,990 is designed to attract customer interest but it comes with a five-speed manual (the only manual in the range) and curtain airbags are a $990 option. The base model automatic costs $26,990 but adds curtain airbags and is only $1000 cheaper than the middle-of-the-range model - which has them standard. Argh!

Stability control, which can help prevent a skid in a corner, is standard on all models. However, its effectiveness on the base model is diminished by the poor wet-weather grip of the Kumho Solus tyres.

We were fortunate enough to sample two Kia Rondo models back to back during wet weeks. The larger Dunlop tyres fitted to the middle EX ($28,990) and high-grade EXL ($31,990) Rondo variants felt more secure in corners, were quieter and gripped better. These are the two models we would recommend.

People-movers aren't supposed to handle like race cars but, given their precious cargo, we believe sound road holding is not a luxury.

One other annoyance: space dictated there was only enough room for a space-saver spare tyre. It's mounted under the car behind the rear bumper. Apart from the caution required when driving on a space-saver, there is a problem some buyers may not anticipate: where to put the full-sized flat tyre. With seven people on board, someone is likely to have a dirty tyre on their lap.

The Rondo's engine is noisy when revved. In our testing, the manual was thirstier than the auto, making the latter the pick of the two, for refinement and economy.

Despite the criticisms we were pleasantly surprised by the Rondo. It'sgood, but it could have been much better.

HOW MUCH $24,990-$31,990.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

South Korea.

ENGINE 2.0-litre, four-cylinder.

POWER AND TORQUE

106kW at 6000rpm and 189Nm at 4250rpm.

TRANSMISSIONS Five-speed manual and four-speed automatic.

CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS 8.4L/100km and 201g/km (manual), 8.6L/100km and 206g/km (auto).

SAFETY On the base model, dual front airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control are standard and curtain airbags (which cover all three rows) are a $990option. Onthe middle and high-grade models, curtain airbags are standard. Not yet tested by NCAP.

RESALE VALUE No history as this is a new model but likely to be stronger than for previous Kias.

FOR Price. Seating layout. Lap-sash seatbelts and adjustable headrests on all seven seats. Better than expected quality. Ample storage pockets. Wide-view side mirrors. Five-year warranty. Despite what the

fuel-rating labels say, the auto is more economical than the manual.

AGAINST Curtain airbags and rear parking sensors should be standard on all models. The base model's Kumho Solus tyres have poor

wet-weather grip. A full-sized tyre won't fit in the spacesaver housing. Cruise control not available.

OUR RATING 3/5

© 2008 The Age

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