Well, I finally got my Rondo EX Premium 7-seater today through a Vancouver auto broker. I ordered it about a month ago and the broker said that it might take 6-8 weeks, so I got it a little earlier than expected.
The broker has an office in a dealership that sells used upscale cars (he isn't affiliated with the dealership--they just share the space). When I entered the building, I immediately felt intimidated because the showroom looked like a funky New York City design studio and everyone there dressed better than I did and looked better than I did.
I was surrounded by hot looking cars that I couldn't possibly afford and right in the corner sat my spankin' new Rondo. (BTW, don't ask me to name those cars, because I'm definitely not a car enthusiast, if that weren't obvious already.)
Call me crazy, I thought the Rondo looked as good as anything there. In the last few weeks, I had lowered my expectations about the Rondo's exterior beauty after looking at pictures of the Rondo at different websites. The pictures don't do it justice. With my expectations so low, I suppose I was bound to be pleasantly surprised. The chrome accents really stood out and I loved the colour that I had chosen, urban grey. The interior, however, looked cheaper than I had remembered--but that's probably due to my screwed-up expectations again.
Now that I've had the Rondo for a few hours, here are some of my impressions.
I can't remember what I've said previously about the third row seating, but it's definitely not for tall people. I'm 6'1" and there's not enough headroom or legroom back there for me. I can't do anything about the lack of headroom, but I can make enough legroom for myself by moving up the 2nd row seats--but that sacrifices too much 2nd row legroom. When all seats are in use, I think there's going to be a battle between the people in the 2nd and 3rd rows as they attempt to divvy up the legroom space.
Gottarondo, I also don't understand why car manufacturers are making it harder for drivers to see out the back of vehicles. I guess having tiny windows in the rear of the vehicle is what's "in" these days. Thumbs up to the Rondo and its ample glass area.
Like you, I'm not a fan of tinting, either. I'm glad that the windows didn't come tinted from the factory. Personally, I think it's dangerous to drive around with tinted windows during the night, especially in Vancouver during those rainy nights when you can barely see the lines on the road.
I had two security concerns about the Rondo. One, there's no privacy cargo cover for the 7-seater. Two, the car has an alarm, but it doesn't have one of those blinking alarm lights on the dash. I could just imagine this happening: some junkie comes along, looks into the back of the car, likes what he sees, notices no alarm light so he breaks a window. He'll probably run off once the alarm is activated, but I would still have a broken window.
The best solution I could come up with is to buy a tarp that matches the interior colour and use it to cover whatever is in the cargo area. I also bought two "protected by alarm" stickers to put on the front doors' windows and a fake blinking alarm light to put on the dash. Okay, am I just being paranoid? I could be, but this is Vancouver, after all. Every Vancouverite knows of at least one person who has had his car broken into.
Gottarondo, I noticed that you mentioned in another forum about the lack of advertising for the Rondo. You're not a hockey fan, are you?
That Rondo commercial with the clapping people has been showing seemingly nonstop during games on CBC and TSN for the last few months. The CBC also pushes ads when they show the game's statistics, so you'll often hear, "Here is the Kia Rondo Game File." I'm sure most hockey fans are getting tired of it.
So if you ever see a dark grey (almost black, really) Rondo driving around Vancouver, that just might be me.
