Topic: 2011 Kia Rondo

[Shnak]

Kia Rondo discontinued in U.S. market with nary a whimper?
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/19/kia-rondo-discontinued-in-u-s-market-with-nary-a-whimper/

Looks like there won't be a 2011 Kia Rondo in the states... If that's in fact the case, I wonder if that's a sign of things to come for us here? 

[dkaz]

The Rondo and 5 both sell about 20,000 a year. About 40% of those sales are in Canada, 60% in the US.

It's hard to justify selling 12,000 of a model in a country with a population of 300,000,000 million, especially one that is priced low and supposed to be mass market, that's a tiny amount of cars compared to 500,000 a year the top performing models sell in the US.

8,000 in a population of 34,000,000 is not as bad, and compared to 60,000 cars a year the top performing models sell in Canada, is not a bad number.

In Vancouver I can often see 10 Mazda 5s a day easy. On a 3 day weekend trip to Seattle, I'd be surprised if I saw even 1.

[Shnak]

Sure, but with Kia pulling the Rondo out of the states, maybe those remaining sales in Canada won't be enough to continue bringing the Rondo to North America, I don't know.

[dkaz]

We'll see where this segment goes when the C-Max and Orlando come in. Perhaps this could be a Canadian exclusive segment since Chevy isn't selling the Orlando in the US either.

[Shnak]

Let's hope so. I'm also hoping that the upcoming C-Max will force Kia into updating the Rondo... lighter and better powertrain please! Oh, and AWD would be nice too. 

[Erik]

Wow, these things must be near enough to invisible, because i don't recall ever seeing one on the road in the big smoke. Lots of Mazda 5's and Kia Souls, but I certainly wouldn't swear in court that I had ever seen one.

[Shnak]

Wow, these things must be near enough to invisible, because i don't recall ever seeing one on the road in the big smoke. Lots of Mazda 5's and Kia Souls, but I certainly wouldn't swear in court that I had ever seen one.

Funny how different markets are different... here in Ottawa/Gatineau, they're everywhere! Especially on the Quebec side, but also very popular in Ottawa.

[Shnak]

I can see the Grand C-Max blowing the Mazda5 and Rondo out of the market. The 5 feels long in the tooth now and the Rondo was never more than an ugly experiment in my eyes. Ford has significantly improved their products of late and I *think* the C-Max will raise the bar. I know, I know. Expectations are just that.

I definitely agree about the upcoming C-Max... I read about it on autoblog a few days ago and it looks very promising. Interior looks much better than the one in the Fiesta. They say it's a tad bigger than the Mazda5 but doesn't feel like it when driving. All very good news. I'll be interested to see engine/transmission, packaging and pricing here in Canada. It's definitely my most anticipated Ford in a long time, and one of very few domestic vehicle I could actually see myself owning.

[Mike]

Wow, these things must be near enough to invisible, because i don't recall ever seeing one on the road in the big smoke. Lots of Mazda 5's and Kia Souls, but I certainly wouldn't swear in court that I had ever seen one.

Funny how different markets are different... here in Ottawa/Gatineau, they're everywhere! Especially on the Quebec side, but also very popular in Ottawa.

Toronto too.  I see a ton of them and Mazda 5's here.  Hell, my parents own a Rondo.  It is funny, they and all thier friends had Astros/Safaris or Caravans/Voyagers back in the day, now they all have Rondos, Sportages, 5s or Tucsons

[dkaz]

The Mazda 5 is 181 inches long, the C-Max is 178 inches long. However the C-Max has a longer wheelbase at 109.8" vs. 108.2" for the Mazda 5.

There's no clear article that states whether or not we'll get a manual transmission in the C-Max here. As much as I want to replace my 2007 Mazda 5 with a 5+2 seater from whoever, no manual transmission = I keep my 2007. It seems likely that the 5 will still come with a manual, I'd so love to upgrade to a GT with Leather Package regardless.

[Shnak]

The Mazda 5 is 181 inches long, the C-Max is 178 inches long. However the C-Max has a longer wheelbase at 109.8" vs. 108.2" for the Mazda 5.

There's no clear article that states whether or not we'll get a manual transmission in the C-Max here. As much as I want to replace my 2007 Mazda 5 with a 5+2 seater from whoever, no manual transmission = I keep my 2007. It seems likely that the 5 will still come with a manual, I'd so love to upgrade to a GT with Leather Package regardless.

Right, now that you mention it, I remember reading that the C-Max was a tad smaller but felt as big as the Mazda5 because of the longer wheelbase.

Regarding seating, I found this paragraph of the autoblog article very interesting:
While we quickly found our sweet spot in the front seats, it's the second- and third-row seating that tends to make or break vehicles like this. To that end, Ford's origami artists engineers have come up with an ingeniously multi-configurable interior that provides for a number of different seating arrangements. The Grand C-Max's Show-and-Tell stunner is its disappearing second-row middle seat. By yanking on a series of red pull straps, it's easy to flop and fold the center seat so that it's swallowed up by the passenger-side bottom cushion. It's an ingenious trick that gives more space to the remaining mid-row occupants while allowing for easy walk-through access to the occasional-use third row.

This effectively makes the C-Max a 7, 6, 5 or 4 seater... Take that, Mazda5! 

[Ice]

If I needed a family vehicle... I'd totally get this. Maybe in a five years time... who knows! I hope this segment takes off! I like the idea of a car platform micro van that handles well but has storage and utility to get four people around comfortably or a quick jaunt with 5 or 6. Brilliant.