Comments on: 2008 Kia Rondo First Steer

By: Charles L

Charles L — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:21:47 +0000

Well, now it has been two years of Rondo driving. And what a contrast the second year has been. First year was pretty good, great reliability and pleasant driving. This second year has almost been a nightmare though. The suspension obviously severely deteriorated – not a big surprise as I had the same issues with a Daewoo in its second year – but I drove it much further. The Rondo became a wallowing noisy marshmellow over anything but the smoothest roads. Worse though, I had two engine bearing failures and an air-conditioning failure (compressor was replaced), If not under warranty it would have cost me a couple thousand in repairs…I think $3500 – 4000 would be an accurate guess. And the downtime….plus driving around while it sounded like a dying pig since the dealer was waiting for parts….No thanks, my enthusiasm has waned and I gladly just gave it back to the lease company. Am leasing a Jeep Patriot now so I’ll see how it goes….I now give the Rondo 5/10….

By: Blokie

Blokie — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:50:35 +0000

brilliant little car this Rondo

there should be more like it out there

By: Charles L

Charles L — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:41:41 +0000

Time has moved on and I’ve had a Rondo for a year on lease. Honest opinion, probably the second best car I’ve ever had. First was a Magna wagon. But this Rondo has been superb. No mechanical faults, no bits have come loose or fallen off. 25,000k’s now. Many of them in the country on pretty ordinary roads. My gripes: works a bit hard to cruise at 110km/hr with the AC on. AM radio is almost useless – range is very restricted. FM us better – but still worse range than anything I’ve driven in the last 20 years. Really needs a 5-speed auto with a diesel….and a better audio unit. Third row just for kids…small kids…
My kudos….no reliablility problems at all. Front seats very comfortable…and rear passengers (2nd row) have been very positive. Lots of room. USB plug-in for thumb drives very handy. Been using an 8Gb drive for my trips and it plays a few dozen albums very happily. AC strong enough for the hottest days in the bush. Petrol consumption has been consistently 11 -11.5km/litre in mixed driving….low twelves on country cruises….Cargo capacity is outstanding. Best I’ve seen for the price…Nice warranty….dealership has been great for service (at least the one I’ve done so far)…Give this car 7/10…easy. If it had the diesel and 5 or 6 speed auto…9/10.

By: kate

kate — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:54:23 +0000

My Kia disaster story
• 2005 kia carnival brought may 2006 with 11 000km on the clock
• 94000 kms just stopped whilst driving it no warning, no noises nothing.
• Cam shaft seized
• Timing belt thrown
• One head damaged by the above
• Opposite side bottom end pistons burnt and overheated
• Little or no oil and water to one side of engine due to carbonization blockages caused by poor quality rings
• Mechanic advised not worth repairing engine is a write off
• Unable to purchase new motor, have to purchase second hand motor and rebuild $8000 plus!
• Financially unviable to repair.
• Was worth $12 000 to $16 000 now worth NIL
• Left owing money and no car
The car dealer we brought it from said too bad out of warranty end of story!
Kia said if it had done under 90 000 kms they may have covered parts only.
just got offered $1.00 for it! do I hear $1.50?

By: Charles L

Charles L — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:41:56 +0000

I’ve just ordered one of these….and looking forward to delivery. I spend a lot of time in south-east asia and certainly in the Philippines the Rondo has considerable numbers of fans. My last Korean was a Daewoo Nubira which did a 100k km all over the goldfields of WA without letting me down once. Absolute gem. Prior to that was a Hyundai Pony (Excel) wagon in Saudi Arabia for four years that was flawless except for a radiator leak that was likely a puncture from a truck.

I’ll be back after a couple months about Rondo ownership….so far happy with Korean products…

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:42:28 +0000

Michael, we don’t have a V6 option for the Rondo7 in Australia. To get the 2.7L V6 you’d have to jump up to the Carnival. 18 MPG is a very reasonable around the city for a V6. I wish Kia Australia would introduce either the V6 with the 5 speed automatic or the 2L turbo diesel into the Rondo instead of the 2L petrol 4 speed auto rubbish they have at the moment.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:09:58 +0000

I’ve owned 6 different Kia’s since 2003. Last month I traded in a 2006 Optima EX and 2005 Sedona EX for a 2007 Sportage V6 LX and a 2008 Rondo V6 LX. I’ve also owned a 2004 Rio. We owned a 2003 Rio for a week but returned it for the 2004 Rio as my wife couldn’t drive a manual. We just love the Sportage, it is very nice. Except the lack of keyless entry in the base model (resolved in 2008) The Rondo is a nice car, it seats my family of 6 but the reduced size over the Sedona is very noticeable. There is basically no luggage room when you put 6 people in it. You won’t find any adults willing to sit in the third row. The 13mpg city with the Sedona was just too expensive to justify. We are seeing 18-20 mpg city with the new pair. I think once we buy a roof luggage case the Rondo will be more usable.

There are lots of Kia’s where I live in Washington State, USA and I never see any broken down on the highways. The biggest fault they have is the high depreciation when you drive it off the lot. As much as 30-40%.

As others have posted, Kia is priced far less than comparable models by other makers. Try to find a crossover 7 seater, V6 for less than $18,000 (US) with included options like ABS, ESC, Traction Control, AC, Full Power, roof rack, 6 airbags.

By: CK

CK — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:37:54 +0000

Hi Guys,

I had a KIA Mentor before and it was value for money,most importantly it saved my wife\’s life in a head on collisiion.

By: Ken

Ken — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:36:57 +0000

All very interesting comments. I stepped out on a limb in 2002 and moved from Holden to Hyindai (Tiburon V6 Auto). I LOVE IT!!! Hyundai have proven to be everything I thought they were not – reliable, efficient, comfortable. Now, I am looking at the Kia Rondo – i am having the same feelings as I did before buying Hyundai… Korean, cheap, is it crap? Will it hold up etc. I should, and probably will, trust my gut on the Kia and buy the Rondo and hope that Kia goes the same way as Hyundai – up up up!!! The features, safety, efficiency and warranty of KIA for the price should be a HUGE factor for anyone to consider in this day and age of soaring fuel prices and environmental concerns. Forget the ego trip of having a Eurpopean car or Australian built tank and buy consciously!

By: Ken D

Ken D — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:58:42 +0000

To all those KIA haters (AC COBRA etc) I have one thing to say, get off your backside and go to a dealer. I have owned many KIA’s over the years and not one of them gave me any problems.
You comment on RIO’s having problems. I owned a 2002 RIO 5 door and in the 4 years I owned it (From new), it never once saw the dealer unless it was for a routine service. In fact, everything was still factory including the clutch, battery, bulbs etc. I travelled over 60,000kms in that time and never regretted buying it for $14,990 drive away.
I currently own a 2006 Cerato hatch and also a 2006 Magentis 2.4 EXL. These cars already have just over 30,000 kms on the clock and they are also trouble free. The 2.4 Theta engine in the Magentis is a nice engine.
A mate of mine owns 2 KIA Optimas (2004 and 2005) and both have already travelled over 70,000kms without a worry in the world. He too never considered KIA as he owned a 1996 Camry and a 1995 Commodore. After both cars had found there use by date, I convinced him to visit a KIA dealer and he purchased his first Optima on the spot. It didn’t take him long to sell the Camry and purchase his second Optima either.
If the Rodo was around when I purchased my Cerato, I would probably have bought it. Seems the extra space is good and the economy etc wouldn’t be much different. Shame about the no diesel option though.
KIA have made vast improvements over the years and there current line up is good. I just hope KIA bring in the KOUP with the 2.0 litre turbo engine.