I’m not a huge fan of driving the Pacific Highway from Sydney to the Gold Coast too many people have paid the ultimate price for the New South Wales State Government’s failure to provide a safe motorway for the thousands of folks who each year head north to the Gold Coast for their annual break.

Flying is the better option, given you can spend two extra days on the beach, and with cheap airfares, which have historically cost us less than $800 return for all four of us, it’s the way to go, isn’t it?
But things took a turn for the worse in November last year, when I logged on to the Flight Centre website for what I thought would be another good deal, only to received a rude shock.

The best fare I could come up with was going to relieve us of a whopping $1400, so it took all of a few seconds, before we decided to call up the Kia Rondo7, and run the gauntlet.

Not such a bad idea really, with the rock bottom fuel prices around at the moment, we stood to save a packet and frankly, we were all looking forward to this little road trip, complete with junk food stops and kids in the back arguing.

This is the problem when your parents decide to pack up and leave Sydney for the Gold Coast, as they did some 24 years ago. Your annual holidays are always to the same place, but who’s complaining.

In the hills above Tweed Heads, there lies a little jewel of a place called Terranora that is barely holding on to its semi rural status, as each block is a minimum of 750 square metres.

My folks picked up about one hectare in this paradise, all those years ago, for a price that would make you cry with envy. At least, that’s how I feel, whenever we have to leave the place and jump back into the Sydney rat race.

That said, the Rondo7 was packed to the rafters complete with a good supply of lemon sherbet lollies and freshly made bread rolls, in readiness for an early morning start, or so we thought.

Our six year-old is already standing up on her pink Softie surfboard and loving it, so I was determined to take it with us so she could continue practising. With a stack of presents and bags consuming the third row seat area, the board would need to go on the roof, so we needed to hit a surf shop and buy some straps.

There are quite a few SUVs and several station-wagons that come with roof rails, making it easier to fit racks, but very few count sliding roof racks as standard kit, as does the Rondo7. Racks as good as these, would cost you several hundred dollars, if purchased after-market.

Within minutes of acquiring some easy to use FCS brand board straps for less than $20, the Softie was firmly secured, and we were on our way.

With a fuel tank filled to the brim, we were keen to see just how many kilometres we could get out of a fully loaded Rondo7.

We planned to drive this trip following the ‘Stop, Revive, Survive’ maxim, so it was agreed that we would stop for five minutes every two hours, for a stretch and driver change.

My wife claimed the first stint behind the wheel, which suited me down to the ground, as I could kick back and wade through 700 tracks on my iPod, while the kids watched a movie.

While I’m certainly grateful for an auxiliary input, Kia might like to think about full iPod connectivity in any upcoming facelift, or new generation model. It just makes it so much easier to navigate through the audio system controls, rather than having to pick up the iPod every time you want to change a track.

It’s a decent old drive to the ‘Goldy’, some 836 kilometres, which would take us near enough to 11 hours. The ever-changing speed limits, all but ruling out the sustained use of cruise control, which incidentally, is not available on the Rondo7 at this point.

My wife is a stickler for speed limits and worse still, she has trained the kids to watch the speedometer, whenever I’m behind the wheel, and report any violations.

As the only male in a family of four, this is what I have to contend with on a regular basis. The fact that we at CarAdvice have driven some of the word’s fastest cars, at speeds up to 300km/h, counts for nothing with this lot.

After almost two and half months with the Rondo7, I maintain that it’s always fun to drive, despite lacking some low down torque, We’ve learned to live with that, but a diesel option would solve the problem entirely, as long as it’s a quiet diesel.

The ergonomics in this vehicle have been well thought out too, with switchgear and controls in easy reach of the driver, as well as being uncomplicated.

That’s important on a trip of this distance, when you are constantly changing music and temperature controls.

Bottle holders in the door pockets of the Rondo are also large and very useful.

If the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway were extended all the way to Brisbane, then there would be no complaints, but the fact is, once the motorway ends at Newcastle, you face hundreds of kilometres of undivided two lane roads with 80km/h speed limits, countless bottlenecks, and more police than at a police academy graduation day.

To the state’s defence, there does appear to be ongoing road works along much of the route, which if they ever finish, will no doubt make this high traffic route, both quicker and a lot safer.

The Rondo7 performs well enough in freeway mode, despite its under-gunned four-speed automatic box. It’s only when you want to overtake slower moving traffic at 100km/h, or negotiate undulating terrain at these speeds, do you ever need to bury the throttle, and hold it there!

That said, a five or better still, a six-speed gearbox, mated to this not so powerful 2.0-litre engine, would offer better driveability than the four-speed, and even better fuel economy. It would also be more cost effective, than the diesel option.

Its not that this powertrain is outdated, on the contrary, it’s an in-line four-cylinder, DOHC, 16-valve, CVVT that’s just not tuned to produce a lot of power or torque.

I also spent some time in the second row seats, and can report plenty of legroom and a comfortable ride although, I felt they could have been mounted slightly higher, as at times, I struggled to maintain a view through the windscreen, but then again, I’m not so tall.

Just south of Coffs Harbour, we decided to opt out of the Pacific Highway and take the back way through some quaint little country towns including Coramba (rumoured to be the location of Russell Crowe’s farm), Nana Glen, Glenreagh (the bakery is rubbish so stop and have pies and cakes at Coramba) and the beautiful town of Bangalow, where there are some excellent cafes.

It’s a lovely drive with little or no traffic, and surprisingly, it won’t cost you any less time than using the Pacific Highway.

However, when I was speaking with legendary ex-race car driver Kevin Bartlett about the state of the Pacific Highway and the time it took us to get to Tweed Heads, he scalded me for not taking another route, which he says, takes him no more than nine hours from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast. I’ll get proper directions from him and come back to you on that one, as it seems too good to be true.

Fortunately, we only had to endure one McDonalds hit on the way up, in what looked like a boutique version of the fast food chain. I try desperately to avoid this kind of food, but its hard to hold out, when you’re surrounded by burgers, nuggets and fries and that intoxicating aroma, which is always more intense when you’re hungry.

Given the mix of freeway, stop-start bottlenecks, and more than a few driver changes, we managed to clock up just over 500kms on one 55-litre tank of fuel, which I thought was an excellent result, considering four people and a ‘tonne’ of luggage.

There’s a great local Chinese restaurant with superb food and reasonable prices, up near Bond University, called the Asian Court, and that’s where we were heading for dinner soon after arriving and unloading the car.

Here’s where the benefits of the seven-seat Rondo really come into play. All six of us piled into the car, with considerable ease, and headed off for what was a great meal. The fact that we could all chat together in the one car, coupled with the fuel savings and convenience, is a huge plus.

There’s still the issue of no air-conditioning vents for passengers in the third row seats (a common complaint from the kids) especially in summer temperatures.

It was the same story each morning, as the clan headed down to Rainbow Bay near Coolangatta, where I dropped the family off, while I hit the waves at Point Danger.

It didn’t matter that there were another five cars in various garages on the property, including an Audi A8 and a blisteringly quick race car; the Rondo was compulsory transport, given our party of six, and associated gear.

It truly was a real world test of the versatility of this vehicle, when at least three times a day, for the best part of two weeks, six people (two over 70 years-old) would climb in and out of this deceptively spacious vehicle, with consummate ease.

The second row seats simply slide forward using the same rail mechanism as employed on the front seats, allowing for instantly variable legroom, depending on the height of those in the third row.

Gaining access to the third row is even easier. You just need to raise the lever on the side of the seat, and the whole thing slides forward under a gentle push. It’s the benchmark in manual seat versatility and simplicity.

Let’s not forget the car-like qualities of the Rondo7. While the ride height is around seven-centimetres higher than a standard sedan, once behind the wheel, it never feels as though you’re hauling a seven-seat vehicle around, such is the handling dynamics of this people mover.

If you don’t mind a manual shift, then you can pick up your Rondo7 for the crazy price of just $24,990, but if an automatic makes more sense along with a few more creature comforts, but without the leather and sunroof, then go for the EX variant, for $28,990 (my pick).

I took a close look at a December 2008 pricing guide, and if you want a seven-seat vehicle with similar driveability and features to the Rondo, you would need to spend many thousands more, and even then, I would put my money on the Kia, given the overall price/feature package coupled with its five-year warranty.

• Chrysler Grand Voyager: $56,990
• Citroen C4 Grand Picasso: $39,990
• Dodge Journey: $36,990
• Honda Odyssey: $39,290
• Kia Carnival: $33,390
• Mitsubishi Grandis: $40,590
• Renault Grand Scenic: $40,490
• Ssangyong Stavic: $32,990
• Toyota Avensis: $37,990
• Toyota Tarago: $50,000

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

- Anthony Crawford

You can’t haul a computer desk around in an Aston Martin 4.7-litre Vantage Coupe or heaven forbid, the Roadster.

CarAdvice has been shooting a Full Throttle video on these two Aston Martins during the past week and as much as I enjoyed steering the Vantage box set, I can honestly say that it has not dulled my admiration for the super versatile and super cheap, Kia Rondo7

I have been trying to off-load a mint condition computer desk (which was off-loaded to me some time ago) for months now and only today found a home for it. Problem was, they needed me to deliver it.

Too easy, I told them, I’ve got a Kia Rondo7, which can transform into a bona-fide station wagon, by folding two rows of seats dead flat.

Suffice to say, the computer desk was an easy fit and delivery was completed without complication and in perfect order, this afternoon.

That’s the thing with the Rondo7 it’s not bad to look at. In fact, I’ve never had a negative comment about the styling of this affordable seven-seat people mover, especially if you go with the EX or EX-L, as we are driving.

Add to that, it’s unique ability to double as an airport shuttle or school bus, at a price near enough to one third that of the Chrysler Grand Voyager, and you have the perfect all-rounder for the budget conscious family.

Oh, I also discovered a new loose change holder today, hiding at the front of the centre console, not that this vehicle needed any more cubby-holes, but then again, I’m certain our six-year-old will find a use for it.

I can also testify that the Rondo7 has the quickest acting “fast glass’ electric windows in the business, that’s on all four windows.

The car is packed and ready for an early morning start tomorrow, as we journey north, from Sydney to the Gold Coast, for our annual summer getaway, complete with surfboard and umpteen bags of presents.

Stay tuned for an unabridged report on our trip during the first week of January.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from the Crawford crew’s Kia Rondo7.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

- Anthony Crawford

By my reckoning, I count 115 Kia dealers around this vast country of ours, give or take a few.  By comparison, there are more than 200 Toyota dealers in Australia, but I doubt that’s worrying Kia Motors Australia.

If the level of interest we experience each week, while driving the Rondo7 is any gauge, then it’s Toyota who might be worried.

You have to remember, Kia is wholly owned by Hyundai, who many in the industry see as as the new volume competitor to Toyota.

My parents, who own a couple of quality used cars, are absolutely sold on this seven-seat people mover and fully expect to be driving one within six months or sooner, should Kia choose to drop a diesel engine under the bonnet.

They’re sold on a whole range of things, such as the additional ride height and the ease of entry/exit that comes with that feature. Then there’s the simple switchgear layout and ease of managing both the HVAC and audio functions either from the console or steering wheel mounted controls on the EX and EX-L variants.

They haven’t yet ridden in the third-row seating and may never do so, but the fact that they can carry two other couples to a restaurant or a movie, without the need to take two cars, is reason enough for them to opt for this style of vehicle over the traditional sedan.

While there’s no question in my mind that the Rondo7 could benefit from a little more grunt by way of a more powerful petrol engine or better still via diesel power, with several more weeks behind the wheel, that aspect has become less of a priority.

 Next Page…

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

-Anthony Crawford

We’ve been driving Kia’s Rondo7 ‘Urban Recreational Vehicle’ for just shy of four weeks and like our much loved toy poodle, it’s already part of the family.

It’s also been on its inaugural trip away from Sydney to a small country property, just south of Kangaroo Valley in the Southern Highlands with my wife at the helm, along with youngest daughter and mother-in-law (plus pet dog) in tow.

It’s a pleasant and picturesque drive through Mittagong and a mandatory stop in Bowral, due to the persistence of the six-year-old, for a visit to ‘The Blue Brown Bag’ confectionary shop for bags of English lollies at three times the price of the local variety.

On to Kangaroo Valley, a quaint little village that seems only to come alive on weekends and school holidays, the rest of the time I find it rather boring although, the old pub does serve some decent country fare.

From the town centre, the property is a quick 15 minute drive at 110km/h with local wildlife more a hazard than out of town visitors from India, who seem to be confused as to what side of the road they should be driving on!

From the tarmac – it’s another three kilometres down a fairly average dirt road (call it a track) to the front gate, and on up to the house.

Even in the wet, the fully loaded Rondo handles the steep dips, as easy as any of the more popular soft-roaders. Front-wheel-drive helps to maintain grip, and its higher than average ride height, avoids any contact with some of the larger rocks on the track.

For older folks such as my 70-year old mother-in-law or anyone with troublesome knees or hips, the Rondo is a breath of fresh air for both entry and exit, a benefit of that extra ride height.

While this diminutive looking people mover will carry seven people in relative comfort, with stadium style seating in all three rows, don’t think for one minute that Kia has provided anything but car like handling with this chassis. It’s certainly more capable than I would have expected in this class of vehicle.

Turn into any corner, and there is little, if any, bodyroll. In fact, the Rondo corners more like a well-engineered hatch than a seven-seat people mover in this price range has any right to. You really can throw this thing around without any nasty side effects.

Whilst we still contend that the 2.0-litre engine could only ever be categorised as ‘sufficient’ for urban duties in hilly cities such as Sydney, out on the freeway, it’s a much better story.

Even with its four-speed auto, highway cruising at 110km/h is a breeze and an altogether quiet affair. Top speed for this EX-Limited variant is listed as 181km/h and while that may well be achievable, overtaking is certainly a safe practice in the Rondo7.

With over 200-kilometres of highway driving included in this trip, we also saw a substantial improvement in the car’s fuel economy, with a recorded 7.92L/100km.

The only gripe we seem to have with the Rondo7 is the heat generated inside the cabin on a warm day, seems to be excessive through the windscreen although, the air-conditioning system copes well enough if the fan speed is dialed up. It could be that the additional height of the car and the entry point of the sun is part of the issue, or the tint is perhaps too light.

Stay tuned for the Sydney to Gold Coast drive in December.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

Long Term Evaluation Vehicle – KIA Rondo7 Limited

Model Tested:

• 2008 KIA Rondo7 EX Limited 2.0-litre automatic wagon – $31,990 (RRP)

- by Anthony Crawford

KIA are a very confident manufacturer these days for not only do they offer a comprehensive five year unlimited kilometre warranty for private users, but they’ve now also thrown CarAdvice the keys to a Rondo7 Limited for a few months, just to see how the family wagon will cope at the hands of a road tester and his family in the longer term.

The long term test involves myself, my wife and two kids using the Rondo7 as our family chariot for the next three or four months, and reporting back every ten days or so, on just how the car is performing as a family vehicle as well as our likes and dislikes.

It won’t just be driven around suburbia either. The annual family trek up to the Gold Coast (we’re based in Sydney) is also part of the plan later this year, and we’ll be sure to provide you with a two-part report on that journey, too.

For those of you who haven’t thought much of KIA branded cars in the past, be assured that the new Rondo7 is at the very least, an interesting bit of kit.

As the name suggests, it’s a proper seven seater, which offers a wealth of versatility across all three trim levels. The EX Limited that we’re driving is the top spec model and comes fully loaded with leather trim, electric sunroof (tilt and slide), climate control air-conditioning, remote audio controls (steering wheel mounted), 17-inch alloy wheels, roof rails (with cross bars) and a host of other conveniences.

Of course you don’t need to spend $31,990 to get into Rondo. In fact, just $24,990 plus on-road costs, will see you drive away in the LX model with five-speed manual or $26,990 plus on roads for the four-speed automatic. In the middle of the model range is the EX for $28,990 plus on-road costs with the four-speed auto as standard kit.

Safety is high on the agenda at KIA too, with all grades fitted with TCS (Traction Control System), ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution). Dual front SRS airbags are also standard fitment on the base model LX and EX Rondo7 with the EX Limited adding side front SRS airbags and full-length curtain SRS airbags for complete protection.

An “Urban Recreational Vehicle” is how KIA describe the curious five door hatch, and they just might be on to something.

I know we’re only a family of four, but our six year old does a million different sports and the seventeen year old and her girlfriends think of us as their personal taxi service, so already, the seven seater has a clear advantage in our household.

Not only that, but a garage sale caught my eye last week, and I picked up a bargain in a huge solid wood bookcase, standing 2.1 by 1.2 metres wide, the Rondo7 took it on without a hitch.

It was too wide to squeeze through the rear tailgate of the Rondo but then, that’s what adjustable roof racks are for. Within minutes and a few well-secured tie-downs, my bookcase was back home and installed in the office.

Both the second and third row seats fold flat, transforming the Rondo7 into a veritable van with huge load space, or you can split fold both rows for carrying a combination of kids and surfboards if that’s your need.

Oh, and if you need to carry adults in the third row, then just slide the second row forward a little for extra leg room back there!

I counted twenty-three separate storage compartments throughout the cabin and I’m certain to have missed a few, such is abundance of these clever little nook and cranny spaces in the Rondo7.

The driving position is higher than a regular car, which is a plus according to my wife, and both second and third row seating is graduated higher (stadium style), so that all passengers have forward vision instead of looking at a head restraint, especially good for kids who suffer from car sickness.

Access to the third row is also a breeze, given the wide aperture of the rear doors, meaning that kids or adults alike, can simply slide the second row forward for unencumbered entry, too easy.

While there is a stack of room inside the Rondo7’s cabin, it doesn’t look that large from an exterior point of view, if anything, it looks small and manageable. Nonetheless, I plan on installing a set of optional rear sensors in the coming week, just to make reverse parking fail safe.

It’s a comfortable car both to drive and be a passenger in with driver and front passenger seats well bolstered all round. It’s the same in both the second and third rows – I did a quick stint in each and drew no complaints.

My other half says that both the HVAC and audio controls are simple and intuitive and whilst I concur, I found the auxiliary input inside the centre console box, a little fiddly when connecting my iPod.

No such nit picking when it comes to the quality of the standard audio system though. I dialed up some volume on a track with some heavy bass, and there was zero distortion and an excellent tone.

No one looking to buy a seven seat “Urban Recreational Vehicle” is going to be too interested in a track day at Oran Park, but by the same token you wouldn’t want a single kilowatt or newton metre less than what this engine produces – and that’s not a lot.

Off the line starts from lights and intersections aren’t a problem, the Rondo leaps forward from any stationary point and within no time you are doing the speed limit.

It’s a slightly different story when you’re climbing a steep incline, the 106kW @ 6000rpm and 189Nm @ 4250rpm means that you need to work the Rondo7 hard when negotiating hilly terrain. “It labours a little on hills” was the comment from other half whom I should add, thinks the speed limits imposed in NSW are both safe and proper!

In the end, it’s not much of a gripe in a versatile vehicle such as the Rondo7, as you can always use the “tiptronic-style” shift to move things along.

Whilst we haven’t done any freeway or long distance trips as yet, we have gone through two 55-litre tanks of 91RON unleaded since October 24. That’s quite good actually, we’ve averaged 369kms per tank with heavy loads on all journeys and lots of hills to climb.

After just two weeks living with the Rondo7, and the convenience this vehicle offers, I’m not sure this family can live without it. We’ll have another brief report on how the Rondo7 is traveling in another ten days or so.

For a full review of the Rondo7, click here.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.