What is a Kia Rondo? Why did I just see one? And why is B9 Tribeca so ugly?

[1X83Z]

I was driving home from playing nine holes this afternoon when I saw what appeared to be a new Kia Sedona. A quick glance revealed this not to be accurate in the slightest. So I u-turned, broke out the camera, and snapped some photos:

Badge revealed it to be the months-from-release Kia Rondo (Carens in Europe), which, despite being laughably named (I originally though it said Kondo), is Kia's new minivan. Google turns up only a few results (which say it's Kia's mini-minivan, sort of like the Mazda 5), and Google Images indicates these are the first street photos of the vehicle (in fact, type Kia Rondo into Google Images and you get only 32 results, compared to 7,200 for the Sedona). Obviously it's not for sale and clearly won't be for some time. I don't know what it was doing here. California distributor plates, the sort that auto magazines use when testing new cars. Consider this a sneak peek!!

I also caught this, which isn't for sale in the US either, also with California distributor plates:

Anyone know if there's any plan to market the V-class here?.

 

[GT4_Rule]

I hope not the Vaneo (that's what it's also called) we already have the super-ugly Dodge Sprinter.

As for the Rondo - its name is kind of funny but it's a good looking minivan. Certainly better than Quest, Uplander, Odyssey, or Sienna.

 

[1X83Z]

Yeah but it's way smaller, like the Mazda 5 instead of those vans. Probably will use some trashy four-cylinder too.

 

[Flerbizky]

Yeah but it's way smaller, like the Mazda 5 instead of those vans. Probably will use some trashy four-cylinder too.

It's a Kia - Of course it's a 4 banger :-)

 

[YSSMAN]

Rondo? Isn't that the dude on Kim Possible?

 

[Sakiale]

Which dude?
The main characters are:
Kim
Ron Stoppable (sidekick)
Rufus (naked mole rat)
Drakken (villain)
Shego (villain sidekick)

OT, I like the car. Kia and Hyundai have moved on my list from worlds crappiest companies to worlds top 10.

Kia Rondo/Carens-- produced from 1999--2001 in other countries, not America. But the one you see is the new one. Hmm, nice shots man!

 

[YSSMAN]

It would be Ron I suppose. I was kinda making fun of the car, but whatever.

It is an awkward piece of machinery that cries out for a diesel model in the US, but it probably won't happen...

 

[TS]

Kia = Suck
Hyundai = Suck
If you like those 2 car companies, too damn bad because I don't.
As for the V-Class, at least Mercedes learned to build something good looking after merging with Chrysler. 👍

 

[Sakiale]

Are you joking?

You LIKE the Vaneo?
You STILL hate Korean car companies?

Im appalled.

 

[Tornado]

I hope not the Vaneo (that's what it's also called) we already have the super-ugly Dodge Sprinter.

Yeah, how dare Mercedes sell a good full size van here, instead of selling us the Carter era Dodge Ram van. That being said, that looks exactly like a second gen. Sprinter.

 

[red70mach1]

I have a Cousin in the Phillipines has a V-Class Merc.

As for Rondo. It looks like an Aerio that has been reproportioned.

 

[Jetboy.]

M5, if I were you, I'd send these into C&D, Automobile, Motor Trend.....whatever you can send them to. Awesome finds with great clarity. 👍

@Toronado: The first time I ever lay eyes on a Sprinter, I was dead sure that it was a Mercedes.

 

[McLaren]

The V-Class never sells here except to companies, even then the Sprinter from Mercedes is the more popular choice for companies in Texas.

What you saw is a Mercedes Viano, a MPV/Camper Van offered in Europe offered in 3 models.
This must be an older model, or imported through a different source. The European Delivery Program contains no models of the V-Class either.

 

[1X83Z]

Kia = Suck
Hyundai = Suck
If you like those 2 car companies, too damn bad because I don't.
As for the V-Class, at least Mercedes learned to build something good looking after merging with Chrysler. 👍

Worst post on GTP since LeadSlead in the G5 thread.

M5, if I were you, I'd send these into C&D, Automobile, Motor Trend.....whatever you can send them to. Awesome finds with great clarity.👍

Thank you! I've sent the photos into my favorite British magazine, CAR, which has published a photo of mine before, and I might send them in to Automobile tonight as well. One official picture of the vehicle has been released so I'd be surprised if it got published, but why not give it a try.

Yeah, how dare Mercedes sell a good full size van here, instead of selling us the Carter era Dodge Ram van

Hey! Not fair! That vehicle was substantially restyled in the Clinton era!

It's interesting though - not many vehicles have seen five presidents and seven terms (possibly eight - I'm not sure, but they may have lasted into President Bush's second term).

 

[Master_Yoda]

Which dude?
The main characters are:
Kim
Ron Stoppable (sidekick)
Rufus (naked mole rat)
Drakken (villain)
Shego (villain sidekick)

How do you know that?

 

[Sakiale]

I used to watch it when I was still in elementary school, sometimes I still do.

 

[YSSMAN]

Kia = Suck
Hyundai = Suck
If you like those 2 car companies, too damn bad because I don't.
As for the V-Class, at least Mercedes learned to build something good looking after merging with Chrysler. 👍

Wow, I'm going to have to agree with M5Power here and say that is one of the worst posts I've seen in a while. It becomes blatantly obvious that you either:

A) Have not seen any of the new products from Hyundai or it's subsidiary Kia.
B) You have not read anything about the new products from Hyundai or it's subsidiary Kia.
C) You haven't driven any of the new products from Hyundai or it's subsidiary Kia.
D) Or you are pretty stuck-up when it comes to cars and trucks...

Hyundais and Kias are now some of the most respected models on the road today. Cars like the Sonata and Rio5 actually prove that the Koreans can build awesome cars, and the Azera is a good case of ignoring the Toyota and Honda dealer alltogether. They are awesome cars and trucks, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the lineup works out once it recieves their updates.

---

Whats wrong with Kim Possible? I'm 19 and I watch cartoons and kid-shows on a regular basis. Its much better than the crap on MTV and Spike TV. Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Lazy Town FTW!!!

 

[Sakiale]

... no comment...

YSSMAN's post is a great compilation of my views, thanks. Korea went from 'crappiest car company ever' on my list to 'rising god of car companies'.

Or at least god of economical, sub 50K cars.

And Comedy Central's better than ToonDisney.

 

[GT4_Rule]

Yeah, how dare Mercedes sell a good full size van here, instead of selling us the Carter era Dodge Ram van. That being said, that looks exactly like a second gen. Sprinter.

? I'm lost.

TS - please, please, please wake up and see the world. Korean cars are taking the world by surprise.

 

[YSSMAN]

Since when do they still sell the Ram van? I thought that went out when they last updated the Ram?

BTW: What the hell is wrong with the Sprinter now?

 

[1X83Z]

Since when do they still sell the Ram van? I thought that went out when they last updated the Ram?

BTW: What the hell is wrong with the Sprinter now?

Toronado was being sarcastic. Someone insulted the Dodge Sprinter based solely on its looks, and he was essentially saying "it's better than the Ram Van", which is the truest thing ever said on GTP. Then again you could say **** is better than the Ram Van, and you'd be right. Just about everything was better than that monster. Except B9 Tribeca's front end.

 

[Tornado]

Except B9 Tribeca's front end.

And even then it was a close competition, as I'm not even sure that it was a good van when it was new. Of course, having debuted in 1971 it was a latecomer, as the Ford Econoline had debuted 10 years prior (during the Kennedy years), and therefore had a 10 year headstart on being garbage. So I assume it was an okay vehicle comparatively. Of course, I also assume being stabbed with a clean knife is better than being stabbed with a rusty one.
It makes your wonder why the VW Eurovan failed, when it's closest competition (read: Not designed before Vietnam) was the GMC Savana (which was such a peice of tosh they couldn't even spell the damn name right in fear of making it sound the least bit adequete). And that was my rant for the day.

 

[1X83Z]

What?! The Eurovan's competition wasn't the Savana or Express - the Eurovan had no competition which is exactly why it didn't sell - because no-one wanted it. The Savana and Express do a slight business in the conversion market, but the gigantic bulk of their sales go to cargo vans, which the Eurovan wasn't.

 

[Duke]

The Eurovan had no competition which is exactly why it didn't sell - because no-one wanted it.

Not to mention that the Eurovan was hideously expensive for what it offered. Only someone to whom a VW Westphalia would be both an ideal vehicle and an ideal home would even remotely consider paying that much for a crappy underpowered behemoth.

And I love that you always refer to B9 Tribeca using both stupid names, but with no article, as if it was an evil killer robot from some lousy Japanese science fiction movie. Which, of course, it is.

 

[1X83Z]

And I love that you always refer to B9 Tribeca using both stupid names, but with no article, as if it was an evil killer robot from some lousy Japanese science fiction movie. Which, of course, it is.

It's interesting actually - I consistently rip B9 Tribeca for its disgusting front end, when in truth the really scary part is its absolutely hilarious name, which is the worst - by far - of any current production car.

 

[YSSMAN]

I've always wondered why B9 was included with Tibeca. Is the B9 really all that necessary?

 

[Pupik]

I've always wondered why B9 was included with Tibeca. Is the B9 really all that necessary?

It's to differentiate itself from the B9 Soho.

Then again, that particular Subaru looks like it has a few be-nign tumors, the B9 monkier is quite apt.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Subaru wants to give all their cars a B-something name. All the concepts have had B-whatever names (the "Next Impreza" hatchback was called B5, for example).

 

[1X83Z]

Really? I didn't know that at all, that would explain it. It never made any sense to me and I've always laughed at it whenever I even thought about it. Interesting.

Of course, if they were smart, they'd switch all their models to one name in one model year, like Audi did in 1996 and Mercedes did in 1994. But then again they released B9 Tribeca so how smart can they be.

 

[YSSMAN]

Worst-name-ever Award still goes to Subaru for the BRAT. God I would feel so embarassed to drive a "truck" called the BRAT. I mean what in God's name where they thinking when they decided to call the thing that? Did they realise what it brings to mind?

Perouda has a long list of not-cool names as well, and the same can be said for the Korean carmakers. Atleast Hyundai and Kia got smart and started naming their cars and trucks after cities. That way, they don't sound as stupid as they used to.