| The new Kia Rondo is a small crossover vehicle with three rows of seating and a tall profile. Both four-cylinder and V6 engines are offered.
The 2007 Rondo is Kia's new, European-inspired and designed 5-door utility vehicle offered in both 5 - and 7 -person models. Rondo combines multi-purpose utility of an SUV with the style and comfort of a sedan to satisfy your everyday needs.
The all-new Rondo is a perfect addition to further Kia's growth in the U.S. market, and allows us to be even more competitive, especially in the ever-expanding crossover vehicle segment, " said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of KMA.
The Rondo comes with a standard 162-hp 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, but it's also available with an optional 182-hp 2.7-litre V6 engine - the only vehicle in its class available with a V6. With its SUV-like stature, you might expect the Rondo to be offered with optional all-wheel drive, but it isn't. All Rondos are front-wheel drive.
In seven-passenger models, the second row seats have a fore-aft adjustment to increase or decrease legroom for third row passengers, or allow more cargo room behind the seats. These second row seats have a different, slightly more complicated folding design: the seat cushion must be lifted up from the rear, and the seatback folded down flat after removing the head restraint. There are two slots in the back of the seat cushion to store each head restraint.
The 50/50 split third row seatbacks also fold flat level with the rear cargo floor, but unlike in the five-passenger model, there is a gap in the floor between the second and third row seatbacks when folded down.
The rear cargo hatch door is huge, yet not overly heavy to lift up, and it provides a wide, tall opening with a low liftover height. Cargo space behind the third row seat amounts to 186 litres (vs 112 litres in the Mazda5). Behind the second row, the Rondo has twice as much luggage space as the Mazda5 (898 litres vs 426 litres). And behind the first row with the second row seats folded flat, total cargo space equals 2,083 litres (compared to 857 litres in the Mazda5). A bonus is hidden storage compartments with dividers and a small tool kit underneath the cargo floor. One complaint though: a cargo privacy cover is not standard equipment.
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