Here's a rarity:
a generally negative review from a blogger named Randy Stern.
I can't say that I totally disagree with his three main gripes, though.
One, he absolutely hates how it looks, stating, "Even at its price, why would anyone want to be caught dead in one?" I'm a little more generous about its looks, but it's obvious that the Rondo's eccentric styling will elicit a strong reaction from some people.
Two, as some others have noticed (e.g., check out
Canadian Driver's Day-by-Day Review and Narvo's post
here), he had some scary moments with the ESC on slippery roads, especially up an incline. Sounds familiar, Narvo? So does this have more to do with the Rondo's crappy all-season tires and not using winter tires rather than the ESC that is just doing its job? Or is the ESC at fault, too, being too intrusive and shutting you down while you're in the middle of a manoeuvre?
Three, he points out, "On the loop, including highway driving in bad conditions, it rang up 20MPG. Efficient? Not exactly." I think a lot of us have noticed that the Rondo is a relatively thirsty beast, but I knew this was a possibility before I even bought the Rondo from the early reviews and forum posts that I had read. My fuel consumption is only slightly worse than the new EPA estimates, however, and there might be some room for improvement as my vehicle is still in (I think) break-in mode.