Quote:
Originally Posted by vanner
Casual observation while (okay UK guys - "whilst") driving around the Metro Lousiville area last two days: The Rondos I noticed numbered 6, and of those, ALL were driven at the time by people around or over 40 years old. Four by people who appeared to be over 50, one of those probably over 60.
I appreciate the few mature-behaving yunguns in our midst. I'd have looked hard at all the choices if in my 30s and probably would have picked a Mini Cooper! I was NOT into vans at the time!
I do believe the age gap and true family responsibilites have a lot to do with the rabid acceptance by some of the Mazda5 while the sensible, mature family group went with the Rondo. We didn't so highly value the low sporty look, the MP3 hookup, and the "Zoom Zoom Zoom" ads. (Though I confess I was taken in by the Rondo's North American ad campaign of the "roominicity" and zippinicity" type of hype, even though I'd studied and craved the Carens for a number of years.)
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I'd choose a Cooper or Cooper Clubman myself! They're adorable, and every one you look at is different and comes in something besides black, grey and beige in the interior! But, I can't do low-sitting vehicles anymore, which is why I feel I need to get away from sedans.
It's interesting, too, you mention "van". Some dealers do call Rondo a minivan, and some call it a wagon, and I'm of the age (47) where those two terms conjure up completely different images. But seeing is believing, so one Sunday I went to a Kia dealer when all the sales folk were gone.
One doesn't realize how big Rondo is until you walk up to it! It's not the size of Sedona, by any means, but it is substantial. Lengthwise, about the same as Sportage, but the roundness of it makes it seem larger. And yet, doesn't seem as tall as a Honda CR-V. Truly an odd vehicle, and I understand why you find mostly 6 cylinders here. If you only get 2mph difference between the engines, I think I'd go for the bigger engine, too, just for the extra merging power.
And I do value the MP3 hookups, as well! It's 102 today, and the thought of no more warping copies of my favorite music is very exciting!
Oh, and as far as Mazda goes, they make excellent cars. I just don't dig all the red lighting in the dash. I rented a Mazda3 for a few days and did a lot of night driving. That aspect of it was very hard to live with. More test drives should be at night!
I do hope Rondo turns out to be a good car, I really want to like it! I like cars that are different, yet practical! It's disappointing reading about the steering problems, but I hope the factory will sort it out before they lose too many customers.
Anyway, just my own casual observations.
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