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economist sunstouffville tribune wheels thursday june 21 2007 kia once again has the power to surprise kia enters with canadian crossoverstation wagon segment with the 2007 ronda that offers an automatic transmission stability control traction control six airbags and antilock braking for under 20000 by jim robinson road worthy whistler bc kia bills itself as the carmaker with the power to surprise kia did just that to me when it announced the 2007 rondo instead of a kiaized hyundai elantra the rondo is officially a crossover utility vehicle cuv that has no counterpart at hyundai rondo is really more of a mini mini- vanstation wagon being more in the same vein of the mazda5 chevrolet hhr and toyota matrix its no secret that canadians are moving away from the traditional minivan partly due to cost of operation but primarily like my wife who see minivans as just to big for one person to drive 999 per cent of the time ergo vehicles like the rondo have flexible seating and cargostorage con figurations but are lighter and far more fuel efficient to drive the rondosstandard drivetrain is a 24litre twincam inline fourcylinder producing 162 hp and 164 lbft torque driving the front wheels through a four- speed automatic transmission with steptronic sequential manual shift mode fuel consumption is rated at 110l100 km city and 75l100 km highway optionally available is 27litre dual overhead cam dohc v6 producing 182 hp and 182 lbft of torque with a fivespeed steptronic automatic trans mission also powering the front wheels fuel ratings for the v6 are i 1 8l 100 km city and 79l100 km highway both engines run on regular fuel interestingly there is no manual transmission offered although its usu ally standard fare on rondos main competitors allwheeldrive is not offered it might be in future plans but kia was not saying the rondo is a five- seater as standard but a third seat for two more is an option kia has recognized the fact canadi ans now expect worldclass safety and has included a bevy of standard fea tures some of which were only available on premium luxury sedans only a decade ago for under 20 grand the rondo comes with electronic stability control esq traction control fourwheel disc brakes with abs active antiwhiplash front headrests and six airbags includ ing side curtains pricing is divided between the four- and sixcylinder vehicles the base lx starts at 19995 with the more exten sively trimmed ie air conditioning heated front seats cruise ex priced at 21995 the sevenseat expremium adds things like 17inch wheels leather seating and sunroof for 23995 the sixcylinder ex has a sticker price of 22995 while the 25995 sevenseat exluxury is similar to the expremium but with climate control and trip computer interestingly the fourcylinder can tow up to 1500 kg with trailer brackets while the v6 can haul up to 2000 kg with trailer brackets fitted kia expects 70 per cent of sales will be the fourcylinder in an era where small cars are getting ever taller kia engineers managed to scoop out no less than 2083 litres behind the front seats with back seats folded flat and behind the second row seat theres still 898 litres suspension is coil springs over mcpherson struts at the front with a multilink independent system at the rear with stabilizer bars at both ends with this new generation of taller people movers handling and more importantly cornering is an issue if you have a topheavy vehicle that bends over in a turn like a reed in the wind it imparts of sense of being unsafe and nobody wants that to see if the rondo could cut it in this regard the drive route for the press introduction included the highway up to a snowy whistler bc and in and around the streets of vancouver that were typically awash with rain even though 16inch wheels are standard the high sides of the body make them look a tad small maybe the reason why competitor mazda5 went for standard 17inchers and because hyundai engineers to their credit craved out every cubic inch they could on the interior it results in what is essentially a huge hollow box that can amplify sound noise suppression is very good with what they had to work with but some road tire noise on the granular roadbeds they use in bc was an issue at times it should be noticed this vanished in the city contdonpagelo rio5 spectra from 14095 from 15995 megentis amanti from 21 895 from 36995 sedona sorento sportage rondo kia motors from 29495 from 33295 from 21695 from 19995 the power to surprise see dealer for details kja of markham 29 laidlaw blvd 9052010083 w total care ownership coverage y63 x 5- km worryfree comprehensive warranty 5year1 00000 km powert rain warranty 5year100000 km extra care roadside assistance no deductible charge warranty proud partner of toronto fc esli bubockdr 1 jj a nmmmm 1 mmjl e hwi7eh to advertise in the next edition uptaartct j cttm of wheels please contact your jilulnumlol 0t ouln sales representative at t 905 294 2200 suntnbune