Mazda5 vs KIA Rondo comparisons and articles (merged)

sunglassguyjack said:
Ok...so basically on this forum if you say something bad about the rondo that automatically means you are biased? Seems like anyone that says something bad about the rondo basically gets attacked? If i had looked at the rondo and then the 5 when i was looking i still would have taken the 5. I had a rondo as a rental for a week and did a good bit of driving so i have some good first hand experience. I thought the interior was decent...i actually thought it felt roomier...except for the thought of putting more than 4 people in it. At that point the 5 was better...I also found the dash a bit dated and odd. Gas mileage was pretty low. Not sure exactly what but seemed quite a bit less than our 5. Our five also handled better and had a better ride. To be honest i know that i would have a really hard time Owning a kia. I work on cars and know they are honestly crap. Even if they have gotten better, Resale is still pretty bad. Ok there...i said it. LOL. Want me to say something bad about the 5? the carpet sucks, lack of armrest in the front is lame, dash is hard to clean.
Click to expand...

I guess someone doesn't understand LOL or smiley faces.

The last post was TOTALLY in jest.

Wow you felt attacked... boy my sarcasm is pretty powerful stuff!!!
..... Just in case you feel offended by that... again I was just kidding.

But in all seriousness... saying something bad about the Rondo is one thing... but at least make it objective (actually your post was one of the more objective ones!) Read some of the Rondo reviews in THIS forum and then read some of the Rondo reviews from places like Edmunds, cars.com, Motortrend, etc... Honestly I think the latter is a bit more objective than we are... wouldn't you agree?
 
antlind said:
True that (uhm)....
Heck even folks on the Kia forums find it hard to be objective about Kia's.......(screwy)
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EXACTLY! That is my whole point. These threads (depending on where they are... Mazda or Kia) tend to be biased and therefore they tend to not always be that useful for those comparison shopping.

Again if you are trying to do a comparison it is better to read from sources that know cars but really have no vested interest in either. The Kia is mentioned so often with the Mazda that it isn't hard to find. And by all means test-drive them as MUCH as you can to make your own judgment.

(of course, we all know you'll end up liking the Mazda much better. Just had to get my last "biased" opinion in... )
 
x10dude said:
EXACTLY! That is my whole point. These threads (depending on where they are... Mazda or Kia) tend to be biased and therefore they tend to not always be that useful for those comparison shopping.

Again if you are trying to do a comparison it is better to read from sources that know cars but really have no vested interest in either. The Kia is mentioned so often with the Mazda that it isn't hard to find. And by all means test-drive them as MUCH as you can to make your own judgment.

(of course, we all know you'll end up liking the Mazda much better. Just had to get my last "biased" opinion in... )
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My name is Anthony.....and I'm a Mazdaholic......
 
That's it, I think that is the key differentiator here: Mazda-holism.

I've owned many brands but, apart from VW, I never seen owners so enthusiastic about their Mazdas: well priced, efficient, with Zoom-Zoom (and please note that fun-to-drive is not pure speed) and good looking even for a people mover. Just browse around this forum and you'll find many members who just don't own one, but 2 or even 3 (the 2 guys above are a good example)

My name is not Anthony, but I'm also a Mazdaholic (drunk)
 
coolmazda5 said:
That's it, I think that is the key differentiator here: Mazda-holism.

I've owned many brands but, apart from VW, I never seen owners so enthusiastic about their Mazdas: well priced, efficient, with Zoom-Zoom (and please note that fun-to-drive is not pure speed) and good looking even for a people mover. Just browse around this forum and you'll find many members who just don't own one, but 2 or even 3 (the 2 guys above are a good example)

My name is not Anthony, but I'm also a Mazdaholic (drunk)
Click to expand...

I think that could be for a couple of reasons
1. History of Mazda - Japanese company living in the shadow of the big 3 (well big 2 and medium 1)... and also coming back from the brink of bankruptcy. You always tend to root for the underdog.
2. Good cars that excel at what they are designed for.
3. Smaller user-base - tighter community. Right now the Mazda5 is a real small community.

The only other car that I've personally seen an avid following is probably the PT Cruiser. Quirky car but has a big following.

But getting back to the thread:
One last thing positive thing I have to say about the Rondo. I actually looked at it first. In fact, I never knew the Mazda5 existed until I checked the Rondo out and read some of the reviews on it and it was compared to... you guessed it. So indirectly, I should thank Kia for my Mazda purchase. (wiggle)
 
One of my goals in life

coolmazda5 said:
That's it, I think that is the key differentiator here: Mazda-holism.

I've owned many brands but, apart from VW, I never seen owners so enthusiastic about their Mazdas: well priced, efficient, with Zoom-Zoom (and please note that fun-to-drive is not pure speed) and good looking even for a people mover. Just browse around this forum and you'll find many members who just don't own one, but 2 or even 3 (the 2 guys above are a good example)

My name is not Anthony, but I'm also a Mazdaholic (drunk)
Click to expand...

Was to own two Mazdas :-)

I actually came from a Family of Toyotas and owned an MR2 back in the late 80's. Great little car with it's own zoom-zoom. Unfortunately Toyota became BORING and too full of themselves and Mazda became an alternate for VW since VW had spotty quality and reliability. Mazda just became the obvious choice especially after having 4 models over 15 years that never gave me an ounce of trouble with over 150,000 miles of driving on each.

Add to this being lucky enough to experience GREAT dealer service from two different Mazda dealerships and it was a no brainer.

You hit the mail on the head though. No other car maker combines great looks, great vehicle dynamics and affordability in one package. Along with Zoom-Zoom I never tire of looking at my two Mazdas. The lines on both the 5 and MS3 are gorgeous from the majority of angles

18 years later and I'm still a believer.
 
x10dude said:
1. History of Mazda - Japanese company living in the shadow of the big 3 (well big 2 and medium 1)... and also coming back from the brink of bankruptcy. You always tend to root for the underdog.
Click to expand...

I don't ever see Mazda as being a mainstream company. We were [once] a mainstream company and we failed. We found our souls when we realized we weren't going to out-Toyota Toyota or out-Honda Honda; when we decided we were going to be our own company.

That part of our soul that we found back in 1999 to 2000 is going to lead us for the next 10 to 20 years, so that we continue to push ourselves [toward the] enthusiasts, the people who are emotionally connected to their cars [and who are] not just buying transportation. [This] will help differentiate us from other players that are going to enter the market that are not here today as well as those companies that are here but are trying to be everything to everybody. We are the brand choice for automotive enthusiasts. We're not trying to be the biggest.

--Dan Romano, President, Mazda Canada

http://www.nationalpost.com/cars/story.html?id=725951
 
I tell my friends that are looking...if you want mileage buy a honda or toyota. If you want a well equipped, good looking, fun to drive car buy a mazda. One comment i often get from my friends is that they really like the way mazda packages the cars...with just the right amount of options. I have found toyotay to be pretty bad. You either get a base car or a fully loaded car...not much in the middle. I was really turned off by it when i had considered the corolla . I just wish mazda mileage was a hair better.
 
Antonio DiMarco said:
I guess it's the price for having "zoom-zoom" :-)
Click to expand...

That is probably the one knock on the Mazda5. It definitely does not have zoom-zoom (if you define zoom-zoom as power and acceleration)

In fact, I believe the Mazda5 has the least zoom-zoom of any vehicle in their lineup (not counting trucks or SUV).

But then, again that's not really why most people bought the Mazda5. But it would be nice if they offered a more powerful engine on the GT or special model.
 
another way to compare the two vehicles is to use google and search for:

1. 'unhappy mazda5 owner' then

2. 'unhappy kia rondo owner'.

Very interesting.

And there are times that I want to feel relief for having decided on a MZ5 instead of
other vehicles, I'd go and read the postings in their forums. They too have issues
with their vehicles just like MZ5 owners have.

like this one for example:
http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-carens-rondo-forum/
 
Last edited:
Yikes, kind of summarizes that each car has its issues, but it seems that with KIA the post-sale service and attention is much crappier than Mazda.

So, in other words, if you are lucky and your KIA does not have issues after purchase it is OK but, if you have any initial problems or bugs, you are pretty much in deep trouble as KIA and KIA dealers suck. Not that Mazda is the best, but I can attest that Mazda USA has been very responsive when the dealer is not supporting any issue that raises (recalls, warranty issues, etc.)
 
One thing to keep in mind is that very often car forums are places that people can VENT their frustrations... so you'll tend to hear alot of horror stories.

With that being said, this forum is in general one of the most positive car forums I've ever read... Yes, the Mazda5 is not perfect and people do have their problems, but the fact that most people are generally happy or satisfied, says alot.
 
I've merged all the Mazda5 vs KIA Rondo related threads so we bring all the opinions under one roof
 
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