Kia Quietly Discontinues Rondo in the U.S.

Kia appears to have quietly killed-off its Rondo MPV in response to a continued slide in sales. Visitors to the Rondo page on Kia’s U.S. website are greeted with the news, “Thank you for inquiring about the Rondo. As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end’ But with endings, come new beginnings…” Below that message is an image of the new 2011 Kia Sportage, directing customers that that page where they can check out the stylish new compact crossover.

The Rondo’s demise was stumbled upon by the team at Autoblog, who then contacted Kia and received this response. “Kia has not yet decided on a 2011 model, but the 2010 is still available in dealerships.”

Kia managed to move just 14,206 Rondos last year, a 50 percent drop from 2008 when the company sold 28,645 units. The Rondo would seem to be the latest casualty in the Kia lineup with the Korean automaker recently dropping the Borego full size SUV.

This move also looks to be a part of a larger product switch from Kia away from old models and old designs towards fresh and exciting new products. Unfortunately for those few looking at a Rondo, the Sportage simply doesn’t offer the same utility.

Of note, Kia Canada isn’t following suit with any message on its website, suggesting the Rondo will continue on there. This isn’t surprising as sales of MPVs like the Rondo and Mazda5 are strong in Canada

Korea: 2010 Kia Carens Adds New Features

Kia Motors has commenced sales of the 2010 Carens (Rondo in North America) multi-purpose vehicle in South Korea today. The 2010 model adds a myriad of appealing new features including new 17-inch "Black Luxury" alloy wheels, Supervision cluster, ETCS (Electronic Toll Collection System), and integrated Bluetooth hands-free system. Also new for 2010 is an available gasoline-powered model.

The exterior of the 2010 Carens is highlighted by a set of redesigned side mirrors with LED turn signals that adds both elegance and safety. The new 17-inch "Black Luxury" alloy wheels, standard in the top trim, pay homage to Kia's new penchant for high-gloss black in the brand's domestic line-up.

For 2010, Kia also introduced two new trim levels: GX Family and GLX Family. The GX Family adds a front passenger airbag, ABS, rear parking assist, and Carmel Beige seats. The GLX Family trim adds active headrests, VDC, rear parking assist, and Carmel Beige seats.

Under the hood, the 2010 Carens is now available in either gasoline or LPI configurations. The former is powered by a 2.0L Theta I 4-cylinder petrol that produces 151 horsepower and 19.8kg·m (143 lb.ft) of torque. The latter is propelled by a 2.0L 4-cylinder LPI that offers 141 horsepower and 19.0 kg·m (137 lb.ft) of torque.

Pricing remains the same for the 2010 model. The 2.0L LPI range is priced from 17.15 million Won to 22.08 million Won, while the 2.0L Gasoline range is priced from 16.35 million Won to 21.28 million Won.

[Source: Kia Motors]