You've all heard of the expression "wake up and smell the coffee". Well, I kind of feel like I have just done that. Let me explain...
You see, I've never really taken much notice of the company, Kia. Oh yes, I've driven one or two vehicles from them at various test fests which I attend, and I've tested plenty of cars from its sister company Hyundai, but I don't believe that I have actually ever driven a Kia product for longer than a few minutes at one time.
Strange that, eh? But you have to bear in mind that there are 100's of new vehicles/models released in Canada each year, and that's far too many for me to test drive each and every one, so I have to be a little selective.
Now obviously if I hear a bunch of hoo-ha about a certain vehicle, I'll phone the PR representative of the company and enquire if one is available to test. Sometimes, new products catch my eye whilst perusing the PR releases that we get each day and I go from there. Of course this is all fine, but occasionally products tend to slip through the net, and if I'm totally honest, that seems to have happened with me and the entire Kia brand!
Now, possibly it's because I've looked at a few of the vehicles in Kia's lineup and said, "Oh, that's just like the Hyundai such'n'such", and thought, what's the point seeing as I've already driven the Hyundai version? However, if that's what I did, then it was a big mistake on my part, because they are certainly not all the same!
It's what's on the inside that counts
Take my tester this week, the Kia Rondo EX V6 which was a wonderful surprise to me.
From the outside, it appears to slightly resemble its smaller stable-mate, the Spectra, which I get next. Yet it is much taller, longer, and basically a little larger all round, and yet when you poke your head through the door, you realize just how much bigger it actually is.
You see, I've never really taken much notice of the company, Kia. Oh yes, I've driven one or two vehicles from them at various test fests which I attend, and I've tested plenty of cars from its sister company Hyundai, but I don't believe that I have actually ever driven a Kia product for longer than a few minutes at one time.
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| The Kia Rondo EX V6 was a wonderful surprise to me. |
Strange that, eh? But you have to bear in mind that there are 100's of new vehicles/models released in Canada each year, and that's far too many for me to test drive each and every one, so I have to be a little selective.
Now obviously if I hear a bunch of hoo-ha about a certain vehicle, I'll phone the PR representative of the company and enquire if one is available to test. Sometimes, new products catch my eye whilst perusing the PR releases that we get each day and I go from there. Of course this is all fine, but occasionally products tend to slip through the net, and if I'm totally honest, that seems to have happened with me and the entire Kia brand!
Now, possibly it's because I've looked at a few of the vehicles in Kia's lineup and said, "Oh, that's just like the Hyundai such'n'such", and thought, what's the point seeing as I've already driven the Hyundai version? However, if that's what I did, then it was a big mistake on my part, because they are certainly not all the same!
It's what's on the inside that counts
Take my tester this week, the Kia Rondo EX V6 which was a wonderful surprise to me.
From the outside, it appears to slightly resemble its smaller stable-mate, the Spectra, which I get next. Yet it is much taller, longer, and basically a little larger all round, and yet when you poke your head through the door, you realize just how much bigger it actually is.
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| I was totally amazed when I saw the 3rd row seating in such a relatively small vehicle. |