Is a Rondo a good option for us?

todzwife

New member
I am due w/ #3 in May. DS is 6 and still harnessed in a RNXT and DD is almost 4 and in a FF Marathon. We just need a little more space.

DH is a minivanaphobic and will NOT even consider one. Personally, I'd love one for the convenience. I'd love a Sedona.

The Rondo seems to be an option, but tell me if I'm missing something...

We CAN get 3 seats in my Forester, so I'm guessing that this particular setup will work in the Rondo's second seat. The third seat option will only be used once DS moves into a booster (no tethers in the rear seat) and possibly only on long trips when I need him far away from his pesky sister. We'd use it to transport some friends now and then. DS's friends are all in boosters (or nothing:thumbsdown:) now, so the tether problems shouldn't matter.

I just need some more breathing room. My Forester is tiny. Doable w/ 3 seats but not comfortable. We travel a LOT. I need the kids to have a little space. We'll need a bit more cargo space once we have another person's crap to haul around.

Oh, and the reason I'm looking at the Rondo is that I want to find something that is worth about the same as my used Forester (around 15k) so we don't have another huge car payment. Otherwise I'd totally get the traverse.
 
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skipspin

New member
I checked out the Rondo at a car show and honestly, I think the Mazda5 is much nicer and AFAIK similar in price. It also has sliding doors. It only seats 6, not seven, but that itty bitty seat in the center of the Rondo is not going to work for three across practically IMO. Granted, I didn't try seat in it, but it's just a gut feeling.

Having three across myself I can say that you are going to need either a vehicle with a really wide second row OR a really far back one if you want to feel like you have more room. Even then, nothing is as nice as having one or more kids in the third row. :wink:
 

todzwife

New member
You're preaching to the choir sister. I want a Sedona so bad I could just cry. It's making my head hurt going around in circles with DH about it.

We are going to look at BOTH tonight. I'm hoping the extra horsepower of the Sedona may sway him into agreeing with me.
 

Maedze

New member
The Rondo does not have top tether anchors in the third row. I would not recommend it to any family with more than 2 kids.
 

mom1mg

New member
I have a Rondo and we have 3 kids. It isn't ideal but it is ok.
You basically have two options -- if you want all three across the middle row you need really narrow seats. I have done-
Generations, RF Radian, High Back Booster
Low Back Booster, Snugride with No Base, Low Back Booster
Generations, Snugride with no base, Adult
Generations, FF Radian, TINY cramped Adult
You CAN not install a True Fit - learned that the hard way the lock off do not work! Doing this gives you a lot of storage room in the hatch.
If you are willing to use the back seat - 1- you have to load the child through the hatch because you can't move the middle seats with installed seats on them. 2- you have no storage room AT ALL - I can fit two back packs in my hatch that is it! You said you want your kids to have more space -- that is NOT going to happen in this car with 3 kids. OH and you need to be SHORT to have a RF seat in the middle row. I am short so it is OK - MY DH can not drive my car anymore because he can't fit behind the wheel and our Radian is in the middle it isn't even behind the driver! All in all this car was amazing for our family of 4 with two forward facing kids --- NOT a good car for a family of 5 with a rear facing baby. I have gotten 5 kids and 2 adults in BUT it is laughable how tight it is to do it!
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
The rondo is an awesome little car..but it ISN'T a minivan. i love it, it is my car (kia optima), same platform, but where my trunk is, there is a tiny back row with 2 additional seats. I think for a family with 2-3 older kids, in boosters or belts, who might need to take along a friend once in a while, and don't need strollers or anytyhing, it's a great way to get a couple extra seats when you need them.
for someone with rearfacing kids, bulky carseats, lots of kid gear, strollers, diaper bags, etc, it's just simply NOT enough room. It isn't. i mean yes, you can do it...we had 3 kids in a ford escort for years.....lol....but if you have $15K to spend, there are SO MANY better options out there....the sedona is of course, AWESOME. Even the mazda, which has 6 USABLE seats, is better, and tehre are a number of SUV-body styles that would fit your needs, if you just can't do a minivan.
With littles though, being able to walk-through, and having that interior space is so nice, IMO.

honestly, if dh were unreasonable and refused to get a minivan, and i needed more room wth 3 kids, I'd probably get a crew cab truck with a cap, like an F-150...you get 5-6 seats, plus an entire truck bed for cargo space. There are lots in your price range, and they're manly., lol.
 

estelle0702

New member
I didn't think you could fit 3 across in a Rondo until I say one of the moms at my son's school. She carpools 5 kids in her Rondo. She has a RFing MA and FFing MA on both sides of the second row and 3 5th graders in the other positions. I don't know if any of them are in low back boosters or just seatbelts but I'm tempted to casually peek in her car one day when she drives by.
 

todzwife

New member
Thank you so much for your insight. DH turned a corner and suddenly agreed that a used Sedona would be our best bet right now, so now the search begins:thumbsup:
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I didn't think you could fit 3 across in a Rondo until I say one of the moms at my son's school. She carpools 5 kids in her Rondo. She has a RFing MA and FFing MA on both sides of the second row and 3 5th graders in the other positions. I don't know if any of them are in low back boosters or just seatbelts but I'm tempted to casually peek in her car one day when she drives by.

It's easy to get a 3-across in a rondo. My car is the same platform, the backseat is the same, it's just i have a trunk where the rondo's third row/hatchback is. There are any nunber of combos, although I have not yet been able to get a nauti into any of them, lol.
 

Genevieve

CPST Instructor
Thank you so much for your insight. DH turned a corner and suddenly agreed that a used Sedona would be our best bet right now, so now the search begins:thumbsup:

Yay! I really love the praticality and convenience of my mini-van, even though I swore I would never be that mom. Ha! We've got #3 on the way and I really wouldn't want to drive anything else at the moment. I hope you can find what you like and will work for you.
 

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