THE previous Kia Rondo, though practical and cheap, was a dowdy, dumpy looking companion to the driveway and struggled to sell well in one of the smallest segments of the Australian car market – people-movers.

However, something has changed, because there’s a new Rondo in town, and all of a sudden it doesn’t look all that cheap.

Instead, the new-for-2013 budget Kia family bus looks as though it has burst straight out of a European showroom – and given its lines were penned in Kia’s Russelheim studios in Germany, it’s no surprise.

However, it comes at a cost, since the new Rondo is also more expensive than the old.

Are the new European-styled lines (among other premium updates) worth the extra outlay?

Click here for the full review...