Roundel Rondo

This post may be a little confusing for those living in the US, where the Rondo was discontinued in 2010 after slumping sales and the debut of the redesigned 2011 Sportage, which they assumed would fill the void left by it's departure.

However, this wasn't the case in Canada, or most of the rest of the world where the model is known as the Carens. Sales were better in Canada and model carried on, albeit with a revised front end featuring the now standard punched grille.

But enough with the history lesson. What you see here is the next generation Rondo/Carens. It's much more attractive than its dowdy predecessor, and is still missing from the US lineup.

The newfound attractiveness comes at a price though, as it's very close to the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, which itself is based on the 2012 Concept Active Tourer show car. Yet another recent Kia design that seems to borrow heavily from the BMW school of design  Even the rims above are similar. Regardless, it's one of the better looking small people carriers. I even think I like it better than the BMW, which manages to look not a lot like a BMW with its Mini based-bones.

Automotive Hoarding?

This is proof that the Kia Amanti can in fact get uglier. Given the multiple identical fake scoops (maybe they were going for a Buick look) and the mess on the dashboard, this may be an auto customization example of hoarding.

Attack of the Clones: UnImpreza

When the new for 2008 Impreza debuted, it got a lot of flack for being ugly. And although it's grown on me a bit, I still find it less than attractive. And less unique (or attractive) than it's predecessor. And it's a bit of a conglomerate of numerous other make's models, making it a bit of a slightly homely "everycar".

The 5-door hatch is seemingly the most popular model, and the most drastically changed. While the previous Impreza carried over a lot of (unique) styling features from the previous (and first) generation, the 2008 broke the mold. Apparently when they broke the mold, the stole the one Mazda used for the Mazda 3. The DLO is strikingly similar as is the rear spoiler. The front end of the Impreza also looks remarkably like the 3, with similar looking headlights and similarly placed openings and fog lights. The grille setup is different, but it's finicky treatment is one of the front end's worst features.


The DLO and rear end treatment of the 4 door sedan though is remarkably Korean - not something most car-makers would aspire to. The DLO itself is very Daewoo Lacetti / Suzuki Verona / Chevrolet Optra, with it's tails also having a similar look (yet a bit too vertically oriented). When I first saw the tails, the Kia Rio instantly came to mind. Those tails also feature another fugly trait that seems to be increasingly common - strange cutlines. Why are they curved along the bottom? It doesn't follow any of the body lines... It just ends up looking like a manufacturer error, or that the car's been in an accident.

Attack of the Clones: Kiacura Sorento MDX

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? I consider both these cars attractive, and the Kia has a bit more interesting surface detail, but the resemblance is remarkable.

Attack of the Clones, Pt. 8

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Infiniti should be proud. Kia's new for 2006 Sonata twin (the Majentis, or Optima to us Canadians) bears a striking resemblance to the Infiniti Q45. Sadly, the Kia is slightly better off as it's headlights aren't so bug-eyed. Again, I wouldn't say either are fugly. But the Kia is plagarific.

Kia Afugli

The Kia Amati seems to have aimed at several targets at one time and of course missed them all. It's fugliness is mainly centred about it's front end. It's trying to be a Mercedes E-Classe and a 300C at the same time (strangely, the 300C was not out at the time it was concieved - but it really doesn't look like a Rolls or a Bentley). In other words, it's aiming at a high end luxury look. But it fails mainly due to it's relatively high body, tall/vertical grille and tiny wheels.

Kia Optima/Majentis

Hannibal Lector, your ride is here.