Blue Tongue XH15 vs Kia Rondo

What's the difference?

Hybrid campers are no longer a new development in caravanning and camping. We've been seeing trailers like them, in some form or another, for nearly two decades.

The concept is straightforward: hybrid campers offer some of the best comforts of a caravan (solid walls, proper beds, little to no set-up time) with the best aspects of camper trailers (light, small, rugged and able to be towed nearly anywhere).

Although Blue Tongue Campers has been a leader in the traditional camper-trailer market for more than a decade, its first hybrid has been a long time coming. First chance we got, we hooked it up and headed out to Wee Jasper to see what it's about.

It's rare to see a Kia Rondo on the road. Spotting one is like when you get a commemorative 50-cent coin in your change, only not as exciting. Yup of the 219,270 cars sold so far this year 59 of them were Rondos. But the more I've driven the base-spec Rondo S - the more I think 219,211 people may have missed out on something quite good.

So what is a Rondo? Is it a van? Is it a hatch? Is it a wagon? Well, Kia calls it a people mover, but while the top-spec Rondo Si has seven seats, the five-seater Rondo S which arrived late in 2016 only has seating for five. Is that enough people to count as a people mover? 

As for rivals to the Rondo S, well there's the Citroen C4 Picasso, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and the BMW 2 Series… aaaaaaand that's about it.

So what is it about the Rondo S that makes me think that many of the 220,000 people may have the wrong choice and bought a SUV when what they really needed was a Rondo, but just never knew it? Oh and what is it about the Rondo that dogs really like? And what's bigger about the five-seater Rondo S than the seven-seater Rondo Si?