Forget the television commercials about "Rondoism" that use theme music from the musical Hair to introduce the Kia Rondo. Meant to break through the clutter that makes one car commercial morph into the next without imparting any knowledge or memory of the vehicle, they highlight aspects of the Rondo’s capabilities while giving them weirdly Sixties names like "Cabinocity" for its interior space or "Giddyupidness" for its acceleration. It’s enough to make you think you stumbled into an infomercial for Tom Cruise and Scientology.

In a way that’s sort of fitting because, when you first meet the Rondo, you’ll think you stumbled into a tall (65-in. without the roof rack) station wagon instead of the crossover it’s billed as. Maybe that’s because the Rondo is based on Kia’s D-segment Optima sedan, and comes only with front-drive. True, you can get the three rows of seats that – built upon a passenger car base – that seems to define the crossover segment, and there’s more room than you might expect from a vehicle with a 106.3-in. wheelbase and an overall length of 179-in. However, in a world where the Ford Freestyle – soon to be renamed the Taurus X – is seen as a family wagon despite its crossover claims and optional all-wheel drive, the Rondo doesn’t have as strong a claim to the iconography as the Ford.

Then again, one of the reasons – other than the down market connotations attached to the term "station wagon" these days – Kia decided to call the Rondo a crossover was its utility. In five-passenger form this means 107.8-ft³ of passenger volume and a further 31.7-ft³ of space behind the second row. (There’s 6.5-ft³ behind the folding third row in seven-passenger models.) Lift up the carpeted load floor covering and you’ll find a nicely molded plastic tub with divided storage areas of its own, though it would be nice to have a window shade blind that can be extended over the gigantic – it’s amazing just how much stuff the Rondo will hold –cargo area.

The driver and front seat passenger sit high and look out over a short hood and an instrument panel that is handsome, well-built, and useful. One item that consistently caused passengers to comment was the separation between the upper and lower surfaces of the dash. This creates an area where the passenger can place a water bottle or other small items on their side while buckling in without fear of the items spilling in the floor. That’s because the glovebox door acts as a lip while also eliminating any obvious fit mismatches by sitting proud of the ledge. Oh, and somebody at Kia deserves credit for also making sure that the part line for this plastic piece doesn’t run around the exposed edge.

The attention to detail is evident throughout the cabin, though taller drivers will wish the steering column would telescope as well as tilt to bring the wheel a little closer. Smaller drivers, however, probably will appreciate that this placement keeps the airbag out of the danger range while still allowing them to comfortably reach the pedals. That comfort is enhanced by an interior that is remarkably quiet over all but the roughest roads, and brings to mind the near vault-like silence of cars whose brand name begins with the letter "L." And this is in a Rondo fitted with the standard 162-hp/164 lb-ft 2.4-liter inline four, not the optional 182-hp/182 lb-ft 2.7-liter V6, which also means it is rated at 21 mpg city/29 mpg highway, and delivered a solid 26 mpg in mixed driving.

All of which is remarkable for a Kia that starts at just $19,195. Add $1,200 for the premium package’s power sunroof and 315-watt Infinity AM/FM/CD sound system with 10 speakers and a 7.5-in. subwoofer, and you have an as-driven price of $20,995. That’s pretty good value, even if it’s more station wagon in my book than crossover.