People Movers under $60K: Gold Star Value Awards 2015

New challenger tests Koreans.

Kia Rondo Si

TAKING the top spot isn’t a first for Kia’s Rondo, which suggests frugality is not just a fleeting quality. The Korean bus doesn’t win on the strength of retained value – the predicted depreciation isn’t fantastic at 53 percent – but on the fact you can buy the Rondo for a mere $30K, so there’s not too much to lose.

The 7.9L/100km economy figure is quite good given how hard the 2.0-litre petrol works, though it can’t touch turbo-diesel rivals. Kia’s seven-year warranty is also a boon, which helps the Rondo people-mover see off challengers from other long-warrantied brands such as Hyundai and Citroen.

Hyundai iMax 2.5 CRDi

HYUNDAI’S take on the people-mover is just a commercial van with seats bolted in, but it’s very effective transporting your peeps, and doing it with minimum cost.

Fiat Freemont

IT’S a Dodge in drag, but Fiat has given us the more cost-effective version. The Journey on which it’s based finished sixth overall simply because it’s pricier.