After its introduction to the UK in 1995, SsangYong has all but fallen off the map in recent years, but thanks to a relaunch by new importer and distributor Koelliker (a subsidiary of a successful and long-established Italian company) we're likely to be hearing a lot more about this largely Chinese-owned but still Korea-based brand in the near future.Which means it's time to take a look at SsangYong's most notorious model, the Rodius seven-seat MPV which is widely regarded as the most godawful-looking son of a bitch you can buy in this country. Designer Ken Greenley has defended the styling of the Rodius by saying that it makes sense in Korea, but to western eyes it seems a villainous piece of work."If it looks right, it is right." If the opposite of that old saying is also true, it must follow that the Rodius is absolutely awful, and until this week I'd fallen into the trap of assuming that it probably was. Now that my Rodius virginity is a thing of the past, though, I've realised two things: first, it looks a lot better if it's painted in a very dark colour; and second, it's actually pretty good.One of the things Koelliker has done is to take an axe to the old pricing structure, with the result that the entry-level Rodius - the 270 S tested here - now costs just £14,995. For that relatively modest sum (there are more expensive Volkswagen Polos, for example) you get an enormous device which can hold seven people and quite a lot of luggage at the same time, or two people and a thoroughly staggering amount of luggage, and which is powered by a rather good 163bhp Mercedes-derived five-cylinder turbo diesel engine.To put some figures on this, the Rodius has a load volume of 875 litres with all the seats in place, and 3043 litres with five of them folded. That means it's nearly as roomy as a Chrysler Grand Voyager, but it also costs £2740 less than the cheapest Kia Sedona.If you can't stand the way it looks, this information may still not be enough to persuade you to buy one, but it does make sense of the fact that the Rodius has proved to be the most popular SsangYong since Koelliker took over, largely due to the interest shown by taxi drivers (who are eligible for a staggering 250,000-mile warranty package) and chauffeurs.It's not hard to see how the Rodius can be sold so cheaply. It seems well put together, but most of the switchgear is very low-quality, the linkage to the manual gearbox fitted to the 270 S (more expensive versions can be bought with automatic transmission) is very floppy, and some of the plastic shows signs of having been ripped carelessly from the mold.But in other ways the Rodius is very impressive. That 2.7-litre diesel engine has enough grunt to provide decent performance for a car of this size, and in gentle driving its noise is well subdued. The ride quality is astonishing - soft, but with very little sign of the front-end bounce which so often afflicts vehicles like this - and although you wouldn't describe the handling as sporty the Rodius can nevertheless be hustled through corners amusingly quickly.More importantly, the Rodius is an effective cruiser, with road and wind noise levels no worse than you would expect from any very large MPV, and thanks to its light steering and reasonable turning circle it's very easy to drive in town. The main difficulty here is that the peculiar rear window arrangement which is largely responsible for the cries of alarm from aesthetically sensitive onlookers also does a good job of blocking the view, and visibility past the large front and central pillars isn't that great either.On the other hand, there are some very nice touches. I really like the storage box mounted between the front seats, partly because it's one of the largest I've ever seen and partly because it has wheels and a telescopic handle. Remove it from the car (a simple process) and you have a miniature shopping trolley - how clever is that?I also like the anti-stall device. Well, that may be a slightly grand description, and it's not nearly as fancy as the systems which prevent Grand Prix cars from stuttering to a halt if something goes wrong on the startline. What happens with the Rodius is that the engine revs rise slightly as you start to release the clutch pedal when the car is in gear.It's a simple idea, but a very unusual one, and it reduces the possibility of you having to wave an apology to the driver behind you while frantically trying to restart the engine at a set of traffic lights.As you might expect from the luggage volume statistics mentioned earlier, the Rodius is an absolutely genuine seven-seater, not a five-seater with a couple of "occasional" seats thrown in the back for the use of the young and/or afflicted. You really can get seven adults in there, though since the seats in the second and third rows are mounted close to the floor you're liable to have a surprisingly good view of your own knees if you're over six feet tall.I mentioned the Grand Voyager and Sedona as possible rivals to the Rodius because those are the cars mentioned by Koelliker. In fact, the most obvious opposition is the Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Life, which looks better (not difficult), has even more room inside, is cheaper to run (better fuel economy, less CO2, several insurance groups lower) and, in its most basic form, costs only £1000 more.If I needed a vehicle to carry me and six similarly-sized friends on a regular basis, I'd buy the Volkswagen. If I also had to do a lot of towing, I'd switch to the SsangYong, since its towing capacity is a full 1000kg higher. And that's the point: there are some situations - not many, perhaps, but definitely some - in which the Rodius may just be the ideal car for you, as long as you can stomach the way it looks. Make sure you buy a dark-coloured one, though. Engine 2696cc, 4 cylinders Power 163bhp Fuel/CO2 32.1mpg / 223g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 14.1 seconds Top speed 105mph Price £14,995 Details correct at publication date
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