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First Drive

Road Test: Ssangyong Rodius 270 S 5dr

Prices from

£15,340 when new

310
Published: 01 Apr 2008
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SPEC HIGHLIGHTS

  • BHP

    165bhp

  • 0-62

    14.2s

  • CO2

    223g/km

  • Max Speed

    105Mph

  • Insurance
    group

    27D

The Rodius, a car even more prone to embarrassing mispronunciation than the Rexton, and one that blows the anonymous cover of its fellow SsangYongs by looking curiously like a BMW X6 with a DIY conservatory attachment out back.

I know attractiveness is a subjective concept, but unless you found that mouse-with-an-ear-grafted-onto-its-back attractive, you'll struggle with this one.

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That arse transplant does mean the Rodius is bloody monstrous on the inside, though. There are three rows of seats with buckets of bootspace behind - indeed, in Korea you can even order a nine-seater Rodius with a fourth row in the very back - and enough headroom for an impromptu meeting of the Wisbech Top Hat convention.

The interior quality is just awful, though - as tacky and plasticky as a plastic tack - while the gearchange is floppy and wobbly enough to provoke a Pele-fronted public information campaign.

Still, if you're, say, a freakishly tall airport cab driver with no sense of shame, you might just find a place for the Rodius in your heart. The rest of you can do better.

 

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