270 EX Auto 5dr People Carrier

The World's largest MPV, possibly, is a joy to kids and grabs piles of luggage.

Fresh from a long period of uncertainty Ssangyong is now owned by India's Mahindra.

I almost feel compelled to sing the praises of the Rodius model.

We have had four kids for twelve years and we have owned , rented or test driven just about every large MPV on the market. We are now on our second Ssangyong Rodius. Yes, it is horrible in all sorts of ways but it is still the best MPV we have owned because it is simply enormous. There is so much room for the kids (who are all teenagers about six foot tall). The Ford S
Max, for example, may be great for the driver but it is just not, even slightly, serious when it comes to taking seven adult sized people on a 900 mile trek to, say, Nice. And the SSangyong in four wheel drive version is a beast that can challenge the very best of the big 4 by 4's.

You don't buy a people mover for the performance, the handling, the kudos or even the styling and this car certainly lets you know what it feels about winding country roads but on a motorway or decent A road it is fine. Even fully loaded it will accelerate up hills at speed and in Europe will cruise all day at 100 mph plus. The children seem to be happy to sit in it for hours without the usual complaints about tiny seats or lack of legroom. And the boot space is excellent. We went away for Christmas last year with a large number of Santa sacks and I couldn't believe how much luggage we could fit in. When we are in North America we usually end up with a Voyager; it is a good car - probably the best in the class but my kids don't like the relatively tiny seats; and happy passengers make happy drivers.

My wife's car is a fairly nifty BMW 3 series but my uber brand conscience kids are much happier in the Rodius because it is far more comfortable and roomy.

Mechanically uninspiring, it still runs on a Mercedes designed engine and a
Mercedes built automatic gear box.

Jeremy Clarkson made the comment that bullock herders cannot make decent cars and that you have to be lobotomised to drive one but this is a car to treasure, especially as there is room for said bullock in the boot.

This car is cheap to buy and would be a godsend to many large families even if it is easy to knock for it's ill-conceived looks.

We have had to have a DVD fitted to both cars, annoying as a standard equipment factory fit would be cheap and seen as essential by any MPV kiddie.

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