Ssangyong Rodius

Road test

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.

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.

Sam Philip