And puppy makes eight (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

And puppy makes eight

Trying out this new seven-seater, MICHELLE TOMPKINS soon found that driving was the easy bit. Keeping the kids quiet was another matter.

The noise from the back of the car was reaching fever-pitch. Six excited little boys scrambled about, all shouting to be heard, and winding up the excited little puppy in the boot, who started yapping in reply.

As I headed out to Stanton Park in torrential rain, I wondered if I was ever-so-slightly mad.

Of course I was.

But never mind my sanity what better way to put the new seven-seater SsangYong Rodius to the test than to cram it full of kids and take them out on a day trip?

The Rodius is the latest model from the Chinese-backed Korean manufacturer, which is better known for its 4x4s. Having recently bought my first 4x4 and finally adjusted to its width and height, I thought I'd be prepared for the extra bulk this model has over your average saloon.

But while the publicity blurb for the Rodius claims it to be 'distinctive' and 'imposing' in style, at first glance that's better translated as downright scary.

When the big black beast rolled onto my drive at home, I wondered how little ol' me (5ft 1in) was ever going to control this monster (5m long and 1.8 high), let alone swing it around Swindon's one-way system.

I needn't have panicked. True to its hype, the Rodius is far less intimidating to drive than it looks, and thanks to incredibly smooth steering and handy parking sensors that tell you when you're getting just a teensy bit close to some immovable object behind you it's actually easier to manoeuvre about town than my own car.

With its sleek black bodywork, privacy glass in the windows and cup holders in the back (very impressive to children aged eight and 10) the car was soon christened 'the limo'.

We took our limo all over the place in the name of research, but it still took us the best part of the week to work out the vast number of gadgets and extras at our fingertips.

For a start, there's the seats. The 2-2-3 formation is designed to provide enough space and legroom for seven adults, and it does, but the possibilities don't end there. All of the seats recline into bed mode if needed and the middle two swing round to face the back, kind of like a train.

On top of that, the rear bench seat can slide forwards or back depending on how much boot space you need. Even when the seats are pushed back to the max, the boot space is positively huge the puppy was in her own little doggie heaven.

Then there's the air con. I don't think I ever quite got to grips with the 'dual zone climate control with air purifier', as it's called, but the LCD displays of arrows and buttons looked pretty impressive flickering away on the dash.

Oh yes, the dash. The speedo and petrol guages are in the centre, between driver and passenger great if your passenger wants to keep an eye on your speed, not so great when you have to glance sideways to monitor yourself.

In front of you, where the speedo should be, is a series of lights indicating which gear the car is using (it's automatic). I found it quite distracting, although I'm sure I'd get used to it in time.

There's also cruise control, nifty wipers which spray water directly onto the windscreen, a foot-controlled handbrake and a strange little plastic flower vase on the dashboard (rather surplus to requirements, I thought).

The only thing missing was one of those handy glass partitions to block out the racket from the kids behind you.

Oh well, you can't have it all.

SsangYong Rodius

Two models available - the SV270 SE Auto and the slightly more basic SV270 E Auto

0-62 mph in 13.5 secs

Top speed 104mph

Fuel consumption, combined. Diesel 28.5mpg

Fuel tank 80 litres

Price: On the road from £18,999

Contact: David Hendry Cars

Kingfisher Mill

Park Road

Malmesbury

Wiltshire

SN16 0BX

Tel: 01666 824369

www.dhcars.co.uk