Ssangyong Rodius opinions?

dubtom

The rodius has caught my attention for work(taxi), 7 seater, 2.7 Mercedes engine with a tip-tronic 5 speed option for 38K ish.I have to admit on not being a merc diesel fan,although I have never had one I've sat beside many merc vans in the airport that sounded like washing machines. A nice looking mpv to my eye although I dont know if thats all it has going for it. Any expierence with it anyone. Comments on the merc engine? are they better than I judge them.
Another question, I have never got fianace on a car, on the ssangyong site their is a deposit of about 9K,pay for 5 years and then a balloon of 10K at the end:eek: is this normal or is there other ways of fianancing, ie no deposit or maybe trade in ,no balloon.

pburns

dubtom wrote:

T...A nice looking mpv to my eye although I dont know if thats all it has going for it. ...

Hmmm...beauty really is in the eye of the beholder! This car has been cited by many (including Top Gear) as the fugliest car currently on sale. I agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments.

That doesn't mean it wouldn't suit your requirements mind, I've seen a few of them as taxis around town. Don't know much about them though to be honest - large MPVs aren't really on my radar.

jimmycrackcorm

Saw one only a few hours ago and wondered what could actually possess a man to buy such an ugly vehicle. Next I spent a couple of minutes pondering how someone presented this to the sangsdong board of directors for approval for manufacture and how drunk they must have been to approve.

Anyone hazard a guess at resale values on this one?

dubtom

I like the look of it, it's different, all that aside,any opinions on the other questions I asked, the mercedes engine, the fianance. Actually, tiptronic gear boxes, are they proven as reliable generally.I'm kind of suspisious of new technoligy,although tiptronic has probably been around for years,I don't know, and Ssangyong as a brand, I know their quite newish, which in it self concerns me,opinions,expierances?
Oh, resale value doesn't concern me in the least, most people won't pay top dollor for an ex taxi anyway.

dahamsta

Ugliest car on the planet atm. Makes the Multipla look attractive.

maidhc

Since nobody seems to want to say anything other than the Rodius is ugly, I'll just add that Ssanyong has been owned by General Motors for a good few years now. It isn't a new brand, as was introduced into Ireland about 10 years ago as the Ssangyong Musso 4x4. It also had a 5cyl Mercedes diesel and was a good deal slower that fuch. The Musso was later rebadged as a Daewoo, but then the brand was reintroduced.

As far as I know the Rodius like most other Ssangyoungs has a Borg Warner drivetrain, which are used in many different brands across many models, so they should be very reliable. As regards tiptronic I can't say for certain how well they survive massive mileage, but should last as well as any automatic (how well that is can be debated)

Whatever you say about the brand they make an effort to be different.

Esel

Thought it had a Mercedes-designed engine, built in Korea?

dubtom

esel wrote:

Thought it had a Mercedes-designed engine, built in Korea?

A mercedes engine 'tweaked' by ssangyong engineers, whatever that means.

dahamsta

dubtom wrote:

A mercedes engine 'tweaked' by ssangyong engineers, whatever that means.

They made it even noisier, by all accounts.

junkyard

Daewoos and Ssangyongs are reliable enough by all accounts but don't hold their money but as that isn't an issue for you you should go and test drive one. Personally to me it looks like a hatchback with a dormer conversion and I think the styling is hideous but it would probably do the job alright. As regards finance, check out you own bank as a lot of these "finance deals" aren't always in your favour. I think Permanant TSB were the cheapest for car loans recently.

dingding

Ken Shabby wrote:

Ugliest car on the planet atm. Makes the Multipla look attractive.

It will be a design classic

colm_mcm

There aren't a whole lot of machines that offer that much size, the Previa has ended production, I wouldn't buy an Espace, and the Caravelle and V Class are vans with windows and huge price tags.

It is ugly, but it is cheap and huge.

Guy:Incognito

At the end of the day, as a taxi driver its a work car so how attractive a car is on the outside is pretty much irrelevant. If it's comfortable (for the driver),reliable, not likely to fall to bits inside and a decent drive, then everything else is pretty irrevlevant again. As dubtom said , whatever it is, becasue it's a taxi it's not really going to be attractive as a 2nd hand buy so the rodius might be a really good buy.


Never miss an anti renault mention, eh colm?

colm_mcm

seconded. I've seen quite a lot of them as taxis, customers might be afraid to get into it though!

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

dubtom

Thanks for the reponces lads.

yeah the uglyiest car around. the engine is very sluggist at best and the triptronic gearbox has a HUGE delay in changes! (i no this from my mas old ML270 same engine and gearbox).

Damn, just how noisey and sluggush?
One of the things that attracted me was the auto box, I wouldn't drive a manual and all the other carriers are basically vans with seats to my eye. I guess a test drive is my next step.

dubtom

Took a test drive today in the Rodius. Not as slow as someone mentioned and the gearbox was ok, although as with everything it would take a little getting used too compared to my camry.Nice spec and the leather is VVnice.Fianance accepted so I'll mull over it tonight and hopefully catch a taxi man who has one, they seem to be hard to find of late.

Max_Damage

I've driven the Rodius before (both manual and auto), and if I were you (espically for taxi use), I'd go with the auto, much smoother. The manual feels like it should be in a truck or something. I often found it feels like you're driving a bus.

Flangemonger

I wouldn't worry about the engine or gearbox reliability. The Merc engine has been on the go for years, and tiptronic gearboxes are just conventional sun-and-planet-gear automatics with a fancier, computer-controlled gear-selection mechanism. The basic technology inside the gearbox is unchanged in the last 50+ years.

And for my 2c worth, here's my reaction to the styling...:eek: but there is nothing else on the market that will carry 7 people AND their luggage at the same time. Just the ticket for a taxi. Best of luck with it!

colm_mcm

Kia Sedona?

dubtom

colm_mcm wrote:

Kia Sedona?

I looked at a couple today in the kesh, tiny compared to the rodius.I think I've got past the of actually buying a car that everyone hates and is made by ssangyong, it's the money now that has me worried, 800+ quid a month is kinda hard to get the head around, So I'm still in a state of:eek:
But then again, it's not dead money, I'll be earning.:cool:

Henry Ford III

The Rodius is hideous

giveth

Can I be the first to say that I actually like the look of the Rodius.

Please don't hate me.

Owen

Ugliest. Car. Ever. And what's with having a car as big as a van with wheels from a Mini?

Esel

Detailed review here http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/carreviews/review.aspx?model_id=1400

colm_mcm

WIll you actually make that much more on your fares by having 6 seats in the back?

Hard to justify €800 per month otherwise

dubtom

giveth wrote:

Can I be the first to say that I actually like the look of the Rodius.

Please don't hate me.

At last, a man with some taste:D

WIll you actually make that much more on your fares by having 6 seats in the back?

Hard to justify €800 per month otherwise

Well no not for 2 extra people it wouldn't. I have justified to myself long and hard as to why I should have it,at this stage it's more of a want thing:D
But seriously the difference in earnings could be very little at the moment, come september passengers will be 1 euro each which could make a difference. On rate 2 after 8 pm, a full car would be worth 10 euro before I pull off.Don't blame me for that btw, it's the regulator's idea.

Oh, I bought it today, thanks everyone for the comments, ugly and otherwise:rolleyes:

Flangemonger

dubtom wrote:

On rate 2 after 8 pm, a full car would be worth 10 euro before I pull off

Ooo-er missus! I suppose if your passengers are from Amsterdam or Bangkok they'd probably pay you double for that, but personally I'd prefer if you kept yer hands on the wheel...! :rolleyes:

Best of luck with her, keep her between the hedges!

colm_mcm

What colour did you get? I'll be looking out for it!

dubtom

I got a black one, which i might add is quite nice, the 'feature' at the back isn't as noticeable, it has privacy glass which is black so it blends in well.
I'll try and keep my hands on the wheel:D can be difficult though, have you seen some of the babes in this town:eek: