Korean carmaker Ssangyong has facelifted its Rodius crossover SUV. The previous Rodius was often ridiculed for its styling – so much so that a British group named it the “Ugliest Car on the Road” in 2005.
Ssangyong, an unfamiliar name to most North Americans, is actually the fourth-largest Korean carmaker, although the group is 51% owned by China’s Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation. Through a partnership with DaimlerChrysler, Ssangyong uses older Mercedes-Benz hardware, although clearly the Korean group uses its own styling.
The Rodius features a 3.2 liter six-cylinder gas engine and a 2.7 liter five-cylinder diesel. Ssangyong’s lead designer is Ken Greeley, a former designer at the Royal College of Art in London.
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07/25, 2:21 PM
posted by:
Driven
What happens when you mix a minivan with a station wagon… this hideous thing!
07/25, 2:23 PM
posted by:
jonnycat
Well I can’t see any other car giving this thing a run for the ugliest title.
07/25, 2:26 PM
posted by:
m6-500attouchofabutton
nothing must have happened today to put this story out.
07/25, 2:27 PM
posted by:
LP640
haha this thing will take much more than a facelift to save it. A WHOLE lot more. The lead designer should be lined up and shot for designing this. Shows you that the royal college of art would be more than willing to accept crap.
07/25, 2:27 PM
posted by:
Piablo
^^ Well, except maybe the Panamera!
07/25, 2:37 PM
posted by:
maximus
no car could possibly look like this in real life…
07/25, 2:37 PM
posted by:
Mitch Bangowitz
Ha ha ha ha ha ha hahhahahahahahahahahahah aaaahahahahah aaahhhha ha ha ha
07/25, 2:43 PM
posted by:
jamaicandude
That’s a face lift? It’s still ugly as hell.
07/25, 2:56 PM
posted by:
Deanster
That is so ugly it’s phenomenal.
I would have started with an asslift, it looks like it’s growing a ****ing tumor on the rear.
The designer needs a savage beating to the head
07/25, 2:59 PM
posted by:
Stridder44
Gorgeous! This thing looks amazing, and I can’t believe all of you are bashing such a radical-bahahahahahahaha I’m sorry I can’t keep that up with a straight face.
Honestly though what else would you expect from Korea?
07/25, 3:01 PM
posted by:
TOZO
And people in other countries are expected to buy this?
07/25, 3:05 PM
posted by:
seanm415
Gee, they ripped of the Mercedes M and R classes quite blatantly and STILL end up with an aborted fetus.
07/25, 3:10 PM
posted by:
tino
Where do I sign up?!?!!?!
07/25, 3:12 PM
posted by:
zurus
wow finally i agree with lp640 that **** looks like a retard minivan
07/25, 3:26 PM
posted by:
global_lightning
South Korea’s automakers take full advantage of protectionist government regulations that keep out foreign competition. This is the result.
The Big 3 and the US Government have been fighting this issue for some time. Bad enough they suck up US military resources and undermine our automakers with cheap imports.
07/25, 3:31 PM
posted by:
Htay5500
they also make trucks. I went to Burma to visit relatives when I saw one on the road. it was hideous, as many preferred toyotas and nissans all day! this looks fuglier than the r-class!!
07/25, 3:45 PM
posted by:
meanpants555
Pontiac made the Aztek… but alas it was better looking that this Rodius; it looks like it ate too much supper.
07/25, 4:24 PM
posted by:
Aston Martin
I have only ever seen one of these…Its just too hideous. It somehow manages to be able to trigger epileptic fits : )
07/25, 4:54 PM
posted by:
cwwilson
LOL.
Really, wtf.
07/25, 5:03 PM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
barftastic.
07/25, 6:05 PM
posted by:
TomF
Man, that’s hideous. There must be some Korean design sensibility I just don’t get.
07/25, 6:47 PM
posted by:
AgmLauncher
So by face lift they mean copy the front end of a Mercedes S-Class and ignore the the fact that the back end looks like a block with a texture pasted onto it?
07/25, 6:52 PM
posted by:
LP640
the funny thing is that Veda actually owns one of these
07/25, 8:01 PM
posted by:
dtn521
wow, that thing/suv is uglier than the sebring.
07/25, 8:41 PM
posted by:
jJayC08
It looks like a Mercedes, with the front, rear tail lights, and indented line running from front to back.
Not to mention it looks like someone turned the rear window of the Mercedes Benz A-Class upside down.
If they got rid of that portion of the car, and made it simply slope from where the D pillar is (or C pillar if you don’t consider such a thing as a D pillar), then it would look much better.
Uses it’s own styling you say? I say it’s a complete (and failed) copy.
07/25, 9:05 PM
posted by:
55amg
It needs to be re-bodied not facelifted.
The rest of the range is even(or equally) worst
Makes the Porsche Panamera look pretty
07/25, 9:09 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
*THIS* is the redesign?!?
Dear G-d help us all! This moron should be taken out back and shot for bringing these ****ING UGLY plagues upon humanity!
07/25, 11:21 PM
posted by:
paging_the_real_BARTMACK
They need to keep on lifting…
07/25, 11:25 PM
posted by:
Jon
Many of the Ssangyong models have a Mercedes look to them. In Asian markets, this Rodius was designed to be a NINE-seater! Hence the horrible roofline.
07/25, 11:59 PM
posted by:
sik59rt
and this is why no Americans buy Korean cars
07/26, 3:39 AM
posted by:
spud
The thing about this abomination is that the bollocks design isn’t the ying to the yang of a great interior / specious quality interior / great handling, as they are all bollocks as well.
Drive one of these and you get double-takes wherever you go – they have to be seen in the flesh to believed.
- So Ken Greenly is the chief designer. Is he 6?
07/26, 5:08 AM
posted by:
Veda
As an owner of 2 Ssangyong Rextons, I’d reinstate my comment that their designs are controversial given some are actually designed by Pininfarina your beloved Ferrari designers (and that’s really what you dumbasses can only comment on) but their offroad capability really puts a smile in my face. It’s especially great to splash flood water over flooded cars including their passengers on the side of the road. A nice tool for evil purposes…
07/26, 5:38 AM
posted by:
Aston Martin
^^^^^HA HA YOU HAVE NOT 1 BUT 2 ****MOBILES. YOU HAVE LOTS OF TASTE DON’T YOU?
07/26, 6:52 AM
posted by:
AgmLauncher
“If they got rid of that portion of the car, and made it simply slope from where the D pillar is (or C pillar if you don’t consider such a thing as a D pillar), then it would look much better.”
Agreed. And make the wheels larger. My mom’s 1986 Chevy Nova had bigger wheels than that thing :S
07/26, 7:11 AM
posted by:
Me
MOMMY!! Make the ugly car go away!!
07/26, 8:47 AM
posted by:
Veda
Aston Martin: Yea, my client doesn’t have taste but for the 2 Ssangyongs I gave them and the money they gave me I can now go get a brand new Vantage. So keep on dreaming about owning an Aston dumbass…
07/26, 9:15 AM
posted by:
1c3d0g
Me: ROFL!
07/26, 10:29 AM
posted by:
sunshine1810
I see many of these SUV’s on the road and like most of you have said, it is without a doubt one of the ugliest cars on the road. Its also very large.
07/26, 10:31 AM
posted by:
GBilbo070
1. British group = Top Gear,
2. 4th largest Korean car company, i didnt even know there was four?
07/26, 10:44 AM
posted by:
sik59rt
Veda,
i thought you said that YOU have 2 of these POS’s not your client. plus people who brag about how much money they have, dont really have it. its like someone saying theyre in the mafia or know someone in the mafia….it really means they know some italians.
and i think if i gave my client two of these things, i would loose them as a customer…forever
07/26, 11:21 AM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Ugly.
Coming to america?
I’ll need to prep my eyes
07/26, 12:54 PM
posted by:
Veda
sik59rt, sure you don’t have to believe me but follow the link on my name if you really care. At least I don’t use “Aston Martin” as a nickname and don’t provide anything to back it up.
PS: The guy actually loves the cars so much he wants to buy them at the end of the contract. Since you probably never even sat in one, you should probably just shut up.
07/26, 2:34 PM
posted by:
jJayC08
Regardless of me criticizing styling, which I’m sure we’re all agree the exterior is something extra-terrestial (es), I’ve heard it’s selling very well in Korea. After hearing Vedas plea (sarcasm) for sik59rt to listen, I decided to look up interior shots myself since I don’t really have the opportunity to look at it in person. The interior of the car looks really good, I suppose that’s the buying point of the car.
The design was made to achieve the essense of a yacht (seriously, I’m not kidding!!)
07/26, 9:20 PM
posted by:
Deanster
Excuse me Veda,
But just because you linked your name to an Indonesian car rental company, that validates something somehow? What if I linked my name to 2pac.com? Am I 2pac now?
Actually, I think I’ll link my name to Asstraffic.com. That’s a good one!
07/26, 10:25 PM
posted by:
alceuzito
haha. I guess it’ll get the second title in a row from Top Gear
07/26, 10:30 PM
posted by:
alceuzito
So… if it’s really made to achieve the essence of an yacht, LET’S THROW’EM ALL TO THE SEA!!!!! AAAHAHAHAHAHA
07/27, 11:49 AM
posted by:
GarbageMotorsCo
Don’t they have car covers over there? This thing just begs for one.
07/27, 2:52 PM
posted by:
MX5Bob
Rodius rhymes with odious.
08/05, 1:07 PM
posted by:
BLISS
I HOPE THEY COME UP WITH SOMETHING MUCH BETTER.