SSANGYONG RODIUS / STAVICTiming chain or Belt?

The SsangYong Rodius is a D-segment MPV from the Korean manufacturer SsangYong Motor, belonging to the company Mahindra & Mahindra. It was manufactured starting in 2001 as a replacement for the SsangYong / Daewoo Istana, and production stopped in 2019 thereafter. Depending on the market, the model is marketed as the Rodius or the Stavic. This MPV is available with 7, 9, and 11-seat configurations distributed across 3 and 4 rows. The seats can be folded down to serve as tables or folded further (doubled) to add extra cargo space. They can also be swiveled to encourage conversation, as well as slid forward and backward.

The Rodius / Stavic has been sold over 2 generations. The first version was equipped with 6-cylinder 3.2-liter Mercedes-Benz engines, as well as 2.7-liter inline 5-cylinder diesel engines. This last engine was criticized as outdated, but the brand defended it well, stating that they were very solid engines. Much of the other criticism came because of its aesthetics. Not a few people claimed that it was the ugliest car in history—we imagine with the permission of the Fiat Multipla. Many of the comments arose because its appearance was similar to that of an unflattering Mercedes-Benz R-Class.

The second generation began selling starting in 2012. In some markets like the United Kingdom, it was also marketed as the SsangYong Turismo. This new version took much better care of its aesthetics and even had a redesign in 2018. However, a year later, the brand stopped marketing the model due to low sales. Since then, the brand has focused solely on producing SUVs and Pick-ups.

Among its main rivals were the Chrysler Grand Voyager, the Ford Galaxy, the Renault Espace, and the Peugeot 807, among others.