I feel compelled to sing the praises of the SsangYong Rodius. We have had four kids for twelve years and we have owned, rented or test-driven just about every MPV there is. We are now on our second SsangYong Rodius. Yes, it is horrible in all sorts of ways, but it is still the best MPV we have owned because it is simply enormous.

There is plenty of room for the kids (who are all nearly six foot tall). The Ford S-Max may be great for the driver but cannot carry seven adult-sized people and their luggage on a 900-mile trek. And with the four-wheel-drive Rodius you are getting a beast that can challenge the very best of the big 4x4s. You don't buy a people mover for performance, and the car certainly lets you know what it feels about winding country roads, but on the motorway it is great. Even fully laden it will accelerate up hills at speed and cruise all day at 100mph or more. Our children seem to be happy to sit in it for hours without the usual complaints about tiny seats or lack of legroom, and the boot space is colossal.

We went away for Christmas last year with a large number of Santa sacks and I couldn't believe how much we could fit in. My wife's car is a fairly nifty BMW 3 Series but my brand conscious kids are much happier in the Rodius because it is far more comfortable and roomy, and it does have a Mercedes-Benz-designed engine and gearbox. Jeremy Clarkson made the comment that bullock herders cannot make decent cars and that you have to be lobotomised to drive one, but this is a car to treasure, especially as there is room for said bullock in the boot. This Rodius is cheap to buy and a godsend to many large families, even if it is easy to knock for it's ill-conceived looks.