SsangYong Rodius is unrivalled on space but murdered by high emissions and price

Now, to the uninitiated, this term of endearment (which he only ever lavishes on himself) has one very simple rule which states that not all good-looking men are sexy, and vice versa.

When pushed for an example he'll roll out the usual suspects - Jimmy Nail, Steve Buscemi and of course Willem Dafoe - all famous, rich and talented, but mingers nonetheless.

The same can be said of the automotive industry where one is judged initially on one's looks.

It's certainly the case with the SsangYong Rodius or "Odious" as one motoring snob described her only last week.

Okay, it's not the best-looking bus you've ever seen, but for sheer space it is unrivalled.

Sitting at over 5 metres long and two metres wide, the Rodius boasts a whopping 3,146 litres of luggage space in the rear.

In fact, so vast is the interior, the Korean marque has taken to the airwaves to tell us that she is bigger than the latest Range Rover and "you could fit a small city car into the boot".

Even with the seats up it'll swallow a very impressive 875 litres while a half-a-dozen six-footers can occupy any seat comfortably.

Style-wise, the second coming is a lot more masculine with a bull-nose front but the rear still sports a ropey looking dormer window which dominates the back end.

Inside, the cabin is still a bit dated, with the main instrument cluster residing in the middle of the dash while the onboard vehicle stats are displayed in the centre above the steering wheel.

That said, standard specification is quite generous and would put a number of its rivals to shame.

On the entry level EX (manual) you get 16-inch alloys, heated front seats, rear parking sensors, air con, Bluetooth, electric folding mirrors, fog lamps and leather multi-function steering wheel.

Opt for the EX and you'll get a 5-speed tip tronic automatic gearbox sourced from Mercedes and leatherette seats.

Go for the whistle and bells LE (auto) and you'll be treated to leather seats, heated steering wheels, roof rails, 17-inch alloys and heated windscreen.

Drive-wise, it's as you'd expect from a car this size but is seriously lacking the refinement found in its biggest rivals - namely the Ford S-Max and SEAT Alhambra.

Steering is particularly poor and slow to react while connectivity to the road is non-existent.

The ride quality is decent though and the independent multi-link suspension irons out any bumps along the way.

Under the bonnet the SsangYong is powered by a more than capable 2.0litre diesel unit generating 155bhp - just don't expect any performance as 0-100kph takes around 12 seconds.

It's not that frugal either.

Official figures put economy at 37mpg (7.6l/100km) but we found it closer to 32mpg (auto).

But the biggest killer of all is the high emissions. Tipping the scales at 199 and 212g/km means the Rodius costs a whopping €1,200 a year to tax.

It also sits on the higher VRT band, bringing the entry-level price to €36,995 or an eye-watering €42,995 for the top-end model we tested.

A great shame, because there's nothing sexy about that.