Ssangyong Chairman W

The Chairman W, Ssangyong's finest, never saw the daylights out of its own country. Currently still a South Korea only model, the Chairman W is priced to compete with the finest cars, such as the Merc S Class, the BMW 7 Series, as well as domestic competition from Hyundai's very own Equus.

Well, while there's little to fault about the Chairman's handsome exterior, it seems the Koreans/Chinese didn't know how to make a proper interior. Going away from the trend of straight cut fittings, the Chairman's interior follows a round theme, especially how awful looking the round centre-stack looks. The shiny aluminium trimmings on it make it look worse. The beige interiors look passable, while the black one is horrendous.

Looking like a car from the 20th century, Sssangyong continued the bright wood trimmings and black leather interior, a similar theme used in the first Chairman nearly a decade ago. Oh my. Black was such a colour of the past.

Luckily, there is a 7G-tronic gearbox, courtesy of Mercedes Benz, and a iDrive looking like knob in the centre coloumn to give it an upmarket feel. The quality of the rough-textured plastics used on the dashboard looks suspectible, but the nice felt material ceiling trimmings exudes class and luxury.

In the rear, the story is very much different. Sitting in the driver's seat felt like riding a cheap Ssangyong automotive junk. But at the back, it reminds you of one of those old school Cadillac or Lincoln limousine where one would lounge comfortably in the rear bench seats. I particularly like the headrests, which looks and feels like I'm on a first class aeroplane cabin. To repeat things, there is also an iDrive looking knob on the centre armrest at the rear. Though the black leather is not really to my taste, I would still rate this an excellent cabin.

If only they could include blinds to shut out the sight of the hideous front dashboard from the rear passengers. Then you can hire someone you hate to be your driver. And remember to ask him to keep reminding you that you're in a Cadillac...