Feeling like a King of the Road

Despite my lack of motoring credentials I was offered a chance to test drive the new SsangYong Korando last week.

This impressive motor has gone on sale at HB Dennis Airside and the nice people over there had one ready for a test run.

With nobody else available I offered my services even though I have a distinct lack of driving knowledge.

I have driven the same car (a 98 Ford Mondeo) for years and before that I owned a 96 VW Polo.

And that’s about the sum of my motoring experience apart from driving some fancy rental cars while on holiday. And

‘fancy’ is about the only detail I can recall about them.

So taking out any brand new car for a spin would have been a novelty for me but the SsangYong Korando provided a real thrill.

The first thing I noticed as I clambered aboard was its height. It stands head and shoulders above most other cars and provided a real sense of authority with clear, commanding views over the road ahead.

Spurred into action by a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine it shoots along, despite its size, and handles impressively when changing lanes on the city’s roads.

It comes with an impressive array of bells and whistles that include parking assist, hillside start, heated seats, rain sensor windows and cruise control.

It was a fun, easy ride and I quickly got used to feeling like a king of the road as I cruised along, gazing out over the rest of the traffic.

At night, as I looked out my sitting room window at it parked majestically on our road I could not figure out if it was a car, a SUV, a truck or a jeep.

I had been referring to it as ‘my truck’ all week although my five-year-old insisted it was a car. (I think it is somewhere in between and the proper term is a ‘crossover’).

But whatever its technical definition a thought occurred to me as I stared at.

As little as I know about cars, compared to all the other motors parked out on the road, I knew I was looking at the future.

And as I sat admiring it the only negative thought I had was that eventually I was going to have to give it back.

?¢ HB Dennis Airside Ltd is located at the Airside Motor Park, situated near Dublin Airport and the M50-M1 junction. The company has been appointed Main Dealer for SsangYong that has reentered the Irish market with plans to launch three new model ranges by the end of 2013.

To celebrate their appointment, HB Dennis Airside announced a limited period ‘launch-edition’ price offer, reducing prices for all four versions in the new Korando 2.0 turbo diesel

‘crossover’ range by

?¬1,500. Prices now start from just

?¬24,495.