This, unbelievably, is a Ssangyong.

It is called the C200, and although it's just a concept, and quite unlikely to make it into production looking as remotely awesome as it does... it gobsmacks me. Not because it's quite that good-looking, but don't get me wrong, it looks great. What I'm trying to say is... how did Ssangyong do it?

Think of any other Ssangyong cars you can name. If you don't know what a Ssangyong is, google them, or look at the cars I will talk about below. You won't forget what a Ssangyong is when you've seen one. Ssangyong invented ugly. Okay, they may not have invented it, but they have perfected ugliness. And unlike the Picnic chocolate bar, Ssangyongs aren't delicious to drive.

Take the Actyon for example - it's name may sound like one of the moons of Uranus (I think it's really just "Action", with the 'i' replaced with a 'y' - as you do), but it manages to take the horrible body shape of the BMW X6, and make it soooo much worse. Of the two pictures below, the BMW is first, and then - brace yourself - is the Actyon.
Okay, the BMW is pretty awful (well, some like it, some don't), but the Actyon simply looks wrong, like a joke. "Hey, don't you think it'd be funny if you saw cars that looked like this running around?" said one designer to the other. "Ssangyong like ugly stuff, let's show it to them first." And there is the history of the Actyon.

The Ssangyong website claims that "Actyon's distinctive crossover look incorporates the sleek lines of a coupe into a small SUV". Well, I also learned from the website that the name Actyon was actually coined, despite my speculation, from "Active" and "Youth" (supposedly it's target market) and as soon as you think about how active the youth of today are, bam, Ssangyong's credibility is in tatters. Don't believe a word they say. It is ugly.

Then there's the grandaddy of ugliness. The Stavic (or Rodius in some markets) has the most ill-conceived face in the motor industry, in my humble opinion. The grille reminds everyone I know of a burnt thong.And when you combine that with an "unmistakably" proportioned profile (below), you get a car that has a "sophisticated look". Ssangyong's words, not mine. I told you not to believe a word they say.
Which brings me to the C200. It looks brilliant, and even if you take away all the futuristic LED lights, the looks still have substance. It will, apparently, be the renaissance of Ssangyong, and is indicative of their long-term plan - to add "stylishness and progressiveness" into their model line-up. I can't wait - if they start making cars like the C200, I've got a feeling I'm really going to start liking Ssangyong.But sadly, if a past record is anything to go by, then it is all lies. Ssangyong's new models couldn't possibly have "stylishness and progressiveness" - not if they say so, anyway. But I want them to prove me wrong so badly. Please prove me wrong, Ssangyong, and I'll never Ssay anything horrible about you again.

PARIS MOTOR SHOW 2008: Ssangyong learns what Sstyle means