Huge eight-seater MPV is a lot of car for the money Acres of interior space There aren’t many cars that can seat eight people (legally) at the same time. The massively overpriced Mercedes Viano is one, and the Ford Tourneo Custom is another. For those looking for something so accommodating, perhaps the most sensible choice is the Hyundai i800. Vehicles such as these aren’t built for style, which the i800 proves in spectacular fashion. What it does have, however, is a roomy, comfortable cabin that is more than capable of swallowing eight passengers and all of their kit. Once you throw into a bargain price into the mix and then several of the Hyundai’s failings become easier to forgive. The fact that it is so capable at the one thing that it’s designed to do gives it a charm of its own. Cheapest to buy: 2.5-litre 136hp SE diesel Cheapest to run: 2.5-litre 136hp SE diesel Fastest model: 2.5-litre auto SE diesel Most popular: 2.5-litre 136hp SE diesel

Like the outside of the i800, those hoping for some style in the cabin should look elsewhere. The dash is bland, and everything is covered in grey plastic that feels both cheap and scratchy. However, there is acres of space inside. Even with all eight seats in place, there is a gigantic 850-litre boot out back, while all three rows of seats have generous leg, head and shoulder room. The large windows make for a great view out, too. This is certainly a car which has been designed with practicality in mind, and from that point of view it makes a good case for itself. The i800 was originally developed to be a van, so it will come as no surprise to discover the driving experience isn’t exactly the most thrilling that money can buy. However, thanks to more advanced suspension than the H-1 van on which it is based, it does have a fairly comfortable ride, while wind and road noise are quite well suppressed. The brakes are strong and the steering feels nice enough. Considering Hyundai have got most other things right, it’s quite easy to forgive the wallowy handling.

Just one engine is available: a 2.5-litre turbo diesel. Producing 170hp, it is never going to set the world alight in a vehicle that  – even before you stuff eight people inside it – weighs over 2,200 kilos. However, thanks to a very generous 324lb ft of torque, it doesn’t ever feel particularly wheezy either. Fuel economy isn’t fantastic at a claimed 33mpg, and the gearshift is a little sloppy, but at least critics note that the engine is reasonably quiet. The i800 hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP, so it’s difficult to know exactly what score it would achieve. However, equipment levels are poor; only two airbags are available for the front passengers, while there are no side or curtain airbags for the rear rows. The middle three seats all feature Isofix brackets, which mean that child seats can be safely mounted. For a car which starts at under £23,000, value for money is certainly one of the i800’s strong points. Kit levels are decent if not spectacular – you’ll find air-con, heated seats, CD player and electric windows – but thanks to the generous five year warranty, should anything go wrong you’ll be well-covered.

Depreciation is fairly steep, so it’s certainly worth keeping one for a good few years if you do commit to one.hookless shower curtain 77 long It’s difficult to complain about what the i800 offers. prestige curtains ammanSure, it handles like a boat and it is possibly one of the least stylish vehicles money can buy, but as a car which is ‘fit for purpose’ there really isn’t much to fault. mgl curtains singaporeIt’s comfy, reasonably refined and very good value for money.hookless shower curtain embossed moire Most will likely be sold to taxi firms, but for anyone else needing to transport as many as seven passengers around at the same time could certainly do worse than this.black curtains tekstowo

Looking for great Hyundai i800 offers? On carwow you can easily compare the best new car offers from local and national dealers.ikea dignitet wire curtain rods without any of the usual hassle!steve madden ruffle shower curtain lilacThe SsyangYong Turismo's predecessor - the Rodius - was generally acknowledged as the ugliest new car on sale during its lifetime. Its bizarre appearance - which made it look as though someone had attached a dormer window to the back of it - was unfortunate when it had little else but its low price and sheer size to recommend it. Ssangyong hasn't exactly pulled out all the stops with the Turismo, but it does look as if the two ends of the car were designed by the same person, or at least by people within the same building. Otherwise, the Turismo carries on where the Rodius left off - it's a huge, seven-seat MPV that aims to beat its rivals on metal-per-pound, if nothing else.

As well as being (a bit) easier on the eye than the Rodius, the Turismo is even longer. In fact, it's longer than the latest Range Rover, and you could almost fit a city car inside its monstrous 300cm wheelbase. It also has a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine and a choice of either a six-speed manual gearbox or a Mercedes-Benz-sourced five-speed auto. At £17,995 the entry-level S model undercuts the cheapest version of similarly sized MPVs by several thousand pounds, so it should catch the eye of family buyers looking for maximum space for minimum cash. What they won't find quite so appealing is the odd cabin layout - the second row has only two individual seats, with a gaping space in the middle. That means access to the rear row is easy, but means that anyone with three kids will have to relegate one to the back seat. As much as this arrangement keeps fractious children apart, it also means that one is well beyond their parents' reach. There are no Isofix points for the one-piece rear bench, either.

Both second and third row seats slide to balance legroom and luggage requirements, and you can lift the rear bench out altogether. This antiquated arrangement poses more problems than it solves, though - who will you find to help you carry the heavy rear seat? Where will you put it? What do you do with a bicycle if you don't want to take the rear seat out? (the answer to that last one is on top of the folded rear seat, I discovered). Admittedly the boot is large even with all seven seats in place, but when most other big MPVs have a much more flexible layout that allows you to fold individual seats up or down at will, with no heavy lifting involved, the Turismo's cabin seems like an exercise in making things more difficult than they need to be. There's little to like about the rest of the interior either - the front seats are comfortable enough, but the dashboard - carried over with minimal changes from the Rodius - is a horror, with the kind of hard grey plastic that most car manufacturers stopped using a long time ago.

The driving experience, which is far from great, is probably the best thing about the Turismo. The vast body pitches around easily and the steering is slow to react, while the diesel engine is boomy and the boxy shape kicks up a lot of wind noise on the motorway. The automatic gearbox often gets caught out, too, so all told you're best off taking things as slowly as possible. Do so and the Turismo's king-of-the-road driving position helps to make it strangely relaxing - if not exactly enjoyable - to drive. Parking isn't as difficult as you might expect, thanks to the Turismo's boxy shape, large glass area and, on all but the entry-level model, reversing sensors as standard. Air-conditioning - front and rear - is standard across the range and the basic S model is the only one that misses out on alloy wheels, leather upholstery and side airbags. Curtain airbags aren't offered, which is a black mark for a family car such as this, while satnav is a pricey £999 option across the range. A maximum braked trailer weight of 2,500kg boosts the Turismo's towcar credentials, while top-spec EX models such as the one we drove have selectable four-wheel drive as standard.

The rest of the range is rear-wheel-drive only, which gives slightly better fuel economy of 37.2mpg for manual models and 36.2mpg for automatic versions. That's still poor compared with 2.0-litre diesel versions of rivals such as the Ford Galaxy and Seat Alhambra, which get close to - or even top - 50mpg. A five-year/unlimited mileage warranty makes ownership seem a slightly sweeter prospect, but CO2 emissions of between 199 and 212g/km sours things. If a cheap, van-with-windows MPV is what you're after, a Hyundai i800 is a better bet, and has seating for one more. If you only need seven seats, there are many more palatable options than the Turismo. At £17,995 the cheapest version has a modicum of appeal; at just under £24,000 this version has barely any. THE FACTS Ssangyong Turismo 2.0 e-XDi EX auto Price: £23,995 Price as tested: £25,148 Power/torque: 153bhp/266lb ft Top speed: 108mph Acceleration: na Fuel economy: 34.9mpg (EU Combined) CO2 emissions: 212g/km Telegraph rating: Two out of five stars