Not your garden-variety Ssangyong

THE Ssangyong Tivoli is named after one of the most famous gardens in Europe but as its distributor points out, it can be read "I lov it" backwards. Any forthcoming affection, Motorway believes, will stem from the way the Tivoli has combined Korean efficiency with European styling.

But even if you may not love it, you should be pleasantly surprised by some of this compact sport-utility vehicle's attributes.

Ssangyong is a Korean manufacturer better known for its larger and, er, unusually designed SUVs. Perhaps only the Ssangyong Rexton can be considered good-looking in the mainstream sense.