Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel engines and utilizing the 5-door MPV body style within the same 'MPV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the SSangYong and front in the case of the Renault). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 5-cylinder, 10-valves 163hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 177hp engine designed by Isuzu.

The fact that the Renault got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the mpv segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the Korean car offers a considerable difference of 13% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Renault as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of SSangYong with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Renault badge with 4.1 out of 5. The same official information place Rodius as average reliability-wise, and Espace is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Korean car rank it on average as 4.4, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.8 out of 5.

Renault is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 3.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 204 kilometers per hour, 35km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the French car, averaging around 7.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (38 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 16% difference compared to the Korean car.

Renault appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the French car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Renault outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Renault. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.