You could be forgiven if you mistake the Ssangyong Chairman for a Mercedes Benz as the Chairman is based on the previous S class Mercedes and the Ssangyong designers were not ashamed to hide it.
Ssangyong has had a technology partnership with Daimler Benz since 1991 and has built Mercedes designed engines under licence in Korea since then, the deal was beneficial to both parties as it helped gain some leverage for Mercedes in Korea (a country with strict car import regulations) and it gave Ssangyong access to an off the shelf motor design that has been used in their 4WD range and since 1997 the deal gave Ssangyong a luxury passenger car, The Chairman.
As the Chairman is derived from the old Mercedes S-class W140 it has similar multi-link rear suspension but MacPherson strut up front. 2900 mm wheelbase is halfway between the E-class and W140, thus provide abundance of cabin room. If not enough, a long wheelbase version can be chosen to extend that to over 3 meters.
Inside the cabin, it is really very well finished. The design follows the tradition of Mercedes to be neat, no-nonsense and rock solid. The rear seat received even more attention to details. Open the doors, the seat will slide back a few inches to aid access. Close the doors, the seat will move back to its memorized position. Another boss-pleasing feature is: the boss can control the position of front seats via a control panel in the rear arm rest to make more rear leg room whenever necessary. or he can operate the electric leg rest that raises from the rear seat, which also includes a massager.
On the road, the short wheelbase version handles quite nimble considering its length, partly thanks to the relatively lightweight of 1635 kg, partly thanks to the suspension tuning which is a good compromise between ride softness and body control. Compare with Mercedes, it is still bias towards soft – what else can you expect for an Asian boss car?
The Chairman is not short of power, because the engine is the proven Mercedes 24-valve 3.2-litre straight six delivering 220bhp. It is smooth and sound insulation of the cabin is very impressive thus engine noise, wind noise and tyre roar are well insulated to very low level. Moreover, the Chairman generously offers its customers Mercedes world-beating 5-speed automatic whose shift is so seamless that the boss can concentrate on reading newspaper without being disturbed.