At a glance
SsangYong Rhino SPR XL Base price: $45,490.
Powertrain and performance: 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four, 133kW/ 420Nm, 6-speed automatic, 4WD, fuel economy 8.6 litres per 100km, 224g/km (source: Rightcar).
Vital statistics: 5295mm long, 1840mm high, 3100mm wheelbase, tray length 1600mm, 17-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Like a Rexton SUV with a tray (which it is), properly useful as a ute, good ride.
We don’t like: Not as slick on-road as shorter Rhino, rear doors are a bit stabby. petrol option) is not packed with character but it’s strong and smooth.
The ride is especially good – less truck-like than high-end Rangers (apart from Raptor, which is supersmooth), Hiluxes and Colorados.
The XL doesn’t quite measure up to its shorter stablemate in onroad behaviour: it retains a basic suspension setup at the rear with leaf springs, unlike the shorter Rhino which has a five-link arrangement and coil springs (borrowed from the Rexton SUV, on which the Rhino is based).
But if you have something more substantial than MTBs to carry, the changes do increase payload from 850kg for the short Rhino to 1060kg for the XL model.
The cabin is no-nonsense but nicely finished, comes with Apple and Android phone projection via its touch-screen and has some nice detail touches – like a little stand to rest your mobile phone against in the centre console.
Rhino also has a remarkably well-shaped rear seat for a ute, with a raked backrest (27 degrees) that belies the sawn-off cabin shape.
A good, honest family machine then, save a couple of rough edges.
Almost literally with the back doors, which have a pointed shape where the metal extends beyond the glass that can stab you in the chest – or clonk the kids on the head.