Muscle memories
Frederic Manby finds joy through strength after taking to the wheel of the SsangYong Rexton Ultimate Plus SUV with a muddy dog and just the odd niggle for company.
WE started the year with challenges for carmakers. The Government’s desire for electric motoring requires 22 per cent of new cars sold in 2024 to be zero emission vehicles, normally electric. Some companies are well equipped to do this. Others are not and will struggle.
The South Korean 4x4 specialist SsangYong comes into 2024 with three SUVs and one pickup, and the new petrol or electric Torres SUV in March. It also got a new name, KGM, after being bought by Korea’s KG Group last year.
A pity: I’d become accustomed to the name SsangYong, which translates as double dragon and has adorned some ugly, often raw but robustly likeable cheaper SUVs and the gross seven-seater Rodius of 2004. The 4x4 specialist launched in the UK ten years earlier with the Musso, tempting with Mercedes-Benz technology and an English stylist who couldn’t overcome Korean kitsch.
Tested here is its modern flagship, the Rexton, a large and handsome seven- seater SUV ready for anything. The current model is the fifth iteration since 2001. This 2022 revamp added full-length running boards for safer entry and exit and LED projector headlamps.
The brand’s marketing describes the result as “a magnificently muscular thing”. Its formidable looks are matched by off-road credentials and the ability to pull 3.5 tons, with trailer sway control and two tons of body helping stability. Mileage was always below 30mpg.
Doing the drinking is SsangYong’s own 2.2-litre turbo diesel with 199bhp and 325 lb ft of torque. The eight-speed gearbox comes from its compatriot Hyundai. The drive goes to the rear wheels, with selectable 4x4 in high and low ratio adding drive at the front. There is hill descent speed control to avoid running amok down loose and slippery terrain, as well as hill start assistance to hold steady when setting off up the same terrain. The Kumho Crugen tyres were good on wet grass.
There are two models, Ventura and Ultimate, each with Plus upgrades. Here is the price, taxed for a year. Ventura, £39,500; Ventura Plus, £40,500; Ultimate, £42,500; Ultimate Plus, £46,250. Metallic paint adds £690. The warranty is five years to 100,000 miles.
The value for money is tempting compared with its peers. The kit on that Ventura includes a large digital instrument display, a heated leather steering wheel, powered and heated ventilated front seats, leather-look upholstery, parking sensors front and back, a reversing camera, nine airbags, emergency braking, speed limit and safety distance alerts, smart high beam and 18-in alloys. Phew – for under £40,000. For an additional £1,000, the Plus version adds privacy glass, a smart key which can close and open the windows and a power tailgate which opens by sensing the key holder. This is great when you arms are full with shopping or in my case a muddy dog.
The Ultra extras bring TomTom navigation, a 3D surround camera, lane change collision and blind spot alerts and Nappa leather. Adding £3,750 for the Plus version we tested brings handsome 20-in wheels, quilted Nappa with suede upper panels repeated on the fascia and air conditioning throughout the cabin. There is a phone charging pad, a small opening sunroof and blinds for the middle windows.
And so to the roads, often flooded, seldom dry, where all-wheel-grip is safer. This is a big car inside and out but it was surprisingly easy to manage and judge through tighter spaces. The engine pulls well, growling under pressure but cruising more quietly when it is almost too subtle, with yours truly often running the risk of speed cameras. The body aerodynamics were tuned in Pininfarina’s wind tunnel.
Its Achilles heel is the lack of ride comfort. This has been improved over the years but there is still vibration and it thumps at the back. Adding 150kg of coal calmed it slightly. The Rexton misses the ride and handling refinement of urbane rivals like the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Land Rover Discovery.
‘This is a big car inside and out but it was surprisingly easy to manage and judge through tighter spaces.’
You pay you money and make that choice but the price gaps are in the Rexton’s favour.
It works well as a five-seater with loads of luggage space or still a decent load deck with seven on board. The rear seats recline to suit your comfort, or fold almost flat to make a long and wide cargo deck. They tumble forwards to make access to the rear brace of seats. Getting them back upright is a magnificently muscular thing, to borrow a phrase.
The load length with all the seats folded is 72 inches plus an unsupported overhang to the front seats. Pop in a mattress and bed down. There is useful extra storage under the removable rear deck, with handy access to it when the tailgate is open without having to disturb any luggage.
Niggles: in the dark, the central information screen makes a windscreen reflection near the mirror and the main instrument panel shines in the side window. Plus points include quick navigation response to spoken requests.
The touchscreen is backed up by voice commands, handy buttons for the temperature settings and selectors on the steering wheel. There are twin USB sockets for the front and central seats, storage with slider covers in the front, and a wide drop-down armrest with compartment in the back. The last pair of seats have side trays, a 12v socket and climate controls but were criticised for scant padding on the side panels. Ingrates: I should have made them walk.
SsangYong Rexton Ultimate Plus: £46,250; 2.2-litre turbo diesel; 199bhp; torque, 325lb/ft; eightspeed automatic; top speed, 114mph; 0-62mph, 10.7 seconds; 33mpg (27 to 30mpg tested); tank, 15.5 gallons (70 litres); CO2 emissions, 190g/km; length, 191 inches; 3,500kg braked towing limit; www.kgm-motors.co.uk