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You are > Home > When Ssangyong surprises
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008
When Ssangyong surprises
I wasn’t expecting to be particularly impressed with the Ssangyong Kyron, but that’s probably because I hadn’t driven a car from the brand for a long time.
I had simply forgotten that this is not a carmaker from the past, but one which has come very much into the 21st century.
Set between the Actyon and the Rexton, this particular SUV-type car is arguably one of the nicer of the breed, with less of the tall-assed look than its smaller sibling and yet distinctively different from the traditional sport and leisure utility cars on the market.
Especially in black, Kyron has an impressive presence from the front, substantial yet not aggressive. In markets where uninformed commentary has made the SUV an undeserved dirty word, it won’t intimidate. Indeed, it looks and feels more like a smart estate. In 2WD form, that’s actually what it is. Let’s get the underlying principles out of the way first.
The Kyron is built in the traditional SUV way, with a strong body on a rigid steel frame. This makes it particularly tough for regular use on rough terrain in the AWD version.
It used to be that there was a downside to this construction, in a hard ride and indifferent handling on tarmac, but the Ssangyong engineers have worked to make this vehicle’s road manners as sophisticated as any monocoque.
The style, as I’ve said, impresses. But this second generation Kyron also has an interior fit and finish that is up with the best of the competition and significantly more interesting than some.
There’s a smart look to the dashboard and driver’s area, with strong lines tempered in the right places by subtle curving. Switches and instrumentation are innovatively designed but manage also to have sensible ergonomics.
The quality of the plastics is well above what used to be the expected norm from Korea, and I felt I was really in a high-class machine as I drove this one on my first day with it. The driving position is also high, and very pleasant especially in clogged traffic.
It’s a five seater, and with plenty of space for the five, plus a good luggage capacity. As it should be, flipping the rear seats forward leaves a properly flat really good load area, so even the passenger version can be used to lug a lot of stuff. You can lie a bicycle down behind if you want. We’ve been doing a bit of building at home, and it took a decent load of excess material to the recycling while I had it.
But first and foremost, Kyron is a car. And that’s where I came to appreciate it best in a week where it had a good mix of people transporting to do, from simple commuting to a trip across Wicklow where it showed its ability as a perfectly comfortable cross country traveller. There’s just one power option, a 141hp turbodiesel that offers a very useable 310Nm of torque across a power band that begins the max at a comfortable 1800rpm.
And if there’s a downside, this is where it could be. The manual gearbox in the review car was a five-cog affair, and it really could have done with an extra leg at the top end. It wasn’t problematical enough to put me off, but for the long and faster haul it would have made things that bit more comfortable. The automatic version at the top of the range is also a five speed, and may even be longer limbed.
There’s only a thousand euro between the 2WD and the AWD, and for a number of reasons that might be worth spending. Even if you never go offroad, there’s an element of extra driving safety in poor weather. General safety is up to normal levels, dual airbags up front and curtains all the way from front to back. There’s ESP, disc brakes all round, and an anti roll system. The doors lock automatically at 50 km/h.
Comfort features of the car include automatic air conditioning, with full climate control available in the top variant with leather trim. At the top end versions there’s automatic air quality control. In car tax terms this vehicle is high, at the F Band, which will cost the owner a thousand notes (plus the 5 per cent extra from the budget from next year). But if this is where your car need is, the Kyron is worth as much consideration as any of the competition. Actually, in the overall scheme of things, it might well be worth more of a look than some of the more popular competitors. That’s the level of being impressed I’ve been.
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