The year of the (double) dragon?

Words: Chris Rosamond

The name Ssangyong translates as ‘Double Dragon’, but that hasn’t stopped the Korean brand daring to make inroads into the adopted home of St George.

The bread and butter models are a pair of family-friendly SUV/crossovers called the Tivoli and the Korando, but we’re much more interested in the new swanky flagship SUV – the Rexton.

Ssangyong has hailed its latest generation Rexton for ‘major advances in style, quality, safety and technology’, and there’s no doubt it’s a big handsome car with an impressive haul of standard kit. The price is eye-catching too, especially if you want to tow. (Try finding anything else you can hitch 3,500 tonnes to for under £30k. Hint – you won’t.)

We tried the range-topping Ultimate model which costs over £38k, but comes with an array of premium safety, infotainment and safety features you’d expect to find in a luxury competitor costing double that. It’s no wonder Ssangyong is targeting the notoriously, er, ‘thrifty’ horsey set, having recently announced sponsorship of the Blenheim International Horse Trials.

In spite of its swishy looks, and unlike most of its more road-focused competitors, the Rexton is built on a traditional – and very rugged – ladder frame. That means it’s heavy, so doesn’t handle like a sports car on tarmac, but with low ratio selectable 4×4 it goes off-road like a champ. 4×4 Magazine has just awarded the Rexton its top 4×4 Of The Year award, in case you don’t believe us. On road, it feels hefty, secure and comfortable, and is easy to drive in spite of its size.

The Rexton has a 2.2-litre diesel engine which musters plenty of pulling power, and you can choose seven seats too. (We’d probably take a five-seater and make the most of a cavernous 800-litre boot you could lose a month’s supply of feed in.)

Our Ultimate spec Rexton test car came with a 9.2-inch touchscreen, 8-way electric seats in soft Nappa leather, 20-inch alloy wheels, surround-view cameras, and an array of safety kit including autonomous braking, traffic sign recognition, collision warning, plus lane-departure and rear cross-traffic alerts. Not to mention 9 airbags.

We found it super comfortable, with a genuinely luxurious feel. With a five-year warranty and the potential for decent used values, it stacks up very well against the ‘nearly new’ Toyota Land Cruiser of Mitsubishi Shogun you might be contemplating instead.

Ssangyong Rexton Ultimate
Price: £37,500
Engine: 2.2 diesel
0-60mph: 11.9secs
Max speed: 115mph