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Ssangyong Rexton car review

12/05/08

Price24,995
We like...Big, well-equipped off-roader for the money
We don't...Too-light steering; odd dip in boot floor

What Ssangyong lacks in posh image, it hopes to make back in valueYou want big. You want tough. You want cheap. You want to go off-road. Oh, and whatever you buy has to be spanking new. If we’ve just covered the ‘wants’ you’ve listed for your new car, and you’ve around £25,000 to spend, then the Ssangyong Rexton’s for you.

Why buy a Ssangyong, a make you know little or nothing about? It’s down to price. The Rexton is as big and chunky as a Mercedes M-class, and looks a ringer for that car if glimpsed side-on. But it’s £10k cheaper: you’re getting a full-size off-roader for a pint-sized price.

And it’s loaded with luxury kit – leather heated seats with electric adjusters on the front pair, climate controlled air conditioning, hill descent control, an auto gearbox that also has manual over-ride, plus a full set of electric locks and windows. Ours seated five, leaving a vast boot space, though for £500 more you can add an extra pair of forward-facing chairs. There’s also a Kenwood stereo and the dash and centre console is swathed in what looks like carbon fibre. The top half of its big steering wheel is even made from the stuff, while the carpet mats are thick and tough-looking. It all appears substantial and lasting, although cup-holders and other minor bits look cheaply made. There’s good space for five plus a fortnight’s luggage, while the rear seats split-fold and tip to open up a van-like load area.

One oddity is a dip in the floor immediately behind the rear seats, masked in ours by a large mat stretched over a wood support, roughly finished as if a DIY-mad uncle had knocked it up from oddments found in his shed.

You sit high, with a clear view out front and big mirrors to lessen reversing scares. A parking distance beeper also helps. On the move, the first thing you notice is the steering. It’s low geared and very light, making it tricky to place this big 4x4 just where you want it. Its 2.7 Mercedes diesel engine sounds gruff and despite its 183bhp it is slow to respond at town speeds, although it ds better on the motorway, where it is quieter and more settled. It rides softly but crashes across potholes in a way that can be uncomfortable, particularly for anyone sat in the back. Fuel economy is respectable at a shade over 30mpg overall, but CO2 figures of 233g/km pushes up road tax charges, company car tax if you pay it and also means you’ll soon pay £25 to cross central London.

While the Rexton appears a lot for a little, think twice before you buy. First, there are just 35 British dealers and yours mayn’t be that near, particularly if you’re in the South-east (though Northern Ireland is well served, we’re told). Second, there’s the thorny question of its second-hand value. Ssangyong hasn’t had an easy time run of fortune, going in and out of business, though the current UK importer is driving things forward and the make promises 20 new models within five years. We’ll see. Meanwhile, should you trade it in after three years, you shouldn’t expect to see better than a third of what you originally paid. That’s poor when most rivals cling to closer than half their value over a similar span. Third, and this is probably the clincher, you can buy the cheapest Land Rover Discovery for £27,315. That’s just £2300 dearer. We know which we'd rather have.

In fairness, the cheapest Rexton is £19,995. You won’t get half the gadgets ours had, and its engine is slower. But, for us, it’s more enticing.