The SsangYong Rexton is a large vehicle. Apart from the absence of a three pointed star anywhere, the grille looks very similar to that found on many Mercedes-Benz models. Under the bonnet it has a 2.7 litre, five cylinder, diesel engine that can trace its design origins back to Mercedes-Benz. The test car had a permanent four wheel drive and offered the choice of high and low ratios at the twist of a selector switch. This provision tremendously increases its off-road ability and credentials. Its good ground clearance and approach/departure/breakover angles further bolster that credibility.
On-road it has a fairly firm suspension, which tends to transmit all the serious imperfections of Fingal’s dreadful road surfaces. On the plus side, its high ground clearance is a blessing in overcoming the majority of potholes and is certainly a huge plus point in its favour when it comes to traversing flooded roads.
From a driving point of view you sit up high with an excellent view of the road ahead and the scenery all around. The power assisted steering is light and easy to use, but you do have to do a lot of twisting, as it is geared to give 3.7 turns from lock to lock. This is obviously done in the interests of comfort and safety in off-road driving, but it does mean that manoeuvring in confined spaces, like car parks, requires that extra bit of effort. This is offset by the fact that the automatic transmission is entirely effortless once you get underway and it is beautifully smooth into the bargain. Driving a manual transmission vehicle afterwards, turns out to be extremely hard work indeed !

The 2.7 litre, five cylinder, turbocharged, intercooled, diesel is very under stressed delivering just 44.881 kW/lt, with specific torque of just 126.112 Nm/lt. No wonder it hums along in utter contentment, as you go about your daily business. Still if called upon to do so, it can deliver a potential top speed of 170 kph (105 mph), on road, where conditions and the law permit. Its 0-100 kph acceleration time of 11.5 seconds is quite respectable, especially as it is so unfussed as it does so. To put this into perspective, the superb and highly respected, Land-Rover Discovery 3, also with a 2.7 litre diesel, tested away back in December 2004, was marginally faster at 180 kph (112 mph), but marginally slower in its acceleration, taking 12.8 seconds for the 0-100 kph sprint. If you are going to make comparisons, there is no point in doing so, unless you compare with the best there is and that is why I selected the Land-Rover Discovery 3. Also you have to compare like with like and the Discovery 3 tested also had a 2.7 litre diesel engine. Some other performance comparisons may similarly be of interest. The fuel consumption of the Rexton AWD is as follows: Urban 22 mpg, Extra urban 33 mpg and Combined 28 mpg with CO₂ emissions of 266 gm/km. The Discovery 3 recorded 21 mpg (urban), 32 mpg (extra urban), 27 mpg (combined) and CO₂ emissions of 275 gm/km. The Rexton can thus hold its head high in the best of company.
I did not take it seriously off-road, to test its capabilities to the extreme, mainly because I did not have the services of a back up vehicle and crew in case anything went wrong. However, its off-road data is not nearly as impressive as that of the Land-Rover Discovery 3, so if you need a vehicle for serious off-road capabilities and performances, I suggest you stick to Land-Rover.
On-road it can tow braked trailers of up to 3200 kg in weight, or unbraked trailers of up to 750 kg. It comes fitted with roof rails as standard and carry up to 45 kg in a suitable container on the roof. This is rather low and I suspect there several reasons for this. First of all the Rexton stands 1830 mm high, so putting too much weight on the roof could jeopardise its stability by making the centre of gravity unacceptably high. Then there is the matter of getting the weight up onto the roof and bringing it down to road level again at the end of the journey.
Luggage capacity when five seats are in use is, 1.338 cubic metres. When seven seats are in use, it is on a par with what you would expect in a small car. Thus if you do need space for seven passengers and their luggage, you definitely have to think in terms of a trailer of some sort. If it is not all that heavy, you may be able to accommodate it in a roof box. There is a useful box behind the third row of seats, that has adjustable dividers and can be used to keep smaller items safely stored during the journey. For somebody like a farmer or tradesman using the Rexton as a working vehicle, this may be an ideal place for smaller hand tools.

Above left : Luggage space with seven seats in use
Above right : Covered storage box for small or valuable items

Above left : Luggage space with five seats in use
Above right : Luggage space with two seats in use

The Rexton’s middle row of seats is interesting. Both backrest and cushion are divided 60/40 with a folding central armrest in the 60 section. The backrests can be folded horizontally onto the cushions to give a flat level load floor, or once folded the whole unit can be lifted into a vertical position behind the two front seats.

Above left : Horizontally folded seats
Above right : Vertically folded seats

Driving the Rexton, with the automatic transmission, is absolutely effortless. The steering wheel is unusual in that it has ultra smooth carbonfibre segments and leather covered segments, which have a far higher level of grip. It is of a large diameter and has additional controls for the audio equipment on its hub. The wheel itself adjusts in the American fashion for height by swinging in an arc, becoming more slanted as it gets higher and more vertical as it gets lower.

The main analogue instruments are housed in a hooded binnacle behind the steering wheel. Their white lettering on a black background, with red needles makes them easy to see at a glance. The audio equipment is centrally positioned with the air-conditioning below. Above the audio there is a row of push button controls, with the hazard flasher in the centre. These buttons look after things like the hill descent control, electronic stability programme, heating for the exterior mirrors and other items. In the top centre of the facia there is a hooded digital panel showing the time.
Lights, wipers, direction indicators are all controlled by two stalks, one on either side of the steering column. A rotary switch on the extreme right of the facia, below the right hand air vent selects high or low ratio for the all wheel drive. I was fascinated by a little lever sticking out on the right hand side of the gearlever. Although it is a beautifully smooth automatic transmission, it also offers a sequential manual function. When you slip the lever over to the left, from the Drive position, it is in manual. Then all you do is flick that small protrusion backwards or forwards to select gears manually. A digital display in the lower section of the speedometer indicates which gear has been engaged. It really is an absolutely effortless driving experience, regardless of which transmission method you prefer. Personally I was quite happy to simply leave it in automatic and let it do all the work.
Reading through the driver’s handbook was a rather complicated task. I certainly have come across drivers’ handbooks that are a lot more user friendly. Looking for the jack and wheel changing tools, I referred to the handbook and was informed that they are stored under the second row of seats on the driver’s side. Needless to say I looked in vain. They are actually on the passenger side. Then the penny dropped; in Korea they probably drive on the wrong side of the road, so the book would have been correct for vehicles with the steering on the left hand side. When I came to use them, I discovered that the jack and tools were amongst the best I have encountered for a long time.

Technical data