Ssangyong Kyron road test

The Ssangyong Kyron is a five-door, five-seater SUV which will sell against the much more expensive market leaders in this sector, the Honda CR-V, Land Rover Freelander, Toyota RAV 4 but in reality think more like Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva.

The starter model in the Kyron range, admittedly with two-wheel drive, is priced at just £14,995; it used to be £17,995.

You get the full specification from air conditioning to electronic stability programme and much more. Other models have part-time four-wheel drive and there are manual and automatic transmissions and S, EX and SPR levels of trim and specification, depending on the engine size chosen.

As part of their sales drive they have just announced that the Kyron is available with the Mercedes T-Tronic automatic transmission at the same price as a manual version.

They are also offering no deposit finance with repayments over 59 months. Aggressive stuff as it needs to be to give the Kyron and the brand sales lift-off. A commercial vehicle version is also available.

Engines

There is a choice of 2.0 and 2.7-litre turbodiesel engines. The best option, given the high fuel prices and CO2 charges, is the 2.0-litre, 141PS turbodiesel unit with 310Nm of torque.

This model will tow up to 2,300kg and the manual gearbox model should return 37.7mpg with CO2 emissions of 191g/km giving it a road tax bill of £210.

My test model was the Kyron 2.0 EX 4WD automatic, now priced at £19,495 thanks to the free automatic transmission offer. However for most rural or business customers who could be considering a workhorse budget SUV then the 2.0 S manual or auto models now priced at £16,995 make more financial sense.

The top of the range model, the 2.7-litre diesel costs £22,495. My advice is that given these are budget buys and even the lowest specification versions are well equipped, stick with the S 2.0-litre variant.

Driving

Like all SsangYong products do not expect the sharpest handling, the best road holding or the fastest performance. The suspension is on the soft side, set for comfort rather than sharp handling, but do workhorse customers really care about things like that – I think not. The Kyron does things well enough for most budget brand buyers and they look well made.

The steering is too light but this 2.0-litre engine is good, much better in fact than some other more expensive competitors but it can get noisy when pushed to perform. The automatic transmission feels old-school technology taking its time to move between the gears but it works.

There is no ‘smart’ 4x4 system, just a knob which the driver can easily select 2WD, 4WD high ratio or 4WD low ratio, simple and easy and just what most rural folk or people who tow trailers, boats or caravans want.

This goes back to what the boss of the UK importer says, ‘vehicles fit for purpose’.

Specifications

So what do you get for your money with the Kyron EX? The main items are cruise control, electric windows front and rear, electrically operated door mirrors, leather upholstery and trim, heated windscreen, 18-inch alloy wheels, anti-lock braking, stability control, hill descent control, front fog lights, alarm, climate control air conditioning, stereo radio and sound system with six speakers and 60-40 folding rear seats.

The cheaper S models, my financial choice, have most of the important things from the list above, including air conditioning, but not the leather upholstery and trim. Kyron S models have 16-inch alloy wheels so that will improve the handling as well.

As we know money talks, so paying less is good advice. If you are willing to take small risk on future residual values, which SsangYong UK are working on improving, and you need a budget priced, tough, family 4x4 workhorse, the Kyron 2.0 S is worth considering.

SsangYong Kyron MILESTONES

SsangYong Kyron 2.0 EX Auto

Price: £19,495

Engine/transmission: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, common rail, DOHC, turbodiesel, 141PS, 310Nm from 2,250rpm, selectable 2/4-wheel drive, high and low ratio, hill descent control

Performance: 103mph, 0-62mph 15.8 seconds, 32.5mpg, CO2 222g/km, VED Band F £210

Braked towing capacity: 2,300kg

Insurance group: 13E

For: Fit for purpose, price, size, high specification, durable, tows heavy loads, large 1,085-litre load area, good off-road

Against: Lazy on-road handling, noisy engine, annoying warning buzzers when the ignition is first switched on, too few dealers, residual values currently poor

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