SsangYong reveals Torres SUV, set to sell in NZ

Tuesday, 14 June 2022

That front end is more than a little Jeep-ish, but it still looks good.

SsangYong has shown off its newest SUV offering, the Torres, which is all but confirmed to launch in New Zealand.

Stuff reached out to Andrew Bayliss, general manager at Great Lake Motor Distributors, who said the Torres is “definitely in our product plan.” He added that right-hand drive production is still a way away, expected to kick off sometime in 2023, but a left-hand drive unit will be on display at Fieldays in November/December this year.

The powertrain is still a secret, but there’s a chance it could be fully electric.

The SUV itself features a strong front end, somewhat reminiscent of a Hummer or a Jeep, with six lateral bars topping a thick grille. The bars are bookended by slick daytime running lights, which in turn sit above large corner intakes, each with a foglight mounted in the centre.

There are more Jeep vibes in the profile with angular wheel arches, while the rear looks like it has a tiny bit of last-gen Range Rover and current-generation Defender in that side box. If you can’t beat em…

Three screens and plenty of leather for the interior.

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At least one version is set to get the 1.5-litre turbo-four from the Korando.

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Inside is a tech-fest, with three digital screens in the dashboard – one for the instrument cluster, one for the infotainment system and another for the air-conditioning system… Sort of like the Audi e-tron SUV. It’s unclear if SsangYong’s version uses a similar haptic feedback system for button presses though.

The rest of the interior looks to be of high quality, with plenty of leather and aluminium inserts. In its home market, the base model gets a high base specification, including heated front seats/steering wheel, LED headlights and automatic climate control, among others.

One area SsangYong is remaining quiet about is the powertrain. South Korean outlet Autopost reportedly obtained government certification regarding what’s under the bonnet, and reckons the Torres will use the 1.5-litre turbo four from the Korando offering 125kW/280Nm.

However, if it uses the entire Korando platform, there’s a good chance it will get the fully electric powertrain as well. This gets a 61.5kWh battery pack, 140kW/360 front-mounted motor and 339km of WLTP-certified range.

More information will hopefully be available by Fieldays later this year at the least.