New SsangYong Rexton: the tough-nut Korean is going to town

Friday, 10 November 2017

Big Rex is still a tough nut. It's just that these days he's put on a suit and become more urbane.

Ever since it was first launched in 2001, the SsangYong Rexton has had a strong reputation for being a bit of a tough guy. It's found particular favour out in the regions where perhaps motorists in the market for a big SUV better recognise the benefits of function over form.

Rexton has been in New Zealand since 2001 and has garnered a strong following, particularly in rural areas.

The Rexton has traditionally offered all of that.

The function has been offered via sheer size, a good old body-on-frame chassis, big towing capability, solid part-time 4WD, and powertrains that have strong connections to Mercedes-Benz.

The new Rexton is bigger than the likes of Toyota Prado and Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Rexton's new interior. This is the Sport version.

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An exterior design feature is slab-sided front and rear wheel arches.

And the form? Well, while the Rexton has never been unattractive, it's fair to say that as a model it has always been a little forgettable against higher-profile large SUVs such as the Toyota Prado, Mitsubishi Pajero and Holden Trailblazer, and fellow Koreans the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento.

But those who have recognised the robust qualities of the Rexton have continued to buy the vehicle - and the numbers have been growing.

As a result, Rexton has contributed to strong growth of the SsangYong brand in New Zealand. When the current importer and distributor Great Lake Motor Distributors took over SsangYong in 2010, its annual sales were just 150 vehicles. Last year that had grown to 2300 thanks not only to the arrival of new product such as the Tivoli and Korando, but also thanks to comprehensive facelifts to existing product. That included the Rexton, which achieved 400 sales last year.

Now the Rexton is poised to contribute more to SsangYong's growth plans. A new fourth-generation model has just been launched in New Zealand, and while it retains its traditional core strengths of robustness and practicality, it is also a lot more sophisticated and with a higher level of specification.

Around 400 Rextons were sold last year. Its importer is anticipating better sales with the new model.

In other words, while it is still a tough nut, these days the Rexton is also more urbane.

At launch just two versions of the Rexton G4 are on offer - the entry version is the Sport which retails for $59,990, and the top model is the SPR which costs $67,990. During the opening quarter of next year a rear-wheel drive 2.0-litre petrol version of the Sport will also arrive, but no prices have been announced.

At a media launch of the latest Rexton in Auckland, GLMD managing director Deon Cooper said his company had been eagerly awaiting the model, confident it would be high-quality vehicle, packed with features.

The vehicle has surpassed all expectations, he added - and the icing on the cake is that it comes with a 150,000km five-year full transferable warranty, which GLMD claims is the best new car warranty currently available in New Zealand.

The two 4x4 Rextons are powered by the same 2.2-litre Mercedes-Benz derived turbo diesel, and the transmission is a seven-speed auto supplied by the German luxury manufacturer.

This is essentially the same engine as was aboard the Rexton the new model replaces, although it has undergone some improvements so it now makes 133kW of power, and 420Nm of torque from just 1600rpm.

First up, it has to be said that the new Rexton is a seriously tough SUV. Built on a new 'quad frame' chassis and with eight body mounts, which is the most in its class, it not only feels big and strong but is also rated to tow 3.5 tonnes which is a big improvement on the previous model, which had a 2.7-tonne rating.

It's got a 224mm ground clearance, and its part-time 4WD system is operated via a knob on the centre console which the driver can use to select 2WD and 4WD High and Low.

During the media event we didn't go off the road; instead it was a cruise through countryside south of Auckland in rear-wheel drive, and some time hauling heavy tow loads around the racetrack at Pukekohe. Initial impression from this drive is that the Rexton G4 feels very nice out on the open road - it's quiet, comfortable and spacious. But we hardly had the opportunity to push things along in any attempt to try out the SsangYong's handling capability.

How big? At 4850mm long it is bigger than Prado, Santa Fe and Sorento, wheelbase is also longer at 2865mm, and almost every interior dimension is superior. Load space is also capacious, at 649 litres with all seven seats in use, rising up to more than 1800 litres when all the seats are folded down.

That's a lot of interior room - and with the SPR the tailgate automatically opens up if the person with the key stands within a metre of the rear of the big SUV for more than three seconds. It automatically shuts the same way.

How comfortable? The Sport is upholstered with what the car-makers call leatherette, and the SPR has Nappa leather with quilting on the doors and across parts of the dash area. The SPR also boasts a suite of safety features including lane change assist, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, rear-cross traffic alert and autonomous emergency braking. Both models also boast nine airbags.

Talking of safety, the new Rexton doesn't have any Ancap crash safety rating because the Australians aren't taking the vehicle. But at the media event the GLMD people expressed confidence the vehicle has the goods to get the necessary NCAP score when it goes on sale in Europe, which is probably next year.

In so many respects this new Rexton remains an old-school SUV via its rugged design, full ladder chassis, big tow rating, and even its looks - the new bodyshell design features slab-sided front and rear wheel arches that help give it a sturdy, almost retrospective appearance.

But underneath it all there's plenty that is new and technologically advanced, which no doubt explains why this SsangYong is currently one of the contenders for the 2018 World Car of the Year. That's a big achievement for a Korean company that in world terms is quite small, with an annual output of around 200,000 vehicles.