New SsangYong Rexton: a true off-road gentleman

Would you pay more than 35,000 euros for a SsangYong? Well, if you’re looking for a genuine off-roader, with seven seats, a large boot and plenty of equipment, you’d be making a mistake not to consider the new SsangYong Rexton.

It keeps the name, and little else. The fourth generation of the SsangYong Rexton arrives on our market to remain the off-roader with the best price among all those we could consider its rivals, in terms of concept and size.

And if you think the 27,500 euros that the Rexton costs to get into the range –or the 44,900 euros you have to pay for the top trim– is a lot of money for a SsangYong, just take a look at what the new Toyota Land Cruiser costs, for example… and keep reading. Although at first glance, I’ll tell you that the most interesting version, with all-wheel drive, seven seats and the intermediate Premium trim, costs 37,200 euros with discounts.

Bigger, more luxurious and with seven seats

Yes, other cars with these characteristics cost at least between 6,000 and 10,000 euros more. And if what you need is a car of this type, here is the SsangYong Rexton, with plenty of arguments in its favour.

To begin with, the new SsangYong Rexton is bigger, much more luxurious, better finished, has more equipment and, above all, has been adapted to gain comfort and refinement on the road while keeping the robust ladder-frame chassis. It grows 9 cm in length, reaching 4.85 metres. It also grows another 7 cm in width, and 3 cm in wheelbase, while lowering the height by 1.5 cm.

Big, it is not exactly very big. But inside it offers space to spare. So much so that it becomes an alternative if you need 7 seats, better than some MPVs. For access to the third row, for the size of these seats and also for boot capacity. The latter reaches 614 litres with five seats, expandable to 1,211 with the seats folded, measured up to the height of the headrests. These figures rise to 872 litres and 1,806 litres respectively when using the height up to the roof.

The space in the second row, and the possibility of reclining the backrests, also makes these seats ideal for long journeys. Here, the SsangYong Rexton stands out for its available free width, which makes it one of the few cars on the market, excluding large MPVs, in which three adults can fit comfortably in the rear seats.

The interior design is modern and pleasant, with materials and fittings that are in keeping with the price of the car. Without much sophistication, it has state-of-the-art equipment in terms of safety, driving aids and connectivity. Among them, there is a smart key system that opens the tailgate automatically when you stand in front of it for three seconds with the key in your pocket, without needing to pass your foot under the bumper to activate a sensor.

Depending on the version, it can also be fitted with automatic high beam, traffic sign recognition, a rear cross-traffic alert system to make reverse parking exits easier, or an audio system with an 8-inch LCD screen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allows you to use your mobile phone’s navigation, since the SsangYong Rexton does not offer its own navigation system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XKkynhh1SM&feature=youtu.be

A single diesel engine, 4×2 and 4×4 drive

The SsangYong Rexton continues to offer, under the bonnet, only the 2.2 four-cylinder turbodiesel engine from the previous model, which has received some improvements. It delivers 181 CV of power and a maximum torque of 400 Nm from 1,400 to 2,800 rpm, and for better or worse, it does not lose its main attributes despite having to move a larger and heavier car.

It is an engine that stands out more for its smoothness in power delivery and its pleasant character than for its efficiency. Of course, there are no miracles: the Rexton weighs 2 tonnes in its “lightest” version, the 4×2 with 5 seats, and 2,130 kg –add passengers and luggage– the 4×4 automatic with 7 seats. Even so, it handles well for its size and weight. But in the versions with automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive, which have an homologated average consumption of 8.3 l/100 km, it will be very difficult to stay below 10.5 l/100 km in real-world conditions.

The alternative to the manual gearbox is a seven-speed automatic torque converter gearbox as standard, a true guarantee of smoothness. As for all-wheel drive, it is a system that is engaged by a rotary dial located behind the gear lever, an operation that can be carried out on the move below 70 km/h.

Good off-road qualities and great towing capacity

With all-wheel drive engaged, engine power is distributed evenly, 50 percent to each axle. Beyond that, if things get difficult, it is possible to use the low-range gearing by selecting L mode.

As an additional aid, it has hill descent control. And its 223 mm of ground clearance in the most favourable version (reduced to 203 mm on the 4×4 automatics, which have a 5-link rear suspension instead of 3) and good approach, departure and breakover figures (300 mm wading depth, approach and departure angles of 20 and 22 degrees respectively, and breakover angle of 20 degrees) allow the SsangYong Rexton to continue offering excellent behaviour off the asphalt.

It is also worth mentioning its great towing capacity, which reaches 2,700 kg in the 4×2 version, and up to 3,000 kg for the 4×4 automatic Rexton.

SsangYong Rexton 2018 equipment and prices

The Line versions include the SASS safety package with 6 airbags, 17-inch wheels, hill start assist and hill descent control, rear camera, cruise control, 8-inch multimedia system screen, roof bars and parking sensors.

With the Premium trim the SsangYong Rexton costs 6,100 euros more, and adds instrumentation with the Supervision TFT panel, dual-zone climate control, third row of seats, leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, anti-glare interior mirror, ventilated front seats and blind spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert.

If we move up to the Limited trim, the price rises by more than 7,000 euros additional. Of course, here you also add the automatic gearbox, driver’s knee airbag and rear side airbags, 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels, Nappa leather upholstery, front seats with electric adjustment, heated steering wheel, electric tailgate, keyless entry and start, and air vents in the third row of seats.

These are the prices of the 2018 SsangYong Rexton, already discounted by the 2,000 euros of promotion offered by the brand, initially until December of this year. The official warranty is 5 years or 100,000 km.

Rexton D22 DTR 4×2 Line: 27,500 €
Rexton D22 DTR 4×2 Premium: 33,600 €
Rexton D22 DTR 4×4 Premium: 37,200 €
Rexton D22 DTR 4×2 Limited Aut.: 42,200 €
Rexton D22 DTR 4×4 Limited Aut.: 44,900 €