GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Ssangyong XLV hybrid SUV
Small SUV concept already given the go-ahead for production?Ssangyong has revealed renderings of a small, hybrid SUV concept planned for public unveiling in Geneva next month.
But in an unfortunate case of timing, the company's peek at the concept has surfaced the very same day as the expert spy photographers at Automedia sent through pictures of what will likely be the production version.
The concept car will be presented in Geneva as the XLV (for eXciting smart Lifestyle Vehicle) and will measure 4.43 metres in length and 1.845 metres in width. Riding on a 2.6 metre wheelbase and described by SsangYong as a B-segment SUV concept, the XLV will be powered by a 1.6-litre diesel four-cylinder coupled with an electric motor drawing its energy from a lithium-ion battery.
The hybrid is a seven-seater, despite its small footprint. To achieve the seating capacity in such a small vehicle, Ssangyong has configured the seats in a 2+2+2+1 arrangement – three rows of two each, with the seventh seat able to slide "between the second and third rows for optimum flexibility," as Ssangyong explains it in the press release for the concept.
According to the manufacturer, the XLV embodies 'Nature born 3 motion', which is the baroque name adopted by SsangYong for its latest design philosophy.
Over in Automedia land – chilly Automedia land to be precise... in northern Sweden – the spy photographers happened across this vehicle undergoing cold-weather testing. In production, the SUV's 1.6-litre powerplant will be coupled to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT with six programmed steps. There's no mention of the hybrid drivetrain for the production version – and we're making what we feel is a reasonable assumption that this car will be the production version of the XLV concept – but it will come with a fuel-conserving auto-stop system.
Automedia claims that this car has been developed by Ssangyong specifically for the Chinese market, where there is effectively a free trade agreement of sorts in place between South Korea and China. This makes the landed cost of the production XLV very competitive, even against locally-built SUVs of similar specification.
– with Automedia
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