SsangYong Korando S C200 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $25,990?
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
?Crash rating: Untested
?Fuel: E10 ULP?
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.0 combined cycle
?CO2 emissions (g/km): 185?
Also consider: Honda CRV(from $29,790 plus ORCs); Hyundai ix35 ($28,990); Jeep Patriot ($27,150); Kia Sportage ($28,990); Mazda CX5 ($29,880)

Despite being Korea’s oldest carmaker, Ssangyong is also its least known. In Australia, the company is probably best known for its early use of Mercedes-Benz engines and, more recently, the bafflingly rude aesthetics of its Stavic MPV.

Since launching the Korando compact SUV in 1998, the brand has played the value card, but never with the ticker necessary to give it the leg-up a relative unknown needs against big-name competitors from Korea, Japan, the US and Europe.

With this second generation, launched here in 2011, the value proposition is getting stronger. Particularly at the up-spec end, with the top-shelf diesel 4WD auto giving you change out of $35K on the road.

At the front-drive base end we see here, it’s generous with the gear, supplementing the things you’d expect like 16-inch alloys, cruise, trip computer, CD/MP3/Bluetooth/USB audio inputs, wheel controls for audio and cruise and rear parking beepers with extra niceties like hill-start assist, puddle lighting in the heated wing mirrors and electro-dimming on the interior rear-view mirror.

A six-cog auto isn’t a bad thing round these parts either, with most competitors offering five, some just four.

The interior is a proliferation of hard plastics, but it was free of rattles and squeaks, leading us to conclude it’s better made than it looks and feels. Although a bit under-bolstered, the seats proved comfortable with enough latitude through all the usual planes to allow this six-footer a decent driving position quickly and easily.

Rear-seat legroom is a plus, as is storage, with drink holders all round, decent space in the glovebox and centre console box and room on the console for nic-nacs and phones. Cargo space is decent considering the brevity of the rear overhang, with a split-fold rear seat helping out for larger loads.

Ergonomics are adequate, with a couple of eccentricities like the trip computing control on the centre stack, and a toggle switch set in the side of the auto transmission gear knob for manual-mode shifting. A minor irritant is the audio system’s habit of shutting down the radio and defaulting to Bluetooth mode whenever you touch your phone.

The 2.0-litre petrol four, a Ssangyong composition of parts from various European manufacturers, is modest in its output, rated at 109kW and 191Nm. But it acquits itself decently against bigger-name competitors in this segment, shunting the Korando’s 1532kg along at a decent pace given the chance.

It’s a pity the workaholic six-speed auto transmission rarely makes the most of it. On sustained uphill runs, it darts around like a headless chook looking for the right cog, often trying to settle on at least one and sometimes two cogs beneath where it should be.

On freeway runs, the only way to get it into sixth is to toggle it up there in manual mode, although once it’s there the engine settles in comfortably. There’s enough flexibility there to cope well when it hits a hill, but revert to auto and in no time it’s back faffing around in lower gears again.

We didn’t fare badly against the official consumption figures, at least around town, where we found it easy to match if not beat the official 10.3L/100km. But on the highway the best we managed was 8.8 against an official 6.6L/100km.

Even on the official figures, the petrol Korando lags badly behind its competitors on fuel efficiency -- from around 1.5 to nearly 4L/100km.
While no one’s making history on ride and handling in this segment, the Korando has a way to go before it catches competitors here, too. There’s little feel to the steering and a tendency to understeer in hard cornering, all quite normal round these parts. And while it’s pretty quiet underfoot, we found more feel to the suspension than one wants when the road surface gets rough, with body roll more obvious than most through corners.

While the Korando remains untested for official NCAP crash numbers, the company is on record as saying it’s confident the car is good for four or five stars. The safety suite is the standard stuff of its segments -- six airbags, all the normal chassis electronics with active rollover protection.

Ssangyong has pitched the Korando into a segment that’s not just sensitive on price, but on brand. There’s nary a volume maker that doesn’t offer a small 2WD SUV for less than $30K -- including some big names like Mitsubishi, Nissan and Jeep that almost match it. All that separates the Korando from the base AS-X and Dualis is a six-speed auto transmission for the price of their manuals.

For $1000 more than the auto Korando, buyers can be in a Patriot with CVT. For one or two more, they’ve made it to an AS-X or a Dualis, and to Hyundai’s ix35 and Kia’s well regarded Sportage, both with deal-clinching five-year/unlimited kilometre warranties. For a little more again -- but still under 30 grand -- they’re in a CX5 or a CRV.

And that’s before they find a really hungry dealer. As we put the finishing touches to this story, we note one of the above is doing a $27,490 driveaway deal on its FWD auto.

All of which can only make your friendly Ssangyong dealer very friendly indeed.

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