Expensive Experiment On Wheels

Sun Herald

Sunday March 12, 2006

JOSHUA DOWLING

SsangYong Kyron

TRIVIA SsangYong may sound like an electrical goods company but it's a Korean car brand that is 51 per cent owned by the Chinese Government. Engines, gearboxes and computer systems are superseded Mercedes technology used under a special licensing agreement.

THE BROCHURE SAYS It's a redefinition of what people should come to expect from [a 4WD].

WHAT THEY MEAN That's our excuse for the Kyron looking so different.

WHO'S BUYING IT Too early to say, as it's just gone on sale.

WHY YOU'D BUY IT Um, still thinking.

WHY YOU WOULDN'T The engine's uneven power delivery. Poor rear visibility (hence the rear parking sensors, which seem to be an after thought). Financial risk of investing in a little-known brand with a little-known reputation and, therefore, an uncertain resale value.

SAFETY Dual air bags and anti-lock brakes are standard, but we don't know how the Kyron performs in a crash as it's not been tested by the independent NCAP crash test scheme. Rightly or wrongly, Korean cars don't have a reputation for the world's best safety. Only last week the head of Euro NCAP singled out General Motors' Korean-made Aveo sedan (sold in Australia as the Holden Barina) for its poor safety rating, despite it having dual air bags.

CABIN Surprisingly good quality materials and most controls are well placed and easy to use, but the door pockets could be bigger. There is only tilt adjustment on the steering wheel and the audio controls can be fiddly. The driver's sun visor doesn't have a cover for the vanity mirror, which can be distracting when driving. And for some reason the remote central locking system is really sensitive. It took four attempts to lock or unlock the car on one occasion.

ENGINE The 2.0-litre turbo diesel has a respectable amount of power (104 kilowatts) and torque (310Nm) but there is a delay between applying the accelerator and the power delivery. It's quite off-putting: you think you've allowed enough time to get across an intersection and the engine is slow to respond.

TRANSMISSION The five-speed auto tested shifts smoothly and has manual override - and a "winter" button for gentle acceleration in the snow.

STEERING OK turning circle but the steering goes from light to heavy, depending on how much the wheel is turned. It doesn't have to be this way.

RIDE A bit jiggly but it soaks up bumps and thumps surprisingly well.

HANDLING This is not supposed to be a race car, but even by class standards there is ample room for improvement.

FUEL Economical for a car of this size and weight (it weighs two tonnes!). The company says the five-speed manual will return 7.7 litres/100 kilometres and the five-speed auto 8.6 litres/100 kilometres.

BRAKES Four-wheel discs with ABS. No complaints.

BUILD Impressive. Better than expected. Now, if only they could get the styling right.

WARRANTY Three years/100,000 kilometres. The industry average.

AUDIO Below-average sound from AM/FM CD player with controls on the steering wheel.

COST Starts at $34,490 for the five-speed manual; add $3000 for the auto. Ouch. The real cost, though, is the uncertain resale value. Car valuers and wholesalers are likely to mark the Kyron harshly, especially with so many used, Japanese-made, soft-roaders around.

VERDICT In most regards it's a sound vehicle, but it's too expensive and there are too many unknowns (reputation, safety and resale) as well as more than a dozen better alternatives.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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