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Vehicle Tests > Bold and the (not so) Beautiful: SsangYong Kyron 2.0Xdi
Bold and the (not so) Beautiful: SsangYong Kyron 2.0Xdi
Issue: May 2006
Road test by Mathieu Raudonikis Photos by Tim Munro
The Kyron is an odd vehicle that comes at an affordable price.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder so we usually choose not to comment on the style of vehicles in our road tests, preferring to let the readers make up their own minds. But the look of the Kyron was such a talking point while we had it on test that we feel obliged to mention its appearance here.
It seems that when the designers at SsangYong finished beating the Stavic with the ugly-stick they took to the company's new 4WD wagon. Thankfully they seem to have lost some of their vigour as the Kyron isn't as awful as the Stavic but the exterior design failed to win any admirers in the Overlander office, although one passer-by asked if it was the new Porsche 4WD. Make what you will of that comment.
The Kyron has odd lines and angles all over it. The rear end is strange with its bulging upper section and shield-shaped tail light clusters while the front-end is equally confused. It appears SsangYong contracted the first year students at Seoul design school for ideas and each of the students has put their own two bobs worth in. The rear-three-quarter view almost saves it, partly thanks to the 18-inch alloy wheels, but that's not enough.
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Beyond first appearance
Now that we've got that off our chests we can look at the vehicle itself. With a starting price of $34,490; $37,490 for the auto transmission as tested here, the Kyron seems pretty good value for money. It was mooted as a compact SUV but the FCAI has chosen to list it in the medium category alongside its slightly larger stablemate the Rexton. The Kyron is only 100mm shorter than the Rexton. Parked next to a new Rav4 in the Overlander carpark the two appear similar in dimension and this is backed up by the actual specifications where the compact-classed Rav is actually bigger in some areas. In fact the Kyron, like the Rav, would be an ideally sized wagon for many families.
Being exclusively (at this stage) turbodiesel powered, the Kyron's closest competitor on spec has to be the Jeep Cherokee CRD but the diesel Jeep's pricing starts at around the $39,000 mark. The bigger Hyundai Terracan CRDi starts at $37,490 for a manual gearbox version while another alternative would be the $39,990 Land Rover Freelander Td4.
So a $37,490, turbodiesel, automatic, compact to mid-size 4WD wagon is quite unique to the Australian market. The Kyron represents a new entry-level vehicle to the diesel powered 4WD wagon class. It's relatively well specified with standard equipment including ABS, dual front airbags, lap/sash belts on all seats, CD audio system with steering wheel controls, remote central locks, leather covered steering wheel, rear parking sensors and 18-inch alloy wheels. Cruise control is standard on the auto transmission variants only.
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Road test by Mathieu Raudonikis Photos by Tim Munro
The Kyron is an odd vehicle that comes at an affordable price.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder so we usually choose not to comment on the style of vehicles in our road tests, preferring to let the readers make up their own minds. But the look of the Kyron was such a talking point while we had it on test that we feel obliged to mention its appearance here.
It seems that when the designers at SsangYong finished beating the Stavic with the ugly-stick they took to the company's new 4WD wagon. Thankfully they seem to have lost some of their vigour as the Kyron isn't as awful as the Stavic but the exterior design failed to win any admirers in the Overlander office, although one passer-by asked if it was the new Porsche 4WD. Make what you will of that comment.
The Kyron has odd lines and angles all over it. The rear end is strange with its bulging upper section and shield-shaped tail light clusters while the front-end is equally confused. It appears SsangYong contracted the first year students at Seoul design school for ideas and each of the students has put their own two bobs worth in. The rear-three-quarter view almost saves it, partly thanks to the 18-inch alloy wheels, but that's not enough.
read on below advertisement
Beyond first appearance
Now that we've got that off our chests we can look at the vehicle itself. With a starting price of $34,490; $37,490 for the auto transmission as tested here, the Kyron seems pretty good value for money. It was mooted as a compact SUV but the FCAI has chosen to list it in the medium category alongside its slightly larger stablemate the Rexton. The Kyron is only 100mm shorter than the Rexton. Parked next to a new Rav4 in the Overlander carpark the two appear similar in dimension and this is backed up by the actual specifications where the compact-classed Rav is actually bigger in some areas. In fact the Kyron, like the Rav, would be an ideally sized wagon for many families.
Being exclusively (at this stage) turbodiesel powered, the Kyron's closest competitor on spec has to be the Jeep Cherokee CRD but the diesel Jeep's pricing starts at around the $39,000 mark. The bigger Hyundai Terracan CRDi starts at $37,490 for a manual gearbox version while another alternative would be the $39,990 Land Rover Freelander Td4.
So a $37,490, turbodiesel, automatic, compact to mid-size 4WD wagon is quite unique to the Australian market. The Kyron represents a new entry-level vehicle to the diesel powered 4WD wagon class. It's relatively well specified with standard equipment including ABS, dual front airbags, lap/sash belts on all seats, CD audio system with steering wheel controls, remote central locks, leather covered steering wheel, rear parking sensors and 18-inch alloy wheels. Cruise control is standard on the auto transmission variants only.
next page »
