5 Things I Learned On A Road Trip In A Burly, Left-Field Korean 4x4

Car Throttle is a hub for car enthusiasts to grow their passion and expertise, comment and share opinions, and generally be entertained. We cover all kinds of stuff from supercars to shitboxes, high-end 4x4s to quirky hot hatches. So when a SsangYong Rexton drove past me on the M40 motorway from the sublime 75mpg comfort of Miles the High Mileage Hero, I thought: ‘Interesting. I reckon the guys (you) would get a kick out of seeing this on CT’. So here I am, about to tell you about a car that 1) you probably never expected to see on the website and 2) you may never have even heard of.

But first, some context: every other year, my girlfriend and I plus three friends jump in a car and go on a road trip. In 2016 we drove to Croatia and back (around 2400 miles), and this year, we headed to Italy in the Korean 4x4 you see here. It’s big, it’s heavy, it’s powered by SsangYong’s own 2.2-litre diesel engine and although you didn’t ask me to, I’m going to tell you all about it because I think it’s quite interesting. So here goes…

1. It's great at towing (and impressing French girls)

On the second day of our 2700-mile road trip, and still in France, we were en route to our AirBnB when we spotted a VW Polo in a ditch. The owner (who admitted that parking wasn’t her strength) had driven the car down a verge and almost rolled it, so seeing that she was in trouble, we attached a slack line to the Rexton’s tow bar and pulled the car out like it was nothing. SsangYong 1:0 Nature.

2. The Rexton is like nothing else I've driven

The Rexton has a bunch of great attributes (space, price, equipment, size) but driving is not one of them. Because it still uses the archaic ladder frame chassis, it’s really heavy. We’re talking 2.2 tonnes heavy (4850lbs), which results in a 4x4 land boat that’s not only slow, but that also has an aversion to corners (there’s only so much you can do to overcome the laws of physics and gravity, especially when you don’t have Land Rover budget).

However, where gravity plays a much smaller part is in how a car steers, which, in the case of the Rexton, is like nothing else I’ve driven. Through flowing motorway corners, the steering on our car would suddenly go light, then firm up again, presumably because the speed-sensitive steering was getting confused and cutting in and out. Inside the car, this meant that the steering wheel would move left and right by a couple of degrees each side, increasing and reducing lock in pulses. I’ve mentioned the issue to SsangYong who are looking into it.

As for how the Rexton drives in general, that ladder frame chassis means that the car never feels settled on the road, a little like it’s driving on hot coals. But for us, with 80 per cent motorway driving, it was fine for what we needed.

3. It looks expensive but isn't

Anyone who first sees the Rexton will assume it’s a £50,000+ luxury 4x4; it’s almost Range Rover big, is a car you don’t want to see in your rear view mirror for fear of being run over, and inside, the quality of the leather seats is pretty high.

The more time you spend with it, however, the more you notice a few things that remind you that it is - in top spec form - just a £38,495 car.

These quirks include a speedometer that thinks the car is traveling 5mph faster than the on-board map GPS reads, and a manual rear tailgate. Yep, surely the ultimate first world problem, but I’ve become so used to electric tailgates on big cars that I missed not having it on the massive rear door of the Rexton.

On the whole, though, the Rexton is good value for money, so if big dimensions and - from our experience at least - a dependable, go-anywhere workhorse is what you’re after, then I can recommend it.

4. Despite all the negatives, we really liked it

They say the only negative things in life should be camber and SsangYong Rexton reviews, but despite the negative things I’ve said about the Rexton, we all loved it for the following reasons:

• Loads of kit - this includes sat-nav, a reversing camera, heated seats front and back, an eight-inch touchscreen, a 12V socket for the fridge and plenty more.
• Comfort - five of us were pretty happy, except in the rear middle seat.
• Rear-seat passengers got USB ports for easy charging of phones etc.
• Dependability - the Rexton never skipped a beat.
• Space - with the rear seats out, we fitted all our luggage and camping gear, a small fridge and a BBQ. There was also loads of cubby space in the doors for phones, sunglasses and stuff.
• Decent fuel economy: the 2.2-litre Mercedes diesel engine returned an average of 34mpg (UK) over 2700 miles - remember, the car weighs 2.2 tonnes onto which you need to add five people and all our stuff, so that return is not bad going.

5. Should you buy one?

Like I said earlier: if big dimensions and - from our experience at least - a dependable, go-anywhere workhorse is what you’re after, then the answer is yes. It also comes with an unlimited mileage, five-year warranty which is good peace of mind.

But, and this is a big one: if you care even a little bit about driving, then the Rexton won’t do it for you. It’s slow, heavy, the ride never settles and any time a Range Rover pulls up next to you, you’ll think ‘I wish I’d worked harder’.

For the five of us though, the Rexton did everything we asked of it, and we quickly grew to like it. Sure it’s quirky and behind the times, but some people just like that sort of thing.