Ssangyong launches new Tivoli in Korea, a good start, now refresh the rest of the range, with better looks.

• All-new B-segment crossover
• 1.6 litre petrol and 1.6 litre diesel Euro 6 engines
• International launch at Geneva Motor Show in March
• On sale in the UK this summer

Demand from around the world for a compact size SUV offering comfort, stylish design, space and safety has been increasing, and is expected to continue, especially in the rapidly expanding B-segment of the market.

‘Tivoli’ is a car that offers the fusion of great design and sensible practicality, as well as class-leading safety and convenience, and will attract the style conscious customer who seeks form and function from their first entry into the SUV sector.

This all new car takes its name from Tivoli, the Italian town near Rome with a reputation for style.  Noted for its cultural heritage and beautiful location, the gardens at Villa d’Este have inspired many others to use the name, including the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

Tivoli, SsangYong’s new compact SUV is designed to provide both pleasure and excitement, is the first new model to be launched following the merger of SsangYong and Mahindra & Mahindra.  It is the result of 42 months of development and an investment of 350 billion Korean won, and will compete strongly on design, safety and convenience.

Exterior design

Following on from the Korando – a car well regarded for its more youthful and creative styling – Tivoli will take these young, powerful and robust design cues to a new generation around the world who seek their first SUV.

Under development for the past three years and seen in concept form at four recent international motor shows, Tivoli features a dynamic, urban look with a contemporary silhouette, and embodies the rhythmical motion of SsangYong’s design language, ‘Nature-born 3 Motion’ – Rhythmical, Dynamic and Dignified.

Inspired by contemporary city architecture, the car’s beautiful lines also reflect the fluidity found in nature.

The front of the car conveys a strong and purposeful look.  The width is emphasised by the car’s slim-line grille through to the headlights, which together have been inspired by a bird’s wings in flight.

While the front bumper communicates strength, particularly emphasised by its dynamic air intake, the bonnet line is softer in character and stretches widely.

In profile, the car’s rhythmical character flows through to the rear bumper to give a voluminous and strong stance, complemented by 16” or 18” alloy or 18” diamond cut wheels.

The wide C pillar as another design cue endorsing SsangYong’s reputation for strong, powerful SUVs, while the chrome line detailing that flows from around the rear door, across the front door, and around the rear of the bonnet imbues Tivoli with a premium and sporting tone.

At the rear, the balanced and well-proportioned look continues Tivoli’s confident, youthful image, with the rhythm continuing through the rear light units to link the side and rear in harmony.  The rear bumper provides a strong base, above which sits the wide opening tailgate, and below, the centrally mounted rear fog lamp.

Interior design

The interior offers the modernity of a luxurious living space, with a stylish and contemporary look.  Designed to offer driver and passengers easy connectivity to their IT devices, it also brings style, practicality and plenty of storage space.  The compact yet deluxe interior also gives class-leading inner space and storage, and the width of the central fascia is accentuated, again by a look inspired by the shape of a bird’s outstretched wing.

An ergonomically designed D-shaped sports steering wheel affords optimised grip, while the premium leather covering gives a premium, tactile feel.  The heating function also helps to warm the driver’s hands in winter.

The cylindrical-shaped instruments enhance the driver’s focus and motoring pleasure, while for the first time in this class, the cluster illumination can be personalised to any of six subtle background colours red: blue, sky-blue, yellow, white and black.

There are three interior trim colours, black, beige and red, with the red interior package especially designed for customers looking for a sportier ambiance.

Designed with passengers’ complete comfort in mind, the car seat function and materials have been carefully selected to create a sports car like look and feel: reclining and adjustable, and with premium touch material with quality stitching.

The generous luggage space of up to 423 cubic litres is enough to carry three full size golf club bags, and the second row of seats can also be folded fully flat for further carrying capacity.

Performance

Powertrain

The powertrain of the Tivoli is compact yet highly efficient with the choice of 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engines.  In development for over three years, the car has been tested from minus 42 degrees in winter to desert temperatures of over 50 degrees, and with brake testing in mountain altitudes of up to 4,000 metres.

The newly developed e-XGi160 petrol engine delivers up to 126ps max power with 16.0kg max torque, and offering optimised performance for both urban and motorway driving with excellent NVH (noise, vibration & harshness) characteristics, and a variable induction system optimises fuel efficiency to deliver maximum performance in daily driving.

Other notable features include an advanced timing chain to limit engine noise, and for the first time in Korea, the application of an aluminum bed plate with high press die-casting to the bottom section of the cylinder block to increase engine strength and durability.

An AISIN 6-speed automatic transmission is also available on Tivoli.  Already well proven, this unit is engineered to improve fuel efficiency and minimise power loss.  Gear ratios range from 0.67 through to 4.04 help to transfer power smoothly through the gear changes, and further contribute to minimising vibration and noise.

The car has also been tested to the German DIN standard for quality and reliability, the same testing procedure used by premium European car manufacturers.

Ride & handling

Smart Steer

The Smart Steer system offers three different steering modes - Normal, Comfort and Sport.

Depending on preference, the driver can adjust the steering feel according to the driving conditions, and offers safe, comfortable steering when parking, slow speed and stop/start city driving, or high-speed motorway cruising.

Fitted as standard, this electronic power steering system helps reduce steering effort while also minimising power consumption by ensuring that the motor is only activated as required.

Suspension & NVH

The Tivoli is equipped with McPherson struts and springs for the front wheels, and provides supreme occupant comfort and high speed stability.

For the rear wheels, Torsion beam suspension with rear mounted springs is light yet durable, affording smooth and stable driving.

A double skin insulated bulkhead between the engine bay and the cabin, also minimises the ingress of engine noise.

Safety

Active safety

Tivoli is built to an extremely high level of strength and safety, and some 40% of its body construction uses AHSS (Advanced High Strength Steel).  To minimise collision impact, 10 major areas on the car are strengthened using the ‘hot press forming’ process, where the strength of the steel is increased to 1500Mpa compared to plain steel with a strength of 590Mpa.

Additional active safety features include ESP (Electronic Stability Program), LED daytime running lights, and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

Tivoli has also achieved the best result in the AE-MDB test which evaluates the level of safety in a side-collision accident.

Passive safety

SsangYong places great emphasis on safety, and Tivoli comes with seven airbags that include a driver’s knee airbag, and an advanced seat belt system with dual pre-tensioners, which automatically tightens the belt to hold passengers in place during an impact to prevent injury.

Connectivity

The principal concept supporting the Tivoli’s infotainment system is that it optimises the technology available via smart devices.  By simply connecting your smart phone with the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable, videos and music can be streamed to the 7 inch display screen, which is also linked with a rear view camera.

Numerous multimedia files can be played through the premium 6 speaker system, including MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC and APE.

Convenience

Tivoli features an air conditioning system that will deliver just the right ambience.  The temperature can be adjusted to seven different levels.  Complete with dual zones, it can also be set to three different modes, plus a memory function.  There’s a smart key entry and locking facility, and a six sensor (two front and four rear) park-assist system to aid safe and convenient parking.

Additional standard convenience features include a luggage screen, one-touch automatic windscreen wash/wipe, and automatic hazard warning light activation, while a safety sunroof, cruise control, rain sensing wipers, automatic headlight activation, and ECM interior rear view mirror are also available.

Styling details include items such as carbon-look exterior door mirrors, alloy pedals, and LED illuminated door kick-plates.

Note: Specification and equipment described is for the Korean market.  UK model information to be announced.

Specification

		TIVOLI
		Automatic	Manual
Dimension(mm)	Length	4,195	4,195
	Width	1,795	1,795
	Height	1,590	1,590
	Wheelbase	2,600	2,600
Engine	Type	e-XGi160	e-XGi160
	Fuel	Petrol	Petrol
	Displacement (cc)	1,597	1,597
	Max. power (ps/rpm)	126/6,000	126/6,000
	Max. torque (kg·m/rpm)	16.0/4,600	16.0/4,600
Transmission		6 speed automatic transmission	6 speed manual transmission
Brake (front/rear)		V-disc / disc	V-disc / disc
Suspension (front/rear)		McPherson strut / Torsion beam	McPherson strut / Torsion beam
Wheel & tyre		205/60R16, 215/45R18	205/60R16, 215/45R18
Kerb weight (kg)		1,300	1,270
Fuel tank (litres)		47	47
Boot capacity (litres)		423	423
Fuel Consumption (km/l)		Combined 12.0 (urban 10.7 / highway 14.0)	Combined 12.3 (urban 11.3 / highway 13.8)