Ssangyong 2 - Korando 2.2 ELX 4x4 Auto - The Tivoli’s bigger brother, a car that offers more, and delivers.

In the second of our road test reports from Ssangyong, we take the mid sized off-roader for a session on the off-road track at the Millbrook proving ground, The Korando, was, before the Tivoli launch the brands best seller and the best car to have, but now that the Tivoli is heading towards it's first birthday, and the recent addition of 4x4, the Korando, is now showing it's age a little.

The Korando, has some interior traits shared with it's smaller sibling, to keep the family look, which is no bad thing, but it does need to have some updates inside, maybe utilising some of the Tivoli switchgear and central binnacle look, will make the difference.

After the Tivoli was taken around the Millbrook off-road track, we had a short wait while others were taking the Korando  round, but once inside, it was swiftly noticeable that the 2.2 Litre was under the hood, and not the 1.6 Litre, the pulling power was far superior, as to be expected, there was that added grunt, when pushed.

The increase in ground clearance was also noticeable, as we never grounded this car, even when we tried too, it made minced meat of the 25% gradient hill we went up, and the driving on the side, the car just did it, no complaints, no sliding, it just knew it had a job of work to do, and it did it.

The 4x4 system will be suited to dealing with anything you throw at it, whereas, the Tivoli will be better on road, and can deal with snow and ice, and muddy tracks for the main part, the Korando, will do anything, whether it be on a farm, someone taking it to a quarry at the weened to play, doing a proper off-Road course, or just driving the kids to school, this car will do it all with out batting an eyelid, 

Like the Smaller car, you can engage the diff lock, move the auto level to "M" and use the switch at the side to do manual gear changes, ideal for bad ground, inclines and the like.

Both cars have a small degree of descent control, mainly via engine braking, and having your foot gently tap the brake when necessary, there is no real DCS on this car, like on Land Rovers, whose Descent Control System is second to none.

Again, here, like all cars in the brand, they supply you with a limitless five year warranty, They also cover brake pads and clutch friction plates for a year/12,500 miles, over and above many other brands, something these days, people care more about, making sure that your car is fully covered in the rare even of some sort of failure, or issue.

But it does not stop there, they also cover your audio equipment (fitted) for five years, also limitless mileage, and the battery is covered for three years not two, like many other brands, so all the positives are stacking up in favour of the brand, so we have at present two products from the company, that seem to be very good cars, and so they should be, no one makes a bad car these days, not like in the 1970's when most were bad, and if you found a good one, you worried why is was good.

The engine in our test Tivoli is the potent 178ps diesel engine, the engine produces the 178ps @ 4,000rpm max power with an impressive 400Nm @1,400-2,800rpm for a powerful and sporty driving experience, this engine is mated to the AISIN 6-Speed Auto transmission, this is already a well proven auto box, as it also appears in the Tivoli,  and like the but this is tuned to deliver a better fuel efficiency.

And the gear change is smooth, just like the Tivoli, it is up there with the best, but it could be just that little bit more! drive the car at a reasonable pace and you will hardly notice any change up or down, however, if you put your foot down and you can tell it is an auto.

The new in house 2.2 litre engine is quite potent and will give some of the other cars on the road a pasting, and over taking at motorway speed is easy, albeit a little noisy, once you get higher up the rev range, the 0-60 in the Korando is 9.9 seconds, not the best in the world, but better than a lot of competition, unfortunately it suffers from a Co2 level of 177g/km, yes it is a 4x4 SUV, but the new Discovery Sport has a Co2 of 139g/km and mpg of 53.3 combined.

Like the Tivoli we managed to achieve a reasonably low MPG whilst on the track, but when you see the manufacturer claimed figures of 48.7/39.2/56.5 (combined, Urban, Extra urban) for the manual, however the auto is significantly different, which was surprising, as most modern auto's are not that far from the manual, but the automatics are 41.5/32.8/49.6 (combined, Urban, Extra urban), so combined with a 57 litre fuel tank are 610.70 Miles (M) or 520.41 (A), not bad as long as you have not got a heavy foot.

The interior of the Korando is looking dated compared to the smaller model, but with a similar look to the Sat Nav, radio buttons etc, it keeps from looking completely dated, that said, everything is easy to understand, easy to find, and easy to operate, you cant say that for a lot of cars these days, when you need a degree in Computer Science to work out what button does what.

The seating in this car are very comfortable, and they support in all the right places and keep you in position when driving on inclines of going around corners at speed, there is plenty of leg room front and rear, whether your six foot tall and sit behind another six footer in the driving seat, you still have enough room to be comfortable, no low roof line is great too, meaning no headaches when you do take the car off-road with guests, it is a rarity these days, as a lot of brands are sloping the roof line down significantly at the back, so to have a proper car with a proper roof, is good.

Equipment levels on our car are good too, but as it is top of the range it is not surprising, but you get

• Rear parking sensors.
• Tyre Pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
• Full sized spare wheel (cost option)
• Space Saver Spare wheel.
• 18" Diamond cut alloy wheels.
• Front fog lights.
• Projection headlamps.
• Hill start assist.
• Puddle lamps.
• Heater lower front windscreen.
• Trip computer. 
• Rear View Camera.
• TomTom Navigation.
• Rear heater duct.
• Automatic air con.
• Electric Moving, heating and folding door mirrors.
• Auto dipping rear view mirror.
• Electronic cruise control.
• Electric Windows, Front and rear.
• Leather Upholstery.
• Electric Power Steering.
• Smart Instrument Cluster.
• Remote Keyless Entry.
• Privacy Glass, Rear door, quarter and tailgate.
• Electric Moving Front Seats.
• Heated seats, Front and Rear.
• Steering wheel mounted controls.

Boot Space is reasonable, but it is not bad at 486 Litres, it will take a lot of the everyday items that you carry, put the seats down and you will get 1312 litres of space meaning you should be able to get most of your goods in the car with ease, however, the high bumper can be a hindrance, but it is flat from there, no drop down once inside, 

CONCLUSION

Looks - 7/10

Fuel Consumption - 7/10

Equipment - 9/10

Off-Road Capability - 9.5/10

On-Road capability - 8/10

Co2 levels - 7/10

Interior Space - 9.5/10

Total - 8.1/10

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The car that until, the Tivoli came along was a brilliant SUV, that does not mean that the Korando is poor, far from it, but the Tivoli is so good, it makes the rest of the range seem dated, it is extremely capable both on road and off, but off-road, the car excels, it managed the test track at Millbrook as though it was a flat road, there was no hesitation, no struggling and like its smaller sibling, Ignore this at your peril.

The automatic transmission copes with all you can throw at it, and in manual mode, you can control the gear changes with ease, if you happen to forget, you don't really notice the rising revs, as the car manages to hide the noise, which is another plus point, the Korando is a  car that should be on your list, like the Tivoli, why they do not sell far more, is anyone's guess, but for now, they are a very well kept secret, a secret that should be shared..