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By
EWAN KENNEDY
20 August 2007
SsangYong has given its mid-range Kyron 4WD a facelift, a
revamped interior and improved engines. But the best news of all are
significant drops in retail prices, ranging from $2000 to $3000. This
makes the South Korean 4WD exceptional value for money, even in today's
ultra-competitive Australian marketplace, because it’s about half a
size up on many of its competitors, most of which are from Japan.
A company that prefers to make its own way in styling,
SsangYong has retained the rather unusual shape of the Kyron, but
has given it a new bonnet, headlights, radiator grille and
under-bumper air intake. The latter features a sporting mesh that
works nicely. At the rear changes see the designers chasing a
smoother look and using a back window that’s larger than before.
Interior changes see a new design of the instrument area with
different trim colours. And a more contemporary steering wheel,
which now carries tiptronic-type controls to let the driver make
manual gear changes on the automatic transmission without taking
their hands from the wheel.
Kyron is unusual it its class in being a true off-road 4WD,
with a ladder-frame chassis and a two-speed transfer case. There's
the choice of two-high, four-high and four-low ranges, but no
neutral position. Shifts between ranges are controlled from a
turn-knob on the dash.
Power comes from a pair of turbo-diesel engines, a
four-cylinder of 2.0 litres and a five-cylinder displacing a handy
2.7 litres. They now meet the latest Euro 4 emission regulations.
Though power and torque outputs are the same as before, the
engines have a flatter torque curve and should be more economical
at the same time as they provide a cleaner exhaust.
There's good interior space for four adults and a fifth can be
carried without being unpleasantly cramped. Noise levels in the
Kyron are about average when accelerating but it becomes very
quiet when cruising. Indeed at a steady 100km/h this is one of the
quietest vehicles of all and makes an excellent country tourer.
We like the general handling of the Kyron. Its steering has a
nice feel and there's good road grip even at above average
cornering speeds. The damping from the shock absorbers was a
little slow at times and caused some mild hassles over hard bumps.
Other than that this 4WD is pleasant to sit in and to drive.
The new SsangYong Kyron range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) and with previous model prices in brackets is:
Kyron 2.0-litre manual: $32,990 ($34,490)
Kyron 2.0-litre automatic: $35,990 ($37,490)
Kyron 2.7-litre automatic: $38,990 ($41,990)
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Marque Publishing Company
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