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By
EWAN KENNEDY
24 December 2007
SsangYong's Kyron is unusual in 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.
For the 2008 season SsangYong has backed off a bit on the shape
of its controversial 4WD, now taking a more global view as to
design rather than the distinctly South Korean one of the original
model. To achieve this the Kyron has a new bonnet, headlights,
radiator grille and under-bumper air intake. The intake now
features a sporting mesh look. At the rear there's a smoother look
based around a larger back window.
The new-look interior’s improvements include a more-stylish
dash that houses a redesigned instrument cluster, better
night-time illumination, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and
revised cloth seat trim.
The steering wheel now carries tiptronic-type controls to let
the driver make pseudo manual gear changes on the automatic
transmission.
The best news is that the price of the Kyron has been reduced
in price by $2000 to $3000 depending on model. With a price list
beginning at just $32,990 it offers exceptional value for money
because it’s larger than many of its competitors so you get a
lot of 4WD for your money.
Power on our test car came from a four-cylinder of 2.0-litre
turbo-diesel. It’s adequate rather than exciting in the way it
goes and can struggle on long hills. There's more turbo lag than
we like but anticipate this and the characteristics can be lived
with. Those desiring a bit more grunt can go for the optional
five-cylinder 2.7-litre turbo-diesel. Note that SsangYong no
longer imports petrol Kyrons to Australia
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 100 km/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
reasonable feel, though some will find it on the soft side.
There's good road grip even at above average cornering speeds for
a full-chassis 4WD. The damping from the shock absorbers was a
little slow at times and caused some mild hassles over hard bumps.
Kyron has an electronically controlled part-time
four-wheel-drive system that, unlike most of its competitors, runs
the rear wheels, not the front, in normal conditions. With the
excellent part-time 4WD system, high and low range
four-wheel-drive can be selected from the driver’s seat and
on-the-fly switching to high range 4WD is possible up to 70 km/h.
Kyron comes with air conditioning, power windows and mirrors
with power folding and heating. Entertainment is provided by a
six-speaker CD/AM/FM audio system and there are steering-wheel
controls for improved safety.
In the safety department, the Kyron boasts four-channel ABS
brakes, dual front airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners and load
limiters.
Price is going to be the biggest attraction of the new
SsangYong Kyron range, but there's more to it than simply a low
tag. This is a genuine off-road 4WD that’s finished to a good
standard, offers plenty of interior space and has a high level of
standard equipment.
The full SsangYong Kyron range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) is:
Kyron M200 XDi 2.0-litre turbo diesel five-door wagon: $32,990
(manual), $35,990 (automatic)
Kyron M270 XDi 2.7-litre turbo diesel five-door wagon: $36,990
(automatic)
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Marque Publishing Company
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