Long-termers

SSANGYONG KORANDO

After seven months of ‘ownership’, Ted Welford looks back on his time with our SsangYong Korando and says a fond farewell to the SUV.

Alot can happen in seven months, as I’m sure we’re all aware.

Thinking back to the middle of February, I was just picking up the keys to ‘my’ new

Korando from a new dealer for the firm in Gosport – Fine Cars – and was happy to sit next to the brilliant salesman who guided me through its interior and features, shake hands for a photo and be on my way. Imagine that now, shaking hands with someone?!

But just over a month later we were all in lockdown, meaning that for many weeks the SsangYong was rarely used – a very odd feeling when your job is to essentially drive and review cars. Yet, even with quite infrequent use at times, the Korando has certainly been put through its paces. It helped in a house move as soon as lockdown restrictions were eased, has been a great biking companion with its Thule roof rack and has never ceased to amaze me with the tech you get as standard.

Admittedly, it is the top-spec ‘Ultimate’ trim, but it certainly lives up to that name – my particular equipment highlights being its ventilated front seats, superb digital cockpit, keyless entry and start, plus heated steering wheel. I reckon a bit more safety kit wouldn’t go amiss though, particularly adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring.

It’s also had some brilliant quirks, which are missed with more mainstream rivals. The ability to change the indicator and warning sound noises, for example. Do you need to do that? Absolutely not, but it’s a fun feature that kept me occupied.

The ability to change the welcome message on the digital dials was also something that tickled me for days, and I apologise to whoever ends up with RJ69 MTE next, as I’ve just remembered I didn’t reset the, ahem, ‘interesting’ warning message that used to greet me each morning…

And while, admittedly, the car hadn’t even covered 3,000 miles when it was returned to SsangYong, it didn’t set one foot wrong in those seven months. Not one niggle, quality issue or warning message. It was quite flawless really. You might think that should be a given from a new car, but the number of (usually premium) vehicles less than a few months old that go wrong is quite alarming.

In fact, the only area where I can really criticise the Korando is its poor fuel consumption. Most of the time it was in the high 20s – something that’s poor for a sensible petrol crossover such as this. SsangYong itself only claims 35.8mpg from the automatic gearbox fitted to our car. Sure, there is the diesel, which will return a more pleasant 46.3mpg in front-wheel-drive guise, but annoyingly that’s not available with this high-spec ‘Ultimate’ grade – which is the specification I’d want if it were my money.

So, I’ll remember the Korando’s brilliant interior tech and its hilarious ability to change the indicator sound – but also its stupendous thirst for petrol.

Would I recommend a SsangYong Korando, though? Yes, I really would. It looks good, has an interior that plenty of rivals could learn from, is genuinely practical, and its seven-year, 150,000-mile warranty could be worth its weight in gold if you intend to keep your car for more than a couple of years.

THE

KNOWLEDGE

SsangYong Korando Ultimate

Price (as tested): £27,995 Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged

petrol

Power: 161bhp Torque: 280Nm 0-60mph: 11.8 seconds Max speed: 117mph Emissions: 162g/km CO2 MPG (combined): 35.8 Mileage: 2,855

This month’s highlight:

Imagining what the next person driving this Korando will make of the modified warning message.

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Nissan Leaf

Mileage: 10,640 The Leaf performed superbly on a recent drive to London for a photoshoot.

Mazda 3

Mileage: 10,500 We’ve been racking up the miles in the Mazda and have learnt a lot about this quirky hatchback. CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

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