SsangYong isn’t afraid to be daring when it comes to exterior styling, in other words the Korean manufacturer makes some seriously ugly vehicles. Actyon is the latest offering and the best looking yet.
SsangYong is one of motorings lesser known names. For a brief period SsangYong was part of Daewoo, then Daewoo was taken over by General Motors.
SsangYong is now under Chinese control and delivers an expanding range of vehicles powered mostly by Mercedes developed engines. Some SsangYong names you might know include the very functional Rodius MPV, Rexton 7-seat SUV and Kyron SUV, which is basically an Actyon with a better boot.
While Actyon looks like an urban SUV it is a true four-wheel-drive vehicle with a proper ladder chassis, separate body and high and low ratio gearbox with a lockable differential.
UK-born designer Ken Greenley has received a lot of flack for creating serious ugly cars at SsangYong. His style is controversial and proof that SsangYong needs to hire new talent. Just look at the Rodius - most four-year-olds with a set of crayons could draw a better-looking car! Okay, I’m being a bit harsh as Actyon is a SsangYong design team effort and a brave effort.
The front end is bulging and has a certain purpose, from a few angles the nose is quite striking. Side on, the view is progressive and futuristic but it is the rear end that is the big talking point.
Actyon has a coupe=like window and a slab-sided rear. The boot is ridiculously tiny as all the space under the car is taken up by the ladder chassis.
Power comes from a Mercedes 2-litre turbo-diesel that produces 140bhp and 310nm of pulling power thanks to the new VGT (Variable Geometry Turbo). Healthy enough figures until you factor in Actyon’s near 2-tonne weight. The result is a sluggish 0-100km/h time and top speed of just 162km/h. My four-speed automatic test car has ‘power’ and ‘winter’ buttons to alter the shift pattern but overall the box is poor. It lurches like an old Bedford truck when put into reverse and needs at least two or three seconds notice to accelerate.
On paper Actyon should ride well with double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear set up but the reality is quite the opposite. Actyon feels coarse, choppy and unrefined. On anything other than smooth roads the well-equipped Korean SUV will disappoint but take to the rough stuff and there are few complaints.
Using what has to be the smallest transmission selector button I can select two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive high or four-wheel-drive low. Actyon's overhangs are the only limit to how far it can go off-road. Think of it as a more glamorous Land Rover Defender and you get the idea. The driving position is high and the car’s best feature but the steering only adjusts for tilt.
Actyon is a word play on ‘act’ and ‘young’ but I’m afraid that excessive doses of youthful inexperience would be required to warm to this SUV no matter how well priced it is.
Michael Sheridan
