SsangYong Kyron auto 2006 review

But that would be doing the stylish, five-seat four-wheel drive wagon a grave injustice.

That's because it's actually pretty good – we'd even go as far as to say impressive.

Kyron is built by SsangYong, the other Korean, that has been hovering in the wings in one guise or another for a few years now.

They're the mob that brought us the original Musso wagon, later rebadged as a Daewoo – you know, the one where everyone switched to a Benz badge.

That's because it had a Benz engine under the bonnet.

SsangYong is the fourth largest car maker in South Korea and the smallest of the three Korean brands here, not including Daewoo whose cars are now badged as Holdens.

The name SsangYong incidentally means twin dragons.

It was founded as Hadonghwan Motor Company in 1954 and started by building jeeps for the US Army.

Ties with Daimler-Benz (now Daimler- Chrysler) in the early 1990s saw Benz engines used in early models.

In 1997 Daewoo bought a controlling stake, only to sell it off in 2000, after it got into financial difficulties.

Then in late 2004, China's government-run Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) bought a 49 per cent stake.

It now owns a controlling 51 per cent interest.

With big plans for expansion, it's not surprising to discover that SsangYong is Australia's fastest growing automotive brand.

It sold just over 2600 vehicles here last year and is closing rapidly on this figure already with February just behind us.

Kyron is the company's latest offering and joins the larger off road Rexton, twin cab Musso Sports ute, Stavic people mover and special order Chairman sedan.

It is powered by a surprisingly small but effective 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel, with a larger 2.7-litre diesel and 3.2 litre petrol engine still to come.

The 2.0-litre, third generation common rail diesel delivers 104kW of power at 4000rpm and 310Nm of torque from a low 1800rpm.

It is mated to a five-speed manual or five- speed T-Tronic auto (again from Benz), with drive through the rear wheels.

The four-wheel drive system is a part-time one and as such four-wheel drive cannot be engaged on dry bitumen.

Designed by MG's Ken Greely, Kyron looks smart and turns heads, particularly the light metallic blue of our test vehicle.

The distinctive rear styling generates plenty of comment, with its shield shaped tail lights.

While we didn't car much for the design first time we saw the car at last year's Frankfurt motor show, we have to admit that it's growing on us.

Kyron sits on a full ladder chassis, with low range four-wheel drive available at the touch of a button and a limited slip rear diff.

The diesel engine is one of SsangYong's own and for a small power plant is remarkably smooth, quiet and responsive.

There is a definite surge as the turbo kicks in and the vehicle is slow to respond in full auto mode, but otherwise it performs well.

Fuel consumption is rated at 7.7L/100km for the manual and 8.6L/100km for the auto.

Our test vehicle was the five-speed sequen- tial auto which adds $2000 to the $35,490 cost of the base car.

It returned just under 800km from a single, 80-litre tank of fuel, putting consumption at 10.0L/100km in real world terms.

Like most Korean units, this one is pretty well equipped, with two airbags, three-point belts all round, air conditioning, ABS brakes, rear park sensors, steering wheel audio controls and 18in alloys.

Overall fit and finish is very good and on par with many of the vehicles we have tested from the US, Japan and Europe.

Around town the suspension is firm, verging on harsh at times, confirming its role as an offroader.

About the only blot in our test vehicle's copybook was the audio system which seemed to have a mind of its own.

The remote central locking controls were also difficult to use.