The Ssangyong car manufacturer has never had a bed of roses on the Czech market. A special design, but a fair price policy has always suited the brand more in the role of a producer of "working machines", but in recent years it has changed the entire model range and is aiming higher.
The new Korando is no exception and attacks established competitors such as the Hyundai Tucson or Skoda Karoq . Is a new star emerging among compact women, or is the fear of the unknown justified?
MODERN EDGES
Kind of a box. The basic shape of the Koranda is actually quite square. Have you ever seen the first Korando? It was the little brother of the Jeep CJ-7, and no one would think of it as beautiful. However, you will hear this often about the new Korand. I probably wouldn't call it a beautiful car, but it certainly cannot be denied that it is modern and trendy.
In the tested grey-blue metallic, its sharply cut shapes do not stand out too much, but it is still better than silver. In my opinion, it looks best in dark red, it gives Korand a subtle touch of luxury.
The moldings were not overdone here, so it doesn't look unnecessarily eccentric, but unless you get it in the bright orange shade of Reddish, you'll be the center of attention.
A special feature of the design is the very wide C-pillar, which optically makes the car somewhat smaller. Indeed, for the first few days I saw the Korando more as a competitor to the small Skoda Kamiq than the compact SUV where it really belongs.
In the front there are classic halogens, which unfortunately do not shine very miraculously, in the back there are now common LEDs. The rear lights have one more peculiarity, and that is a separate turn signal segment. As you guessed correctly, at the bottom of the bumper, like the Audi Q7. It is really priceless in Prague traffic jams, such a blinker can flash as much as it wants, unfortunately you will miss it anyway at the bottom of the bumper. All in all, the design was successful, it is modern, fresh and you won't confuse the Korando with anything else.
MORE SPACE
Inside, the seats are truly blessed. None of the five passengers can complain about anything, even three adults can sit side by side in the back.
However, the price for a large interior space is a small trunk. It corresponds in size to a regular hatchback of the lower middle class, unfortunately it will not replace the slowly dying type of station wagons. To make the small suitcase less of a pain, it at least has a double bottom, under which you can put various things, such as a tool box, or you can cleverly hide eggs that are at risk of harm in a shopping bag.
The angular theme of the exterior is carried over to the interior as well. The dashboard is finished in the popular "piano black" decor, which fingerprints like to stick to. However, it all looks very valuable and modern. Moist eyeglass wipes work wonderfully on prints.
The leather steering wheel is a bit thicker, fits well in the hand, has a reasonable diameter and is also heated in the tested Style+ equipment. The mirrors and the driver's seat are also heated. You can charge your phone wirelessly in the central tunnel, a handy gadget.
I was pleasantly surprised by the seats, they are comfortable, very soft, a bit of an armchair, but they do not lack lateral guidance and keep you in place when cornering. Even longer routes are not a problem in them.
We come to what is becoming the most important thing in cars today – Infotainment. There is nothing world-shattering here in 2020, CarPlay and AndroidAuto are present, you can play Spotify and everything is simply and intuitively accessible via the touch screen. They just didn't think too much about the design and sometimes you have to wait a second. Again, nothing heartbreaking, at least it's simple. I was surprised when I didn't come across navigation in the menu. There is none here. But there is an assistant for driving in lanes – Lane assist, if you want, and it works perfectly, just turn it off in the city so you don't cause an accident.
The interior of the new Ssangoyngu is a pleasant place to live. A comfortable living room, in a valuable design. If you don't like sad black, you can choose a more cheerful beige interior in any equipment.
COMFORT PRIORITY
Honestly, no one buys an SUV for fun in the countryside. At Ssangyong, they obviously thought about it and tuned the Koranda chassis to be very comfortable.
It moves over bumps and holes with such ease that you're almost unaware of them. It is very pleasant to drive, the chassis is just soft, but not too much, the seats are soft, the whole thing is soft and soothing. I think that's what an SUV should be like. It also comes in handy off paved roads. It then behaves neutrally in corners, up to a slight understeer.
What I liked was the steep steering, which made the rather large and heavy Korando seem as if it weighed three hundred kilos less, especially with the SPORT mode turned on, you can have quite a lot of fun behind the wheel by the standards of the category.
I got a front-wheel drive version for the test (almost 40,000 extra for a four-wheeler), so I canceled the agreed Hummer center and went to town. We have a higher ground clearance, a good view, which is only spoiled by a wide C-pillar, eighteen-inch aluminum alloys with a high profile, simply an ideal combination for the city. It feels like a fish out of water here, even parking is no problem thanks to the smart reversing camera.
FOUR CYLINDER TURBO PETROL IN MANUAL
Before I got the car to test, I was hoping to get a diesel engine and an automatic – the ideal combination for such an SUV. However, I got the basic gasoline in the manual and I have to say, I ended up having quite a bit of fun.
The gasoline "one-five" of its own construction, got 163 horsepower and 280 Nm, which is more than enough for a 1500 kg heavy vehicle. Working with the shifter is key, and there's also a bit of fun involved. The engine is well matched to the gearbox, only the third gear is too long, so it is a little difficult to maintain the city fifty. However, it is only a small blemish (besides the big nit, which I will talk about later) on the functionality of the drivetrain.
The turbo spins up slowly and takes up to around three thousand revolutions, starts are a bit lukewarm, then the performance is sufficient in every respect. A hundred and thirty on the six, means roughly 2100 revolutions, so even long distances can be driven with reasonable consumption. Or not?
Although I liked the drive unit with its unobtrusiveness and atmospheric characteristics, I have to tell you about the nit, which is the consumption.
At the end of the test, the on-board computer showed 10.4 l/100km. I drove mainly outside the city and on the highway, if there was an 8, I probably wouldn't be surprised at anything. I wouldn't be surprised if I only drove in the center of Prague and was always stuck in traffic jams, or if there was a six-cylinder gasoline engine under the hood. But no, we only have a small four-cylinder…
A NEW STAR?
Usually two camps are formed around each car. Some dislike him incredibly, others love him. During the test, I met only the positive ones. A few people have even told me that they want to buy it. I advised them to go for diesel.
Ssangyong succeeded in the new Korando. It has a lot of space, it's comfortable, it's good to drive and it's good to look at, and it doesn't cost much. I admit that I did not expect such a great car.
In the whole week we spent together, I couldn't think of anything that really annoyed me. And that's a big compliment. I forgive him for the small trunk, it's more of a city car after all, what I can't forgive him for is the high consumption.
In the tested Action Style+ equipment for 489,000, it is still an excellent offer.
