Being different is good — car dealers’ showrooms are overflowing with boring vehicles that all look the same.
”Oh, look! They’ve given it a big silver grille and moved the cab right forward. We must remember to do that next time!” A couple of years later all the offerings in the class look the same, and the designers are hard at work crafting something a little ”different.”
Ssangyong, however, has never followed in anybody else’s footsteps when it comes to styling, but they’ve often committed the even worse sin of paying designers good money to build hideous-looking cars that nobody would dare copy — ever.
The highlight (or lowlight, depending upon how you look at it) of bad auto design just has to be the Ssangyong Stavic, a vehicle so butt-ugly it makes the original Fiat Multipla look sexy. Knowing this, I set off for the launch of the new Actyon from the same Korean stable with trepidation — how on earth was I going to restrain my mirth when the Ssangyong people revealed their latest SUV to the media?
My fears were, however, for naught — the Actyon’s a little eccentric, but still a rather good-looking SUV. This probably means the design team has been fired.
The Actyon is intended to take on the likes of Hyundai’s Tucson, Kia’s Sportage and Nissan’s X-Trail, which means it’s got a real fight on its hands — all three are formidable contenders.
Having driven the new car for a short distance on gravel and a couple of hundred kilometres on tar, I’d have to say that it’s certainly in with a chance. Available here already, but only due to be launched in Europe next month, the Actyon is available in two-wheel drive with five-speed manual transmission, or four-wheel drive with five-speed manual or four-speed auto gearboxes.
All three models use the same 104kW/310Nm two-litre common-rail turbo-diesel engine, and all are capable of a smidgeon over 160kph.
Specification levels are pretty well as expected for this class of vehicle — for the money you get 16-inch alloy wheels, disk brakes with ABS all round, dual front airbags, a radio/CD player, electric windows and exterior mirrors, air conditioning and loads of stowage compartments scattered around the cabin.
The four-cylinder turbo-diesel performs capably, but I noticed a disturbing amount of turbo-lag just off idle, which placed me in a bit of a predicament when I accelerated from the shoulder of the road into the path of an oncoming truck.
After a brief hesitation the 140 horses under the hood woke up, though, and I managed to scarper off before the truck arrived on the scene. Once the engine’s on the boil it performs well, and the wagon can comfortably cruise at close to its maximum speed without any sign of stress.
The Actyon feels well screwed together, and stayed rattle-free on the gravel section of the launch route.
We didn’t, unfortunately, get an opportunity to exploit the 4X4 version over more testing terrain, but it has all the traits necessary to make it an acceptable soft-roader — good ground clearance, reasonable front and rear overhangs, big wheels and part-time four-wheel drive with on-the-fly engagement.
The Ssangyong Actyon is a pleasant and capable vehicle, with its only handicap being the popularity of its competitors. Its somewhat offbeat styling will appeal to many, however, and build quality is good, so sales should be reasonably brisk.
Pricing starts at R239 995 for the Actyon 4X2 manual, with the 4X4 version costing just R10 000 more. For the slight difference in price I don’t see many buyers settling for the 4X2 version. The 4X4 auto retails at R264 995.