Opening
Ssangyong Rexton First Impression
Brand Mahindra had got into new high when XUV 500 was launched.In further development plan Mahindra has launched Rexton. In fact Rexton is a premium SUV from Ssangyong of Korea. Tie up with Mahindra in India has helped Ssangyong enter the Indian market.
Rexton being the first launch of the partnership and is aimed at luxury SUV segment. We made a visit to Mahindra dealership to check the same and do a first impressions report on the same
Appearance Exterior
At the first look Rexton gives the impression of a sturdy majestic appearance SUV.The wide chrome plated front grills with Rexton Logo grabs the attention. The eagle eye shaped projector head lamps are equally attractive and demands a second look to give appreciation for he style. The headlamp is powerful and does give the best of visibility in all weather conditions. Front bumpers make does participate in giving wider image of the vehicle. Fog lamps are made sleek .Bonnet is provided with W shaped counters. There is smooth and high inclination from front end of bonnet to top of wind shield. The overall front portion gives the impression of high royal look SUV.
Side view reveals the actual size of the vehicle. The wide window panels of front and rear doors, and the extension provided at rear quarter panel and proportionate overall width of door panels ,Wide front front fenders, rear quarter panel, with the big 16” Wheel side participate in the bigger image of car on road. Foot step is provided under the door panel for easy access inside the car.
The Rexton has wide rear windshield glass and covers almost half of dickey door. Tail lamp is in proportionate with dimensions of car. Located at exact corner of quarter panel and dickey door gives a clear and indication of rear side and the width of car as viewed from behind. This could help the following drivers and hence avoid probable brushing in darkness. Wiper is located at center of the dickey door and separate black strip is provided to make it a thing of lesser importance to notice. The name REXTON is impregnated in the dickey door panel and serves as a ambassador for branding. Badges such as Ssangyong, RX7,AT in automatic transmission version are provided. The important point is of the name Mahindra. Its mentioned at bottom corner as “by Mahindra”. Its a clear indication that Ssangyong has better share.
Appearance Interior
Best part of Rexton is its interiors. True to the luxury segment belongingness it has best of features one looks for. First the Doors are wide and offers easiest entry .There is ample leg space and head room. Wide seats ensures comfortable seating. 8 –Way Electrically adjustable driver seat with memory function ensures the driver is seated comfortably and adjust the posture so as to get best of visibility. The dash is wide and equipped with all modern features such as touch screen infotainment system with MP3,DVD,USB port and AUX in, and 6 speakers, Navigation system with pre loaded maps, glove box with AC inputs, etc .Black and beige combination used for interiors to make a perfect match.
Premium leather upholstery is used in RX5 variant and Fabric upholstery available in RX5. AC blowers with controls are provided at 2nd and 3rd row. Second row is for 3 passengers and 3rd row is specially designed for children. There is ample space and could be used as sleeping bed for children. Folding the 3rd seat will give plenty of space for luggage .AC blowers available at the center console with arm rest between driver and co driver seats. Sunroof features is a special feature available in Rexton. The wide sunroof has options for tilting and closing available as desired.
The 3rd row being child seat is a special thing about Rexton. Generally in most of SUV, third row seats would also be for adult seating. The intended design of vehicle seems to be limited to 5 people. In case of excessive passengers, children could be seated comfortably in 3 rd row. Also the fact that the dickey is a hatch back type than the door type. A door type would assure entry of persons from rear door. A hatch back door indicate that its meant for luggage.
Performance Drive
Once we get in to the car, we are welcome with the plush leather upholstery of driver seat which ensures best of comfort. There is option for electrically adjustability of driver seat in RX7 variant which we took a test drive. In RX5, manual 8-way adjustability feature is provided for driver seat. Driving of big vehicles such as this and Toyota Fortuner seem to be tough in city driving. However the features like speed sensing steering with shift position indicator help a lot for smooth driving. Though we could not go beyond 80 KMPH due to city traffic conditions, with the smoothness and fast pick up speed, the claimed speed of reaching 194KMPH in RX7 and 180 KMPH in RX5 wont be difficult.
The high quality infotainment system and GPS facility assures comfortable journey. All wheel drive is available in RX7 and is very useful for cross country usage. True to claimed turning circle radius of 5.7M, taking sharp turn at U turns would be a easy thing to do. The majestic look of the car combined with special attraction of Rexton logo grabs the public attention much.
The looks and size of Rexton directly gives a impression of tough competition from Mahindra to take on Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour etc. In brief comparison with Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. The performance of Rexton is in par with that of Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. Ford Endeavour seems to have edge over Rexton in terms actual performance and Rexton has better features. Features available in Rexton are even better compared to Fortuner. Rexton also has advantage of better pricing than compared with AT version of Fortuner and Endeavour.
Tech Specs
| Technical Specifications | ||
| Make | SsangYong | |
| Model | Rexton MT | Rexton AT |
| Variant | RX5 MT | RX5 AT |
| Engine Displacement / No. of Cylinders | 2696/4 | 2696/4 |
| Power PS/RPM | 162/4000 | 184/4000 |
| Torque in Nm/RPM | 340/3250 | 402/3000 |
| Transmission | 5 MT | 5 AT |
| Drive Line | 4X4 TOD | AWD |
| Tyres | 235/75 R16 | 235/75 R16 |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 78L | 78L |
| Dimensions in mm | ||
| Ground Clearance | 252 | 252 |
| Turning circle radius in M | 5.7M | 5.7M |
| Length | 4755 | 4755 |
| Width | 1900 | 1900 |
| Height | 1785 | 1785 |
| wheel base | 2835 | 2835 |
| Seating capacity | 5 | 7 |
| Gross Vehicle Weight | 2760 | 2760 |
| Mileage kmpl | ||
| City | 10 | 10 |
| Highway | 12 | 11 |
| Max Speed km/h | 180 | 194 |
| Fuel | Diesel | Diesel |
| Color Options | Volcano Black | Volcano Black |
| Satin White | Satin White | |
| Moon dust silver | Moon dust silver | |
| Opulent Purple | Opulent Purple | |
Features
| Features | RX5 MT | RX7 AT |
| Price in Bangalore | ||
| Ex-showroom price | 1840889 | 2059210 |
| Insurance | 70970 | 411430 |
| Road tax | 347376 | 78987 |
| On road price | 2269235 | 2559627 |
| Premium leather upholstery | Fabric | Yes |
| 8 Way electrically adjustable driver seat | No | Yes |
| 8 Way manually adjustable driver seat | Yes | No |
| ORVM with electric adjustment and folding,heating | Yes | Yes |
| Infotainment system with touch screen | Yes | Yes |
| Steering wheel with tilt function ,audio control | Yes | Yes |
| Day night IRVM | Yes | Yes |
| 2nd and 4rd Row AC vents with blowers controls | Yes | Yes |
| Navigation system with pre loaded maps | Yes | Yes |
| Etronic gearbox with sporty manual mode | Yes | Yes |
| Electric sunroof with tilt,open function and sunblind | No | Yes |
| Automatic headlamps | Yes | Yes |
| Rain sensing wipers | Yes | Yes |
| Cruise control | Yes | Yes |
| All wheel drive system | No | Yes |
| Intelligent 4X4 Torque on demand System | Yes | No |
| Immobiliser | Yes | Yes |
Competition All Specs
| Specifications |
SsangYong
Rexton |
Toyota
Fortuner |
Ford
Endeavour |
| Variant | RX7 AT | 4X2 AT | 4X2 AT |
| Ex Showroom Bangalore in Rs | 2015436 | 2262311 | 2119745 |
| Engine Displacement | 2696 | 2982/4 | 2953/4 |
| Power PS / RPM | 184/4000 | 171/3600 | 156/3200 |
| Torque in Nm / RPM | 402/3000 | 343/3400 | 380/2500 |
| Transmission | 5 AT | 4 AT | 5 AT |
| Tyres | 235/75 R16 | 265/65 R17 | 245/70 R16 |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 78L | 80L | 71L |
| Dimensions in mm | |||
| Ground Clearance | 252 | 221 | 210 |
| Turning circle radius in M | 5.7M | 5.9M | - |
| Length | 4755 | 4695 | 5060 |
| Width | 1900 | 1840 | 1788 |
| Height | 1785 | 1850 | 1826 |
| wheel base | 2835 | 2750 | 2800 |
| Seating capacity | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Mileage Kmpl | |||
| City | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Highway | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Fuel | Diesel | Diesel | Diesel |
Conclusion
The new Rexton of Ssangyong under banner of Mahindra offers a great competition among the 20 to 25 Lakh segment SUV. With launch of XUV 500,Mahindra had grown to 15 Lakh range SUV and now its shown further rise. The points like sunroof, availability of Automatic Transmission, leather upholstery, electrically adjustable driver seats etc are boosting factor for Rexton.The factor of 3 rd row seats for 3 adults is affected.
Also the hatch lift dickey door directly indicate it meant for putting luggage. Rexton has all ingredients to make it a satisfactory choice as a luxury SUV. Still some of the points such as image of China made goods in India, non familiarity of Ssangyong in India are some points that make one think twice. Though thee is boosting factor of Brand Mahindra confidence. It would have got even better sales demand if brand Mahindra was highlighted .
