New Ssangyong Rexton revealed as Ssangyong go after Hyundai’s Santa Fe

The new Ssangyong Rexton SUV has been revealed ahead of a debut at the Seoul Motor Show this week as a large SUV aimed at the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The new Ssangyong Rexton SUV – the G4 Rexton in its home market – arrives as a family SUV Ssangyong hope will make a dent in the sales of cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The new Rexton is the next step in Ssangyong’s plan to offer credible SUVs – which started with the Tivoli – which can compete with offerings from its fellow Korean car makers Hyundai and Kia. In truth, they haven’t got there yet, but this new Rexton looks quite promising.

But that’s not stopping Ssangyong trumpeting their credentials with the arrival of the new flagship Rexton, reminding us that Ssangyong is actually Korea’s oldest car maker and the only Korean 4×4 and SUV specialist. So there.

Ssangyong say the new Rexton is robust and dynamic, offers the option of RWD or 4WD, comes with excellent driving dynamics on and off road, is strong and light and has great towing ability and much attention to NVH. Sounds practically perfect.

In addition, it has a luxury interior and no shortage of toys, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 3D Around View Monitoring and a 9.2″ HD screen.

At 4850mm long and 1920mm wide it’s actually a bit bigger than the Santa Fe, and is expected to be offered with Ssangyong’s 2.2 litre diesel or 2.0 litre petrol.

Ssangyong say the new Rexton is going on sale in Korea in the next couple of months, and in the UK before the end of 2017. 

No prices for the new Rexton yet, but it would seem likely Ssangyong will want to pitch it with an entry price which undercuts the Santa Fe – probably £29,995.