Ssangyong Tivoli XLV 16- preview

SsangYong’s new SUV-with-a-bigger-boot will be named Tivoli XLV in the UK, as opposed to just XLV in its home market of South Korea.

Such is the value of the Tivoli name that 64,000 of them have found homes worldwide and the crossover has helped SsangYong reach 3,300 sales in the UK in 2015.

If you’re in the market for a Nissan Juke, Mazda CX-3 or Vauxhall Mokka but have been put off by a lack of carrying capacity, this larger Korean car could be right up your street.

Tivoli with added practicality

As with many great production models, the Tivoli XLV started out life as a concept in the form of the XLV Air Concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The favourable reception bestowed upon the practical, yet stylish, vehicle convinced SsangYong that this concept had legs.

Based on the Tivoli’s platform and wheelbase but with a long overhang at the back, you get a similar vehicle but with a much larger 720-litre boot (up from 423 litres in the standard car). Inside there is space for five adults and the vastly improved cabin looks entirely different to SsangYongs of old. Oh and the name? It’s short for eXciting smart Lifestyle Vehicle.

What if I don’t have an exciting, smart lifestyle?

Worry not, from what we saw at the Geneva Motor Show, this new and more practical car will suit a large number of people. And it’ll have to – SsangYong wants worldwide sales of the Tivoli and Tivoli XLV to reach 100,000 in 2016.

Powering those sales will be a choice of either a 1.6-litre diesel with 113bhp (117g/km CO2 emissions) or a petrol engine with 126bhp (159g/km). Drivetrains will include two- and (unsurprisingly) four-wheel drive, plus six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.

It hasn’t been confirmed what specification we’ll be getting in the UK yet, although we’d imagine it would follow the SE, EX and ELX structure of the standard Tivoli.

Safety first for the Tivoli XLV

Hoping to attract a large number of family buyers, you won’t be shocked to hear that SsangYong has pushed the boat out in terms of safety.

You get seven airbags including front, side and curtain ones, plus a driver’s knee airbag. There will be an electronic stability program, hill-start assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a warning reminder on all five seat belt positions.

In addition, there are numerous storage spaces inside to help stash iPads or bags of sweets, including a large centre console pocket and the ability to carry a 1.5-litre drinks bottle in each of the front and rear door side pockets.

We’ll be driving it as soon as it arrives in the UK later in 2016 – make sure you check back with us for the full SsangYong Tivoli XLV review.