• One 2.2-litre diesel engine available
• Four-wheel drive as standard
• Reasonable performance given size

Diesel engine

If you want a Rexton, you only have one engine choice. It’s a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel unit with 202hp and 441Nm of torque. It’s a strong unit, offering lots of low-down grunt, although it does get breathless the higher up the rev range you climb. Acceleration on the motorway is adequate, with enough left in reserve at a slow cruise to nip past slow-moving traffic in the middle lane.

The Rexton’s standard four-wheel drive system is good, too. It comes with selectable two and four-wheel drive modes and a low-range transfer box, which means it’s handy off-road. The diesel engine’s lazy, low-speed torque also means the Rexton can pull itself out of ruts from which road-biased SUVs would need to radio for a tow. More on that in a bit, though.

What’s it like to drive?

• Uninspiring on the road
• Firm ride, wayward steering, poor damping
• Impressive off-road, though

The SsangYong Rexton isn’t good to drive on the road. The suspension is very stiff and the dampers aren’t particularly supple, which means the car can’t deal with expansion joint and potholes in a composed manner. Both send harsh shudders through the cabin, which makes the Rexton tiresome on a long journey. What’s more, despite this stiffness, there’s a lot of body roll.

The Rexton’s steering system is oddly notchy, too. The first 10 degrees of movement are very light, then there’s a heavy spot as you head towards the quarter-turn mark, then it lightens up again. There’s also a constant vibration coming up through the column and rattling the steering wheel. It’s almost like you can feel the power steering pump working through the rack.

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We recommend you don’t try to drive the Rexton quickly, either. It doesn’t respond well – and you’ll only find more weakness in the suspension setup if you take liberties with it. There’s a lot of bump steer, which is when the car steers itself when hitting a bump or crest in the road. The problem is worsened if you hit a bump halfway through a corner.

It also understeers a lot, probably because it’s such a heavy car. If you approach a corner a little too quickly, the front end will lose grip and push the car to the outside edge of the curve. This probably won’t be an issue for most drivers, but it will be a little unnerving if you’re caught out by a tight corner on an unfamiliar country lane.

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Thankfully the Rexton redeems itself when you take it off-road. We were extremely impressed by how it dealt with rough surfaces – its short overhangs and tough four-wheel drive system means it’ll claw through wet grass, sticky mud and technical cross-axle off-road tracks with ease.