SsangYong Motor is the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in South Korea. Founded in 1954 as Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop, the company merged with Dongbang Motor Co. in 1963, forming Dong-hwan Motor Co. Starting in 1964, the company began manufacturing military vehicles, including jeeps, trucks and buses, for the US military. Over the years, the company has gone through a number of name changes. In 1977, another change took place and in 1986 it was acquired by the conglomerate SsangYong Business Group, eventually taking on its current name of SsangYong Motor. We now want to explore:
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Ssangyong cars, why are they so cheap
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Reliability, quality and Ssangyong car problems
Ssangyong cars, why are they so cheap
SsangYong Motor Company is a subsidiary of Hadonghwan Motor Company, a South Korean vehicle manufacturer that started production in 1954. Initially, like many other Asian manufacturers at the time, it started its business by producing licensed models of Western car brands. In 1957, Dong-A Motor unveiled its first civilian model and later took on its current name of SsangYong in 1988.
Throughout its history, SsangYong has established important partnerships, including a partnership in 1990 for the licensed production of Mercedes-Benz engines and plant engineering. In 1997, SsangYong became a subsidiary of Daewoo, and in 2004 it was acquired by the Chinese automaker Saic. In 2010, the share package passed to the Indian company Mahindra, which in 2012 started the development of new models and turbodiesel engines. The in-house production and with a low labor cost, associated with meticulous attention to the materials used, allows the final price for the public to be kept low.
The flagship model of the Korean automaker SsangYong is the large SUV Rexton, introduced on the market in 2001 and equipped with engines supplied by the parent company Mercedes-Benz. Despite the sinuous and typical lines of an SUV, the Rexton is a true off-road vehicle, with a sturdy chassis separate from the bodywork, capable of tackling any type of terrain.
Ssang Yong Korando, produced since 1983, is a medium-sized off-road vehicle with a remarkable history behind it. Thanks to the original and balanced design designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 2010, Korando has been transformed into a compact SUV available with both front and all-wheel drive. SsangYong’s range of vehicles also includes other compact crossovers, including the Tivoli, which represents the first collaboration with Mahindra, and the extended version of the Tivoli, called SsangYong XLV (Extra Lifestyle Vehicle).
Reliability, quality and Ssangyong car problems
When evaluating thereliability of a vehiclevarious aspects are taken into consideration, including the quality of the materials used, the ability to maintain regular operation over time, the efficiency of the engine and the number of extraordinary interventions required in authorized service centres.
And’survey conducted by Altroconsumo and other European consumer associations in Belgium, France, Portugal and Spain revealed that the Ssangyong brand is considered one of the top 10 most trusted brands in the automotive industry, scoring 93 for reliability and 84 for customer satisfaction. The study involved over 43,000 motorists, of which around 13,000 in Italy alone, with questions regarding the age of the vehicle, the number of kilometers traveled and the number of breakdowns suffered, weighted according to severity.
Another useful parameter for evaluate the history of problems of Ssangyong cars is represented by calls. Importantly, the reported issues have been resolved and affected a limited number of vehicles, not the entire range.
In the specific case of Ssangyong Korando models, Tivoli e XLV equipped with the 136 bhp 1.6-litre diesel engine, a potential defect in the low-pressure fuel line was found in 4944 cars. This problem could have caused minor diesel leaks, which do not pose a fire hazard, but cause fuel emissions in the engine compartment. Engine malfunctions due to an uneven flow of fuel to the diesel pump could not be ruled out.
In the fifth crash test session of 2019, Euro NCAP conducted a series of tests on ours new Korandogiving it the maximum score, i.e. five stars, in terms of safety.
SsangYong Korando ha ottenuto excellent results in all the tests carried out. In particular, it obtained the maximum score for the operation of the automatic emergency braking system at low speeds. The Euro NCAP Consortium organizes collision tests on new vehicles in order to provide automotive consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular models sold in Europe.