SsangYong is the motoring equivalent of Henry Higgins. It's taken a traditional off-roader and plans to pass it off at the ambassador's ball as a sporty utility vehicle that can sit in the car park beside much more prestigious names without the valet crying foul, writes Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor
Of course, the first requirement in the fashion stakes is to wear the right attire. In terms of looks the Koreans have pulled it off - with the help of the Italian design studio of Giugiaro, they've come up with a quite imposing and stylish vehicle.
It can pull off the SUV look in any car park and there's the height to give it that aggressive stance, yet softer lines to win over the soft-road brigade.
The look is actually quite American, particularly up front where the big chrome grille and prominent light clusters are in keeping with the American-sounding model name, Rexton.
The side profile shows its Asian roots - at this angle it could be mistaken for a diminutive Toyota Land Cruiser.
Overall, it's just what you want in an SUV - a muscular, brawny appearance with some retro lines.
At the rear the big boot in our five-seater was more than ample for our needs, but it would be slightly tighter in the seven-seater version, also on offer.
Up front the quality of the plastics is poor, but there are nice touches that you'd expect only on much more expensive vehicles, among them small triangular lights built into the doors. There are also speed dials and air-conditioning controls worthy of a premium luxury model.
Yet there are tell-tale signs which undermine the premium look, notably the numerous signs prominently located throughout.
In Korean and English they inform you to put the transmission into P when parking, to mind people's legs when moving the back seats and etched on each large door mirror is a notice that "objects are closer than they appear in the mirrors". All very worthy messages, but surely they would be better in the handbook than permanently fixed to the vehicle. Anyone who doesn't know that P is for parking in an automatic, shouldn't really be in charge of two tonne of moving metal. All that was missing was an instruction in the rearview mirror that "objects appearing here are behind you".
In terms of safety, the Rexton features dual front airbags, but no side ones, and the centre seatbelt in the rear is only a lap belt. It does, however, have ESP, brake assist, traction control and ABS as standard, and disc brakes all round.
Perhaps our greatest criticism of the interior styling is the wood veneer colouring of the plastic which, although it gives the Rexton a sense of elegance, reveals itself to be rather garish and cheap upon even the most cursory inspection.
Alas, it's not only interior features that will mean this particular lady will not fool many at the ambassador's ball. It may look the part, but unfortunately when put to the test on the road it offers less than breathtaking performance.
Like some of its Korean counterparts, the new Rexton uses part-time four-wheel-drive on its diesel models, so most of the time its a regular two wheel drive.
You can, however, switch to four-wheel-drive at the touch of a button - though at lower speeds - and there is the option to engage a low four-wheel-drive as well.
The five-speed automatic transmission fitted on our test car seemed to have no relationship with the engine and little connection with what we were signalling with our right foot.
There seemed an age between pushing the pedal to the floor and any forward movement, and you really need to really work the gearbox to gather up enough steam for overtaking.
Despite claims that it has links to diesel units from BMW and Mercedes due to the fact it was built in association with AVL Austria - which worked on the BMW X5 diesel - this is nowhere near as refined as those engine blocks.
The Rexton is not going to challenge any land speed records, even with this new engine.
Yet, in fairness, many of its competitors are not exactly storming away from the starting line either, and the new engine is a vast improvement on the 2.9-litre diesel version on offer.
With 165 bhp and 340 Newton Metres on offer, it's a useful workhorse, which means it can work as a utility vehicle - the UV in SUV. However, there's nothing sports about it and the only time we felt truly at home with it was on the mud or sand.
It's there that you appreciate the numbness of the handling, but on the road the steering wheel and front wheels seem to speak different languages and there's no interpreter. Sure, you turn the wheel left and the Rexton goes left. And similarly with right turns.
But it's a one-way conversation and the wheels are notably mute when it comes to telling the driver what's going on at road level. SssangYong seems to have vastly overplayed the electro-power steering on the rack and pinion system.
Then there's the suspension. On the road the Rexton feels like it's sitting on bed springs, bouncing along. It means you cut across rutted fields without a worry, but on the road you sway to and fro.
In the end, it's all about compromise. If you don't really care about how you get from A to B, and are more interested in looking pretty smart on a reasonable budget, then the Rexton could be just the answer.
But you get the feeling that you can take the Rexton from the field, but you can't take the field from the Rexton.
Call it what you will, but this is a traditional off-roader masquerading as an SUV.
It offers good value and that will undoubtedly win over several customers to its fold. But in terms of on-road ability, it's probably better fun driving it on the grass verge than on the tarmac.
SsangYong can add all the mock wood veneer they like, and commission all the Italian design houses it can afford, but at the end of the day it's a regular mud-plugger dressed up for a day out in town.
FACTFILE:
ENGINE: A five-cylinder 2,686cc DOHC common rail diesel engine offering 165 bhp @ 4,000 rpm and 340Nm of torque.
PERFORMANCE: A top speedd of 105mph and a 0-62mph time of 13.2 seconds.
SPECIFICATION: Dual airbags; ABS; ESP; disc brakes all round; climate control; radio/CD; electric windows; 16' alloys.
MPG: urban; 22.4. extra-urban; 33.6. Combined; 28.5.
PRICE: €42,995 (€36,495 - €50,790).
THE COMPETITION
SsangYong Rexton 2.7 Xdi Auto: 2686cc; 13.2 (0-62); 105 max speed; 156 BHP; 28.5 mgp combined; €42,995.
Kia Sorrento 2.5 GSE Auto: 2797cc; 14.6 (0-62); 106 max speed; 138 BHP; 33.2 mgp combined; €43,295.
Land Rover Discovery ED5 E: 2495cc; 15.3 (0-62); 98 max speed; 137 BHP; 30.1 mgp combined; €44,840.
Mitsubishi Pajero 3.2 DiD LWB Passenger: 3200cc; 12.0 (0-62); 106 max speed; 158 BHP; 29.7 mgp combined; €46,950.
Hyundai Terracan 2.9 Turbo diesel: 2902cc; 13.7 (0-62); 103 max speed; 148 BHP; 32.8 mgp combined; €41,750.