SsangYong Rexton Review 2024

If you need a big seven-seat SUV that’s really well equipped, and you want as much metal as you can get for your cash, then the SsangYong Rexton is difficult to beat. Yes, you have to make some sacrifices in dynamic polish to get it, but for many, that’ll be a sacrifice well worth making.

Where the Rexton is even more difficult to beat, though, is if you’re a member of the towing fraternity. Whether you’re pulling speedboats, horseboxes or kebab vans, the Rexton will do it more effectively than most other cars on the market. That’s thanks to a maximum towing weight of 3,500kg, which is a figure not many cars of any price can match.

What's more, if you need your speedboat or kebab van (or more likely, your horsebox) to be pulled across a muddy field, the Rexton’s on-demand four-wheel drive and low-ratio gearbox should have that covered, too.

There would’ve been a time when we would’ve urged you to go for the entry-level EX car, because it was very temptingly priced, came with the same engine as the rest, had enough luxury kit to be getting on with and it offered seven-seat practicality.

However, while most of that remains true today, the EX has since become a five-seater-only deal, which removes much of its appeal. Unfortunately, it also means the cheapest seven-seater now costs thousands more, meaning it's not all that much cheaper than some equivalent rivals. Even so, we still think you need seven seats in your Ssangyong Rexton, and you’ll want an automatic gearbox, too. So, go for the 2.2 ELX Auto.

Aside from huge cars like the BMW X7, Mercedes GLS and the Range Rover, there aren’t too many cars as enormous as the Ssangyong Rexton. However, while all those motors sit worryingly close to the six-figure mark on price, and sometimes even overstep it, the Rexton doesn’t cost you too much more than a mid-spec Volkswagen Golf.

It’s by no means the only affordable seven-seat SUV, though, so it’s not like it’s completely without rivals. Two of them hail from Ssangyong’s own homeland of South Korea, those being the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. Meanwhile, the SEAT Tarraco and Skoda Kodiaq will also be in the running for your cash. If you want rugged, the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport might fit the bill.

Considering SsangYong’s budget-brand status and the SsangYong Rexton’s relatively low price, you might well fear that this will be an area in which you’re required to make sacrifices. Well, in SsangYongs of old, it would’ve been, but thankfully, that doesn’t apply here. 

Most of the materials on show are attractive and tactile, and there are enough varying textures and thoughtful finishes to keep things looking interesting. True, a couple of surfaces feel slightly lower-grade than others, but they certainly don’t let the side down, and the solidity with which everything is assembled is also impressive. Sure, it’s not going to be giving Audi’s quality controllers sleepless nights, but rivals like Kia and Hyundai are easily matched. It’s a very impressive job by SsangYong.

The entry-level Rexton gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen system that controls various systems and supports Bluetooth, DAB radio and a rear-view camera.

There’s no sat-nav, but there is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can use your phone’s navigation functionality through the main screen. It’s all pretty easy to use, too: the graphics are sharp and quick, the screen is responsive and the menus are refreshingly logical. Granted, some of the on-screen icons are little on the small side, but that’s a very minor gripe.

What’s more, it’s a gripe that’s remedied by the bigger 9.2-inch touchscreen system, and otherwise, using the upgraded system is just as easy. It also incorporates built-in TomTom sat nav and a 360-degree parking camera. 

This system comes as standard in the range-topping Ultimate version, but whether you get it on the mid-spec ELX car will depend on the age of the car you find. The bigger screen was included on ELX cars before the 2020 model year took effect, but from 2020 onwards, it was downgraded to the 8.0-inch system.

The entry-level version is a five-seater only, but from then on, all SsangYong Rextons are seven-seaters.  It'll be a squeeze to fit into a garage at 4850mm long, 1960mm wide and 1825mm tall. Used like a five-seater, it’ll be no surprise whatsoever that a car as enormous as this is very roomy indeed.

The second-row seats have very generous head- and leg-room for adult passengers, while the wide cabin means carrying three in the back is pretty comfortable, too. The rear footwell is also pretty much flat, meaning plenty of foot space to go round.

What’s more, you have an enormous 820-litre boot that’ll swallow fertiliser bags and flatpacks with ease, and there are also movable luggage boards that let you either secure your cargo or flatten out the load bay when the rear seats are folded to maximise boot space to 1806-litres. The way those seats fold doesn’t quite give you a flat extended load area, but it’s not far off. 

Those seats also shift out of the way far enough to give good access to the third row of seats once you’ve popped them out of the boot floor but like with most seven-seaters, they're best left to children for anything other than very short journeys. The boot’s pretty tiny at 240-litres with all seven chairs in place, too, with room for only a few carrier bags worth of groceries.

All SsangYong Rextons are powered by the same 181PS 2.2-litre diesel engine. You might worry that this sounds a bit weedy in a car weighing more than two tonnes, but in most driving situations, it actually copes surprisingly well. 

The engine’s muscle is available from low down in the rev range, making it flexible and eager, so the engine rarely has to work its socks off to lug the Rexton’s behemothic body around. Granted, you’ll never get anywhere particularly quickly, but in a car like this, a relaxed life is much more important than a speedy one, and the Rexton delivers on that score.

Two gearboxes are available, a six-speed manual which we haven't yet tried, and a seven-speed automatic sourced from Mercedes. It slurs between the gears reasonably smoothly, which contributes to the Rexton’s easy-going nature. Yes, if you plant the accelerator for a sudden burst of acceleration, there’s a rather pregnant pause before the engine responds, but that’s the case in pretty much all large SUVs. 

You might worry that the SsangYong Rexton’s old-school construction would give it all the rolling refinement of a muck spreader, but it actually does surprisingly well on this score. Treat the engine gently by only using it’s generous low-down pull (which you will, because revving it hard doesn’t really result in much more speed anyway), and it stays smooth and reasonably quiet. 

Both wind- and road-noise are reasonably well contained at all speeds, too, so it’s also pretty civilised at a steady motorway cruise. Granted, you can hear the suspension knocking and clonking away beneath you most of the time, especially over a scruffy road surface, but it’s not loud and it’s nothing that’ll upset the general feeling of calm in the cabin.

The SsangYong Rexton might be a budget offering in the large SUV class, but there’s been no scrimping when it comes to the amount of safety gear you get as standard. 

All versions have a system that senses an impending collision and issues a warning, then applies the brakes automatically if you don’t react. There's also a system that warns you if you’re wandering out of your lane, and you also get headlights that automatically switch themselves between high- and dipped beams.

Six airbags are also provided, which is pretty standard, and if you upgrade from the entry-level EX trim to the ELX, that rises to nine, thanks to the addition of rear side ‘bags and one for the driver’s knees. 

The range-topping Ultimate version gets even more, including a blind-spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert, which warns of approaching traffic when you’re reversing out of a parking space. However, a spare wheel isn’t provided on any version: they all get a tyre repair kit. The Rexton hasn’t yet been crash tested by Euro NCAP.

Although the SsangYong Rexton doesn't sell in huge numbers in the UK, data from the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index suggests the Rexton should be fairly reliable. 

The SsangYong Rexton EX lies in group 28 out of 50 for insurance, while the ELX ups that to 29, and the Ultimate jumps up further to group 32. Those classifications are a few groups higher than most of the car’s rivals, so premiums are likely to be pricier, but not by a lot. Besides, the price you’ll pay to buy your car should be more than low enough in comparison to compensate.

This generation of SsangYong Rexton was released after the change in VED tax rules that imposed a flat £150 rate for petrol and diesel cars, regardless of their CO2 emissions. Good news for the Rexton, considering how relatively grubby it is (but by the same token, that means company car drivers won’t want to go anywhere near this thing).

What’s more, since all versions cost less than £40,000 when new, you also escape the £325 premium car surcharge applied between years two and five of the car’s life. Happy days. A note of caution, though. The priciest cars only checked in just below the £40,000 threshold, and if the car you’re buying has a few optional extras added, that could take you over the threshold, so the surcharge would apply. So, on used versions, check the spec carefully for optional kit.

Even the base-level SsangYong Rexton EX car comes with most of the equipment you’ll really want, providing manual air-conditioning, the 8.0-inch touch-screen, cruise control, keyless entry, power folding door mirrors, front and rear parking sensors and automatic lights and wipers. 

Many will upgrade to the SsangYong Rexton ELX version for the seven seats and increased towing capacity alone, but it also provides you with faux-leather upholstery, heating for the steering wheel and seats (front and rear), and dual-zone climate-control with rear vents. 

Range-topping SsangYong Rexton Ultimate trim gives you a bigger 9.2-inch infotainment system with sat-nav and a 360-degree camera, a powered tailgate, interior mood lighting, genuine leather upholstery and front seats that are both heated and ventilated.