SsangYong Korando e-Motion - Way Better Than It Should Be! 

I was one of those who bought an MG5 three years ago. I’ve never looked back and will run it until it dies. But when it dies I may just buy one of those, why pay daft money when it dies the job I want to. I’m sure plenty of other people will feel the same.

Ssangyong are SO underated as a brand. The previous models have had 'last year's' Mercedes engines and gearboxes (and switchgear too), which made them almost bulletproof. I bought a Rexton, which is a bit like an older LandRover Discovery. It was very well built, somewhat old fashioned, outstandingly reliable, and if you check used values they hold up well once the initial big drop has taken place. Ssangyong styling design (by a Brit !) is, um, avantgarde... well, a bit unconventional in the past. This one looks very like their current range of ICE vehicles, and with Ssangyong's worst styling excesses turned to a minimum, is yet one more homogenous 'asian' SUV (or whatever these jacked-up estate cars are called), and in many ways this is it's saving grace. No longer 'a bit weird' and 'an unknown brand', just a 'lesser known' brand, but with a good reputation in 'the trade' for reliability and value for money. A bit like Skoda? Ssangyong has been going through a difficult period recently, financially, but I gather this is largely behind them. This worthy addition to the electric vehicle world may well be what rebuilds the brand. I know the cars are less known over here, but in Asian markets, and all over the eastern world, they're held in high esteem. Great road test.

Got an MGZS on motability three years ago - just handed it back for an Enyaq. The space to put my wheelchair in the boot without taking it apart was the main decider. And the MG was good to us, had a few relatively minor issues with the infotainment system, but that wasn’t a serious issue. Got over 30k miles on a set of tyres, so very little to complain about.

Nearly cancelled my Enyaq order for one of these, back in '22 during my 11 month wait. Not up to Skoda on quality but that Infotainment system is quicker and it's a seriously impressive package. 1.5 tonne towing too! In the end they couldn't get me one any sooner.

Thanks for the review, and nice to see another brand with 7 year warranty. SsangYong were for decades a big conglomerate (chaebol) in S. Korea, with construction, energy, and autos, amongst many other industrial divisions. Very much like Hyundai or Daewoo (also both multi-division conglomerates, even if mostly known in Europe just for their cars). In the 1980s and 1990s they were neck and neck with Hyundai, with many decent auto models at different price points, all quite popular in Korea and other Asian markets. Unlike Hyundai, they were harder hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and many of the conglomerate's divisions had to be sold off (initially the autos went to Deawoo). The auto division soldiered on without much love or investment for many years. They were later sold on to SAIC (MG's owner), and then to Mahindra. Most recently, after restructuring, they were sold to KG Group (another Korean chaebol). They still make severally reasonably popular models for the Korean market.

I once bought a Hyundai Matrix 1.6auto. Friends told me it looked a bit naff from the outside but all were amazed when I took them for a ride. Space, comfort, the way it performed. Never judge a book by it's cover, if you can overcome the badge snobbery, there are some bargains out there. Now including EV's !

I haven't had 3 adults in the rear since boarding school.

I don't think I've ever seen you two so lost for words, great video and I bet SSangYong will be over the moon with your review

Very pleasantly surprised by that!! Fair play. Wouldn't have one because I'm a car guy and its a crossover/SUV, but seems great value!

My manager has had a Musso (their pick up) for 5 years now and she says its brilliant. Like you say, this will be a great second hand bargain, but that relies on people buying them new!

Was this filmed in the Summer? Sun shining, T shirt… it’s January

I've had it for over a year and I LOVE my Ssangyong Korando E-motion.

Proper, actual manual controls...Hallelujah!!!!! And even better, a small screen. 90% of people spend 90% of the time doing the same journeys in their car. We don't need a drive through cinema bolted to the dashboard and then have to go through umpteen menus just to switch the radio on or change the temperature.

Great videos that I have watched for many years now, can I make an observation on the Telsa model 3 , the removal of the indicator storks. Initially I though terrible idea & that could completely put me off a possibly purchase. But, thinking about it, as good drivers surely we should be indicting well before we inciate the turn. Thus in theory it actually encourages better driving habits.

Great review!

Great review and what a catch to get Robert Llewellyn to appear with you. The channel's defo going places.

Brand has always made me think twice but if u need a big car then this should be tested

I am on my second Ssangyong now have a E-motion Ulitmate and they are the best cars I have owned. Had the e-motion for 2 months now and LOVE IT. Not sure when you filmed this but the top of the range ultimate 2023 edition is now £30995 in UK

Very interesting vlog. Brilliant. Best wishes.

There was a Ssangyong years ago proudly claiming it had a Mercedes engine - which it did. The looks weren't a disaster until you got past the B pillar. Someone had worked on the front and then just gave up. It will be interesting to see what market share their EVs get. Thanks for the video.

Thanks for an objective review!

As you said perfect taxi.

Niro doesn't do map on the main display v annoying given my 10yr old basic A3 did it! So yes glad to see it on this

Sadly since brandname converted to KMG the Koronda e-Motion isn't available anymore here in the Netherlands, but when it was on sale here it did have one negative, they didn't sell the two-tone version (and I Liked the two-tone much better with the black roof and other color body). You do have the option for the Torres EVX, but no two-tone.

Cheers guys

Nice honest review

Ssan Yong generally focused on commercial passenger cars previously and it shows in the interior material quality. They used to use Mercedes Benz 2.1 diesels (noisy, but tough). It seems like they’ve chosen wisely again in using BYD batteries. I’ve looked at them on AutoTrader, but I like cars too much to consider one. They’ll make a good used buy for something you’re happy to drive till it dies.

I have one of the first to be imported 18 months ago and after 23000 miles the only problem. I had to have the heater replaced under warranty I thought heat pumps were supposed to be more reliable but its the small things that add up like being able to store the parcel cover under the floor and the doors wrap around the sill so no dirty trousers when exiting the car the size of the glove box and 3 years free servicing

Hang on, when did you film this??

Never heard of SsanYong, but that looks like a pretty decent large vehicle. Love your videos.

I had a Daewoo Musso (rebadged SsangYong). Fantastic car for the money. Yes the looks are bland, but you spend all your time inside, which turns out to be rather a nice place to be. I'm currently in an MG5 (based in no small part from your review), and this Korando has just jumped to the top of my list when it comes to change time.

Compared to my MG5 it looks a little better on the eye I would say. This seems to have a much quicker screen response and has cool / heated seats and has it in the back, with the electric boot a lot for your money over the MG. Really hope MG bring out a completely new MG5 as would buy another in a heartbeat, especially if it could match some of the bits of tech on the ssangyong.

Things have improved somewhat, but SsangYong previously tended to dress their cars up with chrome and other fancy adornments, a bit like Buddhist temples. They didn't seem to grasp Western taste. This one is better, but that nasty chrome thing on the tailgate is a prime example of how it was. It's South Korean, so it will be reliable.... SsangYong's commercial vehicles seem to have quite a good reputation. People tend to shy away from unknown car brands, although the Chinese MG's seem to have overcome this to a greater degree.

I think they are good cars, but 32D insurance & access to dealer servicing would be my concerns. 😎

Very much reminds me of my current eNero and bigger but with 100 miles less range which is a shame as I can't charge at home very easily and I rely on having plenty of spare capacity at the end of each week

We used to sell them through the Daewoo showrooms and the ice engines were mercedes.

This car has taken ages to come to market, its biggest problem is that ssang Yong were not keen to go electric and are not promoting it. For the right applications, this is the right car. I will stick with my long range MG 5 as it has more range. Nice to see the Chinese brands getting some competition on the value side of things.

This does not seem to be for sale on the UK website, I think they are pushing the new Torres EVX (also on an ICE platform), coming soon.

If you put the back seats down, can you lie down in the back? (temporary tn tent?)

The move to EV has levelled the playing field as engines varied massively between car brands. Now an electric motor that is relatively simple has removed that and most companies can build a decent car with a great finish. The Audi's of this world put less gadgets and charge a lot more for what they do put in. If you want a car with all of the modern tech that can add safety and ease of driving, why not go for one of the newer or non mainstream brands. I fear for the current mainstream as they may become irrelevant as we continue to move to EV's. As you did this review it was reminding me more and more of the Kia E Niro and what I had thought swapping from Audi to Kia.

I had a Muso for 7 years on P plate probably the best car I have had. Will definitely having a look

A mate of mine bought a Sing-Song Musso in the Middle East, back in the early '90's. It was an expensive mess. It put me right off the brand for many years. After your review I might just give them another look! Thank you guys.

Looks like anyone with 3 kids pram/pushchair and everything that that goes with them would love this. I assume it has iso fix?

Top of the list for when my LEAFs PCP is up? Maybe. Only worry is will enough be sold for me to easily find a second hand one in a few years time?

Whats the motorway efficiency and the normal road efficiency?

The only one i knew of was my father in laws friends rodius which was for towing. The issue was he didnt use it fhat often, it failed spectacularly down to its electronics and there were few dealerships. If you could get parts im sure it would be interesting but id need a car to be reliable and to be easy to fix if it did go wrong.

BYD 60 kWh battery? Sounds like it could be the same as Model Y RWD from Germany and BYD Atto 3. How fast does this one charge?

Hadn't heard of the brand at all, so nearly didn't watch the vid! Looks like a functional box good for a taxi as you say [a big London cab firm uses ID4s, an equivalent size] - and for looks I've seen worse. Might pass my partner's 'can you get a 3 seat sofa from IKEA in it' test! Did you actually say it was Korean, comparing so much with MG, I wondered? I think you need to nail the efficiency/range a little more sharply. A quick check on the EV database suggests you are a little optimistic on 3.5mi/kWh - though oddly it says no longer available which seems to be wrong.

As a work horse user... I'd be keen... for a second hand one 😅

colour me impressed with this car

Yeah! I never quite understood why people put down Ssangyong. I still have my 2006 Ssangyong Kyron 4x4 2.0 XDI Auto with now 275,000 km. Been perfect , very good off road and very good on a normal road. Although now got our new M3HSR RWD, will probable sell it as I don't really use it off road anymore. But has been a very good car for all those years.

I had the misfortune to purchase a new SsangYong Tivoli 2017. Fundamentally a good car with a good spec. However, within a few months of ownership the car developed issues with the transfer gearbox, steering box, rear brakes and issues with the ECU causing intermittent complete electrical failure. The dealership were excellent but parts and support from the UK concessionaires, who administer the warranty, were appalling. I eventually handed the car back after 10 months and received a refund. Shortly afterwards the dealership gave up the franchise as the issues with the brand were impacting on its reputation. SsangYong have very few dealers in the UK and the concessionaires are a very small outfit and in my experience don’t offer the back up, support and contact customers should be able to expect from a car importer. The 7 warranty is not a manufactures warranty but a bolt on insurance policy. Do your research before purchasing.

According to Ssangyong's own PCP this will hold on to 25% of its value after 4 years. Depreciation will be painful!

In 🇧🇪 you can now buy those on sale for 30k euro, and get a 5k govt grant, so 25k euro, so 21 500 GBP. 🤯

I was most impressed when I test drove one. It has a lot of good tech, comfortable tons of room. Slightly jerky on level 2 regen but maybe just needs getting used to. Much better finished than a MG 4 Tech is way better than a Niro. It even does screen copying like the Renault Megane E Tech.I thought why am I chasing more expensive makes when this does it all? Just being in a lease with another make I couldnt go for it. And sadly as few people have 'discovered ' it, no more are being imported. Ssang Yong may be cheap but they are well put together and have a reputation of producing reliable workhorses.

I used to sell these through Deawoo dealerships. big car. great but dirty merc deisle engin. Drove nice enough but build quality was a bit poor. Very Thirsty.

I remember them as Daewoo in the UK and the original first generation of Rexton was launched using Mercedes bits and everyone in the rural community bought the Musso cheap farm run-around. And of course, nowadays, all motor companies share most parts. So you never know what you're really buying?

First thing we said to each other was it reminded us of an old Skoda....being inveterately unfashionable people we drove Skoda's for years before they became fashionable. Practical, functional easy to live with and nobody wanted to steal it. When the Roomster got written off we went and looked at the Enyaq but everything practical on it was an extra cost and it was expensive and ginormous. So we went for the Huyndai Ioniq 38kWh, used, boot bigger than you think all bells and whistles even in the lesser premium model. This makes me think that Skoda should have created something more like this for their first electric. I like boot space, hence the Roomster but not an enormous car that would barely fit in a parking bay. Ex bus driver so no worries about managing it so if I must have a huge SUV let me have one that's affordable and unlikely to have me worrying about shoving the dog on the backseat and my walking aid in the boot! Like the flappy paddles and the heated/cooled seats if it can be made to be frugal on electrons too we might look at one used for our next car. Don't think anything will ever come close to the Ioniq for mileage even in the pouring rain and wind it got 4.2 m/kWh into work this morning, 4.6 on the way home. Yesterday it was high fives, the things amazing and really spoiled us for anything else! We'd look at this though.👍👏

Great car, great value, we all fall for the badge snobbery! Pity there won’t be many about, since with a 9 year warranty and 90k miles, why get rid. Works out at £3.5 k per year if you keep it for 9 years and it owes you nowt! But it will be worth something even for scrap 👍

Insurance group 32D. there are a number on autotrader under 25K. 0 - 60 is 9 sec

I am not as such a car snob but I do have ideas about the drivers of the various brands. I drive a Vauxhall, it was the very last car I tested before buying as I probably wouldn't even have gotten to it if others had felt right before getting to it. All of my youth Vauxhall was something alcoholics drove because they came ugly from new, cheap to fix body work and lots of them around so cheap to buy/replace. It was not a brand I would even consider because of that, yet here I am now and been for 7 years in a few months. Best car of my life without comparison. If it just feels right I'll buy it regardless of the brand. Short of it being impossible to get parts for or no brand garages for 200 miles or something obvious like that.

Check out the Torres EVX

Got to say the top spec one you had is the same price as a Model 3 Or the Enyaq 60 Edition is £600 more. The Skoda is currently on with 0% finance compared to 7.9% on the Ssangyong PCP

If I was you Andy and I was lent one of these for 3-6 months I’d be delighted. BMW gearshift. Do they have cooled and heated seats?!

Autotrader showing pre-reg (73 plate) Ultimate models for sub £30k hard to find fault for that kind of money, just depends on efficiency of the drive train.

It's quite nice to see a Korean brand still doing value as Kia and Hyundai have gone mainstream verging on upmarket and thus are now really good but expensive. Skoda is as good as VW these days, sometimes better to the point where it's competing directly with it and it's also therefore no longer a value brand. We now have MG, Dacia (EV coming soon) and Ssanyong. Look at it as a value id4. Might pick this and save the cash because at least the controls are not flawed.

I do enjoy watching your reviews (even if I am unlikely ever to buy a new car). I do wonder how well these budget cars will last, the MGs and this look okay but would not want to be the guinea pig owner when they are 7+ years old. Not referring to batteries, more along lines of electrics, suspension, steering and interior etc.

Good timing, just as they've stopped being called Ssangyong 😂

I’ve had a Tivoli xlv for 7 years, not the prettiest car but it’s been mega other than that, decent cars for the price

It's a cracking car

It's no longer Ssangyoung, it's now KG Mobility! P.S waìt until the Torres EV turns up later this year, it's selling really well in South Korea....

On the Ssang Yong UK website it seems they will sell you an in stock e-motion Ultimate for circa £33k v the £40k list price ! That really is a bargain for what you are getting. Massive discounts on the e-motion Korando, way more than on the petrol / diesel versions. I suspect range is an issue for the type of car it is ??

Makes more sense than a Lotus, and that is just the looks

The catch is, there is none. Just a matter of taste in some design features. And on loss, it's relative. High price cars do too. And you need to put more upfront.

Amazing value £28500 for a 2023 ultimate with 1200 miles! Only down side is even worse than being in Rotherham you have to drive to London!

Just my sort of car. Not a brand snob, I don't follow the heard. When my lovely Ora is up for renewal, will look at a Ssangyong. Los of the Rextons round here, farmers love them. (Mid Wales).

I’ve been a fan of Ssangyong for years, the Rexton is better than any Land Rover !. If I was looking for a EV it would be this !.

Right now you can get a one year old version with around 8000 miles for around £24,500...a snip

My concern about EVs isn't the technology, it's the stability/viability of the various manufacturers. Tesla have such an overwhelming advantage, and profit margin, that I would be wary of many other manufacturers being able to stay in the game. Ssangyong have a troubled history already (via the Daewoo collapse and various buyouts). A 7 year warranty is great if they are here in 7 years. I want the security of a manufacturer with a good supply chain of parts, and an extensive service centre network. I'd take an MG over a Ssangyong right now, just based on critical mass of vehicles sold. Given any choice I'd take a Tesla based on probability of them still being around in 10-20 years.

The Korando is massively more expensive in Ireland?

This car at Xmas was available with £11000 off list price

BYD battery… so LFP?

Ssangyong have just changed their name to KGM.

I am exactly the same as you two. I do see one almost daily (ICE version) and think why would you buy that, it is truly ugly and thats coming from a 2020 Soul owner. Your review has certainly been an eye opener..

Title should be ‘Two Yorkshire men get mildly surprised’

Had a few Ssangyongsvovervthe years, they're not flashy, but generally unpretentious and very much a Ronseal type of vehicle, but you kinda lost me at 56kWh tbh, something that size is going to need at least 75 to be a really useful family wagon in my opinion

Not a bad vehicle at all

Hello guys

Interior switches, console etc. looks like a knock off of the e-Niro?

Diesel for me

What can we say, if you are speechless 😂 Then it's got to be the car for the masses. Who cares what it called, or if you can pronounce it. Very much has the look of Kia/Hyundai on many internal parts.

Specced out with all the driver assistance modes, it costs about the same (in the Netherlands) as the base Model Y, which has 40 miles more range. Game over.

Their diesel variants are Mercedes powered.

I don’t think anyone will be leasing one of these, depreciation plays a big part in leasing costs so this works out very expensive .. a good £200 more a month than Kia/Hyundai.

Never heard of them!😂

£31k Autotrader brand new Ultimate model. Lot of car for the money.

I was brought up owning 1970s cars. In other words I am perfectly happy as long as it is economical and reliable. I don't want electric anything apart from the basics in my EV, as it will only break and cost a fortune to fix. All SUVs look naff and the same. Take the badges off and I can walk past this, a new Lotus SUV or a BYD (the same as the Lotus) and I could not even guess who made it. I could buy this and be happy apart from the 'obese' look all SUVs have. I will stick with my three year old Zoe as I tend to keep cars for over 10 years but SsangYong looks fine.

price of a Mokka with 2x the room. and it tows!

To be fair Ssamgyong has produced some absolute dogs - particularly the pickup that made you seasick despite using coil rather than springs and that hideously ugly people carrier . Sooner or later though they were going to get their act together and as others have said this change in propulsion systems is actually levelling things out. Ironically those companies who still do things as old fashioned as putting actual buttons in for the functions everyone uses regularly are probably going to do well with older motorists from the pre-Iphone generation. Let's not forget they are people who A) have more money to spend on stuff and b) actually like motoring in a way that a lot of younger people don't.

Shouldn't you be drinking n us sending you drinks?