Mahindra's Korean T-Rex : The Ssangyong Rexton

             
Ok. I admit. Ssangyong isn't a brand which you may have heard of until last year. Mahindra's acquired the Korean automotive company and I must say that Ssangyong does boast of an impressive portfolio of automobiles - There's the Chairman which is a luxury sedan (with upto a 5 liter V8 engine), there's the Kyron, The Korando (the tiny SUV of the range), the Rodius, the Actyon and Actyon Sports, and finally... THE REXTON W which this review is about. The Rexton is the big, burly SUV which would do pretty well off road as well as which would overshadow many other cars on the road. That's because it's massive externally.
           The Rexton is longer as well as wider than a Toyota Fortuner. This translates into a much larger onroad size than the Fortuner. However, external size doesn't always determine interior space. Read on to find out more.. Another thing you may notice about the Rexton is it's striking similarity to the Mercedes M Class. That's probably the profound impact of the Ssangyong's previous Mercedes Benz association.

Interiors:

The plastics on the Rexton's dashboard feel rich when touched and the build quality is top notch. The simple black and beige interior scheme may not appeal to everyone. But personally, I loved it. The interiors are elegant and exude class. Every part seems in place and seems well fitted.

The Ssangyong Rexton's leather wrapped steering feels well built and thick. It fits snugly in one's hands and the music controls on the steering are a welcome addition. Further, looking closer, you may notice the "D+" and "D-" buttons on the steering. They are for shifting up / down. Mahindra could've equipped the Rexton with paddle shifts which would make driving it loads of fun. But, they've introduced a new concept to the Indian market in the Rexton - which is a good job on their part.

 Here's the cruise control stalk. It's a clever addition on Mahindra's part because cruise control seems to be making it's way into the Indian market in many cars. However, the stalk feels like an after market addition and doesn't gel with the rest of the interiors. There's a world of a difference between the steering wheel's build and the build of the cruise control stalk. The cruise control stalk's quality seems inadequate and it feels as if it may break off sometime.

The centre console is pretty simple. It's got faux wood with metal accents and a beige surrounding. It looks elegant and luxurious. There's the semi circle shaped A/C controls along with the metallic circle controls for the air conditioner.

The centre console also houses the touch screen Kenwood infotainment system which is GPS enabled.

The Gear Shifter on the Automatic version feels solid in hand and the faux wood accent on it looks pretty good, coupled with the machined metal around it. Mahindra claims that this 5 speed automatic transmission has been built with Mercedes Benz. 

This was something eyecatching on the Driver's side door panel. The Faux wood accent is home to the seat controls. The seats feature memory for upto 3 seating presets which is pretty impressive in a car of it's segment. The door handle which is chrome plated feels in sync with the rest of the trim...

The driver's seat in the Rexton is very comfy and is very welcoming. It's got adequate under thigh support as well as I could get an ideal seating position in it in a matter of seconds ! The electronic seat adjustment is also very convenient.

The centre console for the 2nd row of seats is ergonomically designed. It includes two air conditioning ducts, along with two flip out cup holders. The cup holders were something which I really liked because they're an ideal addition for those highway coffee / hot chocolate stop overs.

There's the sunroof... but, it's cover retracts manually. So there's cost cutting going on there. But the addition of a sunroof does lighten up the cabin. It would've been really nice if the Rexton was equipped with a larger sunroof however. A premium of a lakh or two for a panoramic sunroof would've really added to the Rexton's value.

The 2nd row seats are flat... LITERALLY FLAT ! There's barely any under thigh support and they just feel uncomfortable after you've sat in the Driver's seat. There's a vast difference in comfort between the driver's seat and the 2nd row of seats. When it comes to comfort, if the driver's seat score a 8 / 10, this scores a 4/10. The Toyota Fortuner's second row of seats is much more comfortable than the Rexton's.

However, the 2nd row of seats does come with a good amount of leg room. But, it doesn't come with as much legroom as the Mahindra XUV 500 does. (The XUV 500 comes with LOADS of leg room)

The 2nd row also comes with a very well bolstered arm rest.

The 2nd row door panel is very simple. But, it's solid and sturdy. Plus, the faux wood accents combined with the chrome door handle look elegant. The metallic rim around the speaker breaks the monotony of the beige panel and there's a puddle lamp on the door which is a thoughtful inclusion.

Boot space is quite large - it'll easily gobble up 2 suitcases. The 3rd row seats fold down, creating a nearly flat loading space. You could easily carry luggage in here for those weekend escapades, or occasional airport runs. 

The Exteriors:

The Rexton's headlamps stand out. They are well styled and the projectors make them really attractive looking. Further, there's REXTON engraved in the projector sides. On an overall, it's the most stylish headlamp assembly in it's segment. Now only if it came with headlamp washers...

The aggressive looking Foglamps with turn indicators look mean. They look like fangs on a beast ready to pounce at you. Those combined with the honey comb grille look awesome !

The front grille with it's mean looking chrome strips is encrusted with the elegant chrome Ssangyong insignia.

The Rexton's wheel design is sporty and attractive looking. It comes with 16 inch rubber which looks chunky on the Rexton.

The Rexton's side mirrors look chunky and big and may not be appreciated by all. Even the triangular turning indicator on the OVRM may be a hit with some and may be a lose with some. I personally didn't like the OVRM design.

There's the Rexton W badge on both sides on the rear pillar.

 

Under the Hood:

Both the Rexton variants come with 2.7 liter 5 cylinder diesel engines, each of which are in a different state of tune. The Engine under the lower end model's (RX5) hood is a 2.7 liter powerplant producing 162 Bhp and 34 kgm of torque. This engine in the RX5 is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and comes equipped with a Torque on Demand 4WD system.

The Engine under the higher end model's (RX7) hood is a 2.7 liter 5 cylinder unit which is higher tuned and produces 184 Bhp accompanied by 40.2 kgm of torque. This engine is mated to a 5 speed automatic transmission developed along with Mercedes Benz and comes with All Wheel Drive.

Final Verdict:

      The Rexton is a really good package considering it's price - 22 to 25 lakhs (depending on where you buy it and which model you buy). However there are a few nitty gritties which still need sorting out - like the flat and uncomfortable second row of seats and the high luggage loading lip. If you need a car for out of station trips with a family of 5 or more, I wouldn't recommend the Rexton. However, if you want the most powerful engined car in the segment, then you could go for the RX7 model. But, I'd still recommend checking out the Toyota Fortuner or the Ford Endeavour before you go forward with buying the Rexton.

- Naayl Humza,

  14 year old Car Enthusiast

Car Duty, Tax and Pricing...

   
   Import Duty. This is something which isn't really loved by car buyers. Most people as well as companies despise the high rate of import duty in our country. The reason is obvious - the Extremely high import duty leads to a car's price to shoot up to such an extent that at times, it can cost upto 2x it's original price. But, most people do not wait for a moment to see the reason behind this high rate of import duty on foreign cars in our country. It's quite a simple reason actually. By causing the cost of imported cars to shoot up substantially, the government actually helps Indian automotive companies to have a good number of  car sales.
       If there wasn't such a high rate of import duty, then everyone would be driving Audis, Range Rovers and BMWs and in such a situation, the Indian companies would see very sluggish movement of sales which would cause them at times to enter into losses. Another aspect of this high import duty is that it discourages companies from importing cars into the country in the form of CBUs (Complete Built Units). Hence, the companies importing cars into the country import many of them in the form of CKD's ( Knock Down Kits) which increases the number of Indians employed by these companies due to need for employees for the kit assembly. So, by going via the CKD route, a company does not have to pay a duty rate as high as that on a CBU. Along with this, it helps in providing employment in the country too. Hence, a company would always prefer the CKD route (unless a car needs such precise workmanship that it can't be assembled any where else in the world or the company doesn't want to put down money for the building of a plant here).
     Coupled with this, another advantage of the high duty rate on imported cars in our country is that it encourages the Indian car makers to try to offer better cars at lower price points. An obvious try on Mahindra's side is the Mahindra XUV 500 which is fully built in India and provides competition to cars such as the Nissan X-Trail and the Honda CRV. The difference in the prices of the XUV 500 and the X-Trail is astonishing too. Both come with similar features and in many aspects, the XUV 500 is much better loaded than the X - Trail. Hence, even though the XUV 500 is a better product than the X-Trail in many aspects, it is around 16.2 lakhs CHEAPER THAN the X-Trail ON ROAD IN MUMBAI !! (as of 12-01-13).
     This makes it pretty clear that Indian car manufacturers can have the upper hand in the Indian premium car market if they try. Mahindra took the dive. It succeeded. Tata Motors took the dive with the launch of the Aria. But, it was a fail - the clear reason was that it lacked in many aspects. I'm not saying that the XUV is an excellent product in all aspects. But, it's true that it is much better than the Aria in many aspects. Maruti Suzuki doesn't seem to be trying. All it did was that it imported the CBU Kizashi into India which failed. Probably if it was a CKD, or completely built in India, it would've succeeded in India.
   

 - Naayl Humza,

14 Year old Car Enthusiast.

The "Big Car" Situation.

               

                   I've usually seen loads of hatchbacks and compact sedans on Indian roads. But now, that is changing. I'm not saying that their numbers have fallen tremendously. But, avenues for various other car body style segments have opened up in the last year. These new body styles are mainly MUV's ( Multi Utility Vehicles) or SUV's (Sports utility vehicles). People want a "Badi Gadi" (Hindi for: Big Car). Over the previous one year, there've been loads of new launches in the MUV segment - there was the Ertiga which was, and still is an absolute hit. Then, there was the Evalia which was launched -  the vehicle wasn't a great hit. But, it does show that Nissan has now started selling cars in India which actually matter to the regular Indian family. Then, there was the Quanto from Mahindra. I've not seen many on the roads yet. But, a sub 4 meter seven seater like the Quanto is tough to come by. There was the updated Xylo which actually helped rectify alot of the quirky looks of the Xylo. However, the Innova still stands strong. But, it does need an upgrade (not just a cosmetic upgrade - a FULL FLEDGED one). Last year, we also saw Tata's "Cross over" the Aria which to most people seemed like something offering competition to the Innova. What many people failed understand was that it wasn't aimed to be your stock MUV - it was a 7 seater combined with subtle 4 x 4 capabilities.
             Moving a segment higher, we enter the SUV segment. Most of the SUV's are 7 seaters with 4x4 capabilities and low range transfer gearboxes. On the lower end, the Tata Safari Storme seems like an interesting package priced at around 13 lakhs. Moving one, the Mahindra XUV  isn't really a body on ladder frame SUV and, neither does it come with a proper low range transfer gearbox. But, it is selling - selling like hot cakes. The bookings open, and in a while, they're closed. A segment higher than this is dominated by the Ford Endeavour which is growing old. But still, the Endeavour is AMAZING offroad. Now, there's the Ssangyong Rexton too - which seems promising. The Rexton could possibly have what it takes to overtake the sales of the Endeavour and the Toyota Fortuner.
            So yeah, that's about it. In my opinion, the Ertiga is surely going to take the MUV market by a storm - it's compact, cheaper than the competition, seats 7 and drives like a car. In the SUV segment, it'll be a matter of time before one can predict whether the Rexton has what it takes to beat the competition. Other than the Rexton, I'd surely prefer the Ford Endeavour over a Toyota Fortuner. I know that the Endeavour is not as feature loaded as the Fortuner. But, when it comes to offroad performance, the Endeavour is better than the Toyota Fortuner.

- Naayl Humza,

14 year old Car Enthusiast