SsangYong Rexton Club Sport & Enduro
Competitive Supreme has added two special versions of its popular SUV, the Rexton. The two versions, which come as the company marks its first anniversary, are the Rexton Club Sport and the Rexton Enduro.
The significant thing about these two versions is that they are priced even lower than other versions with the same engines. The Rexton Club Sport, which has a 2.8-litre 6-cylinder petrol engine is priced at RM160,018.40 (without insurance) while the Rexton RX280 costs RM20,000 more. Likewise with the Rexton Enduro, which has the 2.9-litre 5-cylinder turbodiesel engine, the price is RM141,601.80 (without insurance) whereas the Rexton RX290 is also RM20,000 more.
The price differences are due to the different packaging with less accessories (especially on the body) evident on the special versions. Also, in the case of the Rexton Enduro, a notable mechanical difference is in the transmission: while the RX290 has a 4-speed automatic transmission, the Enduro has a 5-speed manual transmission. And in the cabin, there is no wood finish or leather upholstery though the appointments are still of a high quality and the vehicles still come with lots of features.
There’s Mercedes-Benz technology in the Rexton, specifically in the engine bay where the engines and transmissions are based on designs supplied by the German luxury carmaker (which has a small stake in SsangYong). However, the Rexton is not a Korean version of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class as the chassis is different. The Chairman limousine, however, uses a platform derived from the Mercedes-Benz W124 generation (early 1990s E-Class) with a body that is almost the size of the S-Class.
The Rexton has a part-time 4-wheel drive system with High and Low ranges, meaning that having drive on all four wheels requires manual engagement, otherwise it runs in rear-wheel drive only. However, being a luxury model, there is none of the crude operation of a lever like in the old 4WDs; all that is needed is a push of a button on the dashboard and 4WD can be obtained.
The styling, penned by the well known ItalDesign studio in Italy, is clearly influenced by the likes of the Toyota Harrier/Lexus RX300. It has a very ‘robust’ look and high ground clearance. The front lighting units are projector-type lamps which give a somewhat futuristic flavour.
The 4785 mm long body allows for three rows of seats to accommodate seven persons. However, when a full passenger load in on board, it does mean that luggage space at the back is limited. Presumably, the interior designers figured that the percentage of owners carrying many people would not be significant and most would require on two rows, in which case the third row can be folded flat.
Rearmost passengers will also enjoy lots of cool air as there is a vent positioned on the broad rear pillar and controls to adjust the fan speed. This will be very welcome because the cabin is quite large and the volume of air from the front vents alone would not be enough to reach all the way to the back.
Besides the 2.8-litre petrol and 2.9-litre turbodiesel, there’s also a 3.2-litre Rexton which is the flagship of the range. This has a more advanced 4WD system and many more features… and a higher pricetag of RM205,658 (without insurance).
