It can't be easy being a SsangYong salesman. Few people can pronounce or spell SsangYong properly and its hard building brand glamour when your product sounds more like a tropical foot fungus than an automobile.
And, through the past few years SsangYong's stylists have created some of the most bizarre cars in the business.
Indeed the Stavic MPV - actually quite a nice vehicle to drive - was recently voted as the world's ugliest car. As I said, it's tough being a SsangYong salesman...
But the 25 SsangYong dealers scattered around South Africa are about to get a break in the form of a the rather attractive Rexton 2, a 4x4 SUV that's going to change the way people think about SsangYong.
The Rexton 2 was styled in Italy and its new look should attract South Africans looking for a stylish SUV.
The car will be available in SA with two engine options, a 2.7-litre turbodiesel and a 3.2-litre petrol, although SsangYong SA boss Hennie Bekker isn't expecting to sell many 3.2s. With today's petrol prices, he shrugs, everybody is going to want the turbodiesel.
And he's right, especially as the turbodiesel in question is a brand-new, latest-generation, common-rail, five-cylinder unit built under licence from Mercedes-Benz. The 2698cc engine produces 121kW at 4000rpm and 340Nm at 2400rpm and is hooked to a five-speed semi-automatic transmission with manual sequential shift option.
Interestingly, the engine block is made by ADE at Atlantis near Cape Town then shipped to Korea, where all the Mercedes bits are added.
The new engine and transmission are the two biggest changes to the Rexton. Other updates include a revised grille and front bumper, fresh rear styling and a neat fascia that's vastly superior to its predecessor.
Handsome 18" alloy rims replace the rather ugly 17" items of the previous model.
The interior of the Rexton 2 wouldn't look out of place in any of its more expensive German-built competitors. Indeed, one of my media colleagues on the launch billed the new car as "the poor man's Mercedes ML".
And that's not far off the truth, except that I don't know too many poor men who could afford the Rexton 2.7 XDi's asking price of R389 900. Still, that's way better than the R535000 for the cheapest ML.
Slow gearchange
The launch drive up to Dullstroom in Mpumalanga covered a mix of highway and dirt, both of which the new Rexton handled admirably. There's a little diesel clatter at startup but, once you're moving, you'd never guess you were driving an oil-burner.
It's quiet and smooth and the ride is comfortable and competent.
I tried the manual sequential gearchange a couple of times but the cog switches were so slow that I slapped it back into 'D' and left it there for the rest of the trip.
Top speed is a claimed 170km/h and at one stage I saw 180 on the speedo but by then the car car was getting a little floaty so I backed off; at 120 it sails along in almost total silence. Fuel consumption was around nine litres/100km.
It handled the dirt roads with aplomb and it was only when we got close to Dullstroom that I noticed a small dial almost hidden behind the steering wheel.
On the fly
It reads 2Hi, 4Hi and 4Lo but no Jlo, indicating that you can run it either in 4x2 or 4x4. We'd been running it in two-wheel drive and even on the dirt hadn't come close to needing the 4x4 option.
It's 4x4 "on the fly" too, meaning you can change from two to all-wheel drive on the move. Frankly I doubt any Rexton 2 owner is ever going to use 4Lo because this isn't the kind of vehicle that's likely to see any heavy-duty off-roading.
The Rexton 2 is well equipped with safety and convenience features - if you have the rest of the day free I'll list them for you. No? OK, then, suffice it to say that anything you need in a modern SUV is in the Rexton 2.
So, SsangYong dealers, stand by for a little action in your showrooms during the next few months. Now, if only you could do something about that weird name...