EVEN TOUGHER TO LOVE? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 76

Want a large SUV that can walk the walk as well as talking the talk? What about one you probably aren't familiar with, the vastly improved fourth generation version of SsangYong's Rexton - here reviewed in the updated Y450 form that arrived in 2021. If you're secure enough in yourself not to care too much about badge equity and want a large, capable, well equipped seven-seat 4x4 for sensible money, it makes a lot of sense.

Modelsword count: 10

5dr large SUV 4x4 (2.2 diesel [Ventura, Ultimate, Ultimate Plus])

Historyword count: 179

Increasingly, large luxury SUVs are all about image, all about badge-equity, all about fashion. Or at least most of them are. Here's one that's more practically grounded - the improved post-2020 version of the fourth generation Y400-era SsangYong Rexton. Of all this South Korean brand's products, the Rexton is probably the one provoking most familiarity amongst UK buyers. That's because it's been around so long - since 2001 in fact, sold in first generation form until 2006 when a second generation version offered much the same kind of solid, practical proposition - and much the same aging 2.7-litre Mercedes diesel engine. A big step forward though, was made in 2013 with the launch of the MK3 model 'Rexton W', which got a properly modern 2.0-litre e-XDi diesel engine later uprated to 2.2-litre capacity. The fourth generation 'Y400'-series design announced in 2018 borrowed that engine, but not a lot else, showcasing the recent steps forward that SsangYong had made in technology and quality. It's the improved post-2020-era version of that MK4 design, the 'Y450'-series model, that we look at here.

What You Getword count: 309

This revised version of the MK4 Rexton has a much more commanding presence, thanks to a more imposing chrome-studded front grille, surrounded by re-styled LED headlamps, which gives it a more powerful, sturdy stance. The top variant features these angular LED fog lamps too. The rear end was also updated as part of the changes made to create this Y450 model, with revised LED tail light clusters. Inside, the main difference with this updated version of the fourth generation Rexton lies with the addition of a 12.3-inch digital instrument display, replacing conventional dials in the binnacle and standard on both model variants. You can get it to display in various layout formats, including one that enables you almost but not quite to view full-screen mapping. Anything you can't find here will be located on the high-set HD centre-dash touchscreen, which can show its functions in a useful split-screen format and is 8.0-inches in size on the base 'Ventura' model or 9.2-inches with the top 'Ultimate' variant. In the second row, there's decent space for two and, thanks to the low centre transmission tunnel, room for three should you need there to be. This car's long wheelbase means there's room for third row seating too, though you don't get that on the top-spec 'Ultimate' model. Out back, once the hatch is raised, there's a truly colossal cargo area if the variant you have is a five seat-only model. That means 820-litres of room if you load to the ceiling, a figure that would be reduced to 649-litres if opt for a seven-seat variant and have the third row chairs folded into the floor. If you fold the middle row backrests forward, a vast storage area is provided, 1,977-litres in size on the five-seater model and 1,806-litres in capacity if you've a seven-seat variant with the second and third rows folded.

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