SsangYong Korando Commercial (2012 – 2020) Review

SsangYong Korando Commercial (2012 – 2020) At A Glance

3/5

+Well priced 4x4 van with strong diesel engine, good for towing, quiet on the motorway, rides well, comes with mud and snow tyres as standard, five year unlimited mileage warranty.

-No bulkhead as standard, payload of only 433kg.

SsangYong may still be fairly unknown to us in the UK, but the Korean manufacturer has been around for longer than you think. It started out in the 1960s building jeeps for the US Army and in the 1990s partnered with Mercedes-Benz, allowing it to use the German firm's engine and gearbox technology.

Now SsangYong is hoping that a new range of good value SUVs will help it establish it as more than a fringe brand. The Korando in its passenger car form is a crossover to rival the Qashqai but this Korando CSX Commercial is designed as a 4x4 works van.

It may not seem an obvious choice but it offers a lot for the money. And that's not very much money either. It's priced at a smidge under £16,000 (without VAT) and comes surprisingly well equipped with things like parking sensors, a leather steering wheel, ESP and cruise control. It also gets a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, showing the confidence SsangYong has in its new models.

But what about the key facts? Well it has an impressive load capacity of 1312 litres with a carpeted load floor and a nice wide opening from the rear tailgate. But the big limitation is the low payload of just 433kg - that's even less than the tiny MINI Clubvan and means this is certainly only good as a light delivery van. On the plus side it has a two-tonne towing capacity and comes with a strong 2.0-litre diesel engine with 360Nm of torque. This was later upgraded to a 2.2-litre diesel.

The Korando Commercial is impressively refined and a very pleasant vehicle if you have to spend all day behind the wheel. The big selling point is that it's all-wheel drive with a torque on demand 4x4 system plus it gets mud and snow tyres as standard making it ideal if you're using it in rural and remote areas. If you're after a well built, neatly styled but affordable 4x4 van then the Korando is definitely worth considering.