SSANGYONG KORANDO E-MOTION

Is going electric the best way to rehabilitate the Korean SUV specialist? Let's find out

- JACK WARRICK

SECOND OPINION

Jack is about to move to the Big Smoke, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on with the Korando in tight city streets. On the one hand, the bonnet's raised edges and the rear's square back mean it's easy to place in a parking spot, but then it's also a pretty big car and its rear-view camera gets dirty quickly. Carefully does it now... PW

Ultimate feels swanky for a Ssangyong

FIRST REPORT 

WHY WE'RE RUNNING IT

To see if Ssangyong's first EV can stand out among a slew of reputable rivals and show that the firm has a future

Where to start with Ssangyong? After several name changes, near-death experiences and financial takeovers during its 68-year existence, the Korean SUV specialist has yet another new owner. Will the KG Group succeed where Daewoo, SAIC and Mahindra failed? Well, it's already ringing in major changes, chief among them the brand name, which new boss Kwak Jae-sun says is connected to a "painful image".

So everyone will have to call Ssangyong 'KG Mobility' in future. We will stick with 'Ssangyong' over the next three months with its new Korando E-motion, though.

What exactly is the Korando E-motion, then? It's an electric mid-size SUV, but also a key component of Ssangyong's future. The Korando name was initially used from 1983 to 2006, then brought back in 2010, and it has come to adorn the firm's second-best-selling car, behind the smaller Tivoli. The current shape was introduced in 2019 but gained the E-motion variant only last year.