{"id":7068,"date":"2015-01-30T16:07:49","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T16:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=7068"},"modified":"2015-01-30T16:07:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-30T16:07:49","slug":"new-ssangyong-korando-sports-pick-up-offers-excellent-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/7068","title":{"rendered":"New SsangYong Korando Sports pick-up offers excellent value"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pick-up market keeps on growing in the UK, so it’s no surprise that budget contenders are starting to appear. First, there was\u00a0the Great Wall Steed<\/a>,\u00a0and now\u00a0there’s the a brand-new version of the\u00a0SsangYong Korando Sports.<\/p>\n

\"SsangYong<\/p>\n

As you’d expect from SsangYong, the Korando Sports majors in value and practicality — with prices starting at \u00a314,995,\u00a0these trucks are unlikely to be status purchases<\/a> and are instead likely to be workhorses.<\/p>\n

SsangYong’s five-year, unlimited mileage warranty will apply to the Korando Sports, even when purchased for business use, and the pick-up’s upgraded 1-tonne payload means it is now treated as a commercial vehicle for tax purposes. Out behind, a\u00a02.7 tonne towing capacity means that the Korando Sports should be able to handle the biggest caravans, horse boxes and fully-loaded vehicle transporter trailers, while staying within the law.<\/p>\n

\"SsangYong<\/p>\n

As you’d expect from\u00a0an Asian budget model,\u00a0the Korando’s standard specification is generous. There are only two models to choose from — the SX and the\u00a0more upmarket EX.<\/p>\n

The SX includes 16\u201d alloy wheels, tinted glass, air conditioning, leather covered steering wheel, remote central locking, Kenwood MP3 CD & RDS radio with a USB & auxiliary port and Bluetooth connectivity as well as speed sensitive power assisted steering.<\/p>\n

The EX has 18\u201d alloy wheels, and features leather upholstery with heated front seats, powered driver\u2019s seat, heated, electrically adjustable and power folding door mirrors and rear parking sensors.\u00a0 6 speed automatic transmission with cruise control is also available as an option.<\/p>\n

Under the bonnet<\/h3>\n

The Korando Sports is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel, which — on paper — compares very well to the entry level engine offering on the Volkswagen Amarok:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nKorando Sports<\/strong><\/td>\nAmarok<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power<\/td>\n155PS<\/td>\n140PS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Torque<\/td>\n360Nm<\/td>\n340Nm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Combined cycle mpg<\/td>\n37.7mpg<\/td>\n36.2mpg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Our verdict?<\/h3>\n

Perhaps tellingly, SsangYong didn’t include any interior photos in their press release. I’d expect it to be less sophisticated\u00a0than its\u00a0Japanese and western peers inside, and the handling probably isn’t as sharp as current premium models, either.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, who cares? At this price, the numbers stack up in favour of the Korando Sports, especially given SsangYong’s impressively comprehensive 5-year warranty (check the the detailed comparison versus Hyundai and KIA here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

If you want a proper pick-up for a mixture of on and off-road use, towing, load lugging and general abuse, the SsangYong Korando Sports could be a very sound buy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone seeking a capable pick-up for commercial use should probably consider a new Korando Sports. Poseurs and road warriors may be disappointed, but farmers and builders won’t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[1611],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7068"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7068"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7075,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7068\/revisions\/7075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}