I have spent my fair share of time in pick-ups over the last few years. These commercial vehicles offer you a significant tax saving with the benefits of rugged practicality with everyday usability. I mean there is only so much you can do with a van and it’s for this reason that we as a publishing house have opted for crew cabs over the last few years.
Right now are chosen chariot is the new Isuzu D-Max which costs €36,800 for the LS model with leather, chrome and all the trimmings. The good news is that now when choosing a crew cab you can get into one for as little as €30,993 like this SsangYong Korando Sport, I have on test this week. The Korando Sport is a good-looking truck with a modern stylish nose that leads your eye towards the bulky rear end. Like all crew cabs you have a choice of rear attachments from a simple Tonneau cover to a complete canopy covered-in section. Inside you can have an automatic, leather trimmed, refined all terrain vehicle or the base cloth and manual, which I am testing. Either way depending on what you plan on doing you won’t be disappointed. Everything is well positioned within easy reach and it’s generally a nice place to be with ample legroom up front and in the rear.
The Korando Sport is powered by a 2.0 litre turbo charged 152hp unit, which I honestly thought would feel underpowered. Our 163bhp office based D-Max feels lively but no more so than the Sport. It appears the refinement of turbo-charged diesel power plants over the years allows torque to do the work more so than engine capacity. The Sport produces 360Nm of torque from low down in the rev range to allow you pull a load or simply get away at the lights pretty swift. I found the SsangYong worked best mile munching on motorways during my week-long test. On back roads it requires a little more steering input than most and there is an element of play between direction changes. It’s not a bad or unnerving thing but more something to be conscious of on twisty roads or indeed tight parking spots. The ride quality is fine, 188mm of ground clearance at the front and 212mm at the rear. It can approach or depart angles of up to 25 degrees, which makes it a capable off-road machine also.
Overall I was a happy chap driving the Sport and I feel it represents excellent value for money, particularly in base trim. We already reviewed the normal Korando, which was a worthy SUV, so it’s safe to say that the SsangYong are back strong and ready to dish out more quality vehicles. In the coming months expect to see the Rodius and the Rexton, which are sure to turn heads.
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