SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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We reckon the 2013 SsangYong Actyon Sports is a viable double-cab alternative

Pics supplied

Why can’t more double cabs be like this?

Posted on 21 January 2013

Published in Weekend Witness Motoring on Saturday January 26, 2013

The name is barely pronounceable and looks Chinese, but SsangYong actually hails from Korea, and since February 2011 has been owned by Mahindra. Current petrol and diesel engines are apparently sourced in-house although an unspecified European cooperation is admitted to. The pickup was extensively restyled in time for the 2012 Frankfurt Motor Show. It needed it. It now looks more conventional, which is good, because average joes don’t like being seen in anything really different. It’s that nervous herd mentality your boss calls “being a team player.”

The new e-Xdi200 two-litre diesel puts out 10 kW and 50 Nm more than the old engine did, while maximum torque kicks in earlier. Ssang Yong says it also improved the Actyon Sports’ NVH, with a new engine cover and a double-layer construction and soundproofing for the dashboard, along with slanted engine mounts to minimise vibration.

Standard equipment includes a six-speed manual transmission (five-speed on the petrol model), two airbags, electronically switchable 2H, 4H and 4L drive modes, ABS, manual air conditioner, 16” alloy wheels, radio and CD player with USB and auxiliary, keyless entry, powered windows and mirrors and an immobiliser with alarm.

The range-topping 4x4 diesel gains a few extra toys including ESP, automatic air conditioning, 18-inch wheels, cruise control, a backup alarm, leather covers for the steering wheel and gear knob and fog lights at the back. Speaking of the back, you will find that the bin, while deep, is noticeably smaller than that of some competitors. Specifically, it’s 1275 mm long, 1600 mm wide and 525 mm deep. It’s rated at only 383 kg, but total carrying capacity with passengers is still a pretty decent 860 kg. Gross braked towing mass is 2300 kg.

The reasoning is that because this is primarily a leisure vehicle, loading space could be reduced to make the cabin bigger. The SA Standard Tall Passenger approves. He allocated 10 points out of 10 for head, knee and foot room. He also found that he could get in and out without bumping head, shoulders or hips while doing so. Why can’t all double cabs be like this?

On that subject, the new diesel engine is smooth and quiet, gearing is fairly restful at about 2600 rpm for 120 km/h in top, it rolls on nicely at normal cruising speeds and you never get the feeling that you’re enduring something agricultural. It drives like a car, in fact. Out on our favourite provincial dirt road, independent suspension with double wishbones in front and a five-way multilink setup at the rear, provided an almost featherbed ride while maintaining good directional stability. For a body-on-chassis double cab, that’s excellent. It’s capable too.

Our first off-road challenge was a steep, softly surfaced and rutted hill that had defeated a benchmark Japanese high-rider 4x2 a day earlier. With 4Low engaged and just enough momentum to keep going, the climb was accomplished easily – almost a non-event. We aren’t punting the SsangYong as a new wonder vehicle; we’re simply saying it can keep up with established double-cab players. After that, the remaining trails were just plain boyish fun although we did manage to stall it a couple of times while driving gently. Operator failure or not quite enough torque just off idle; who knows?

Overall, the Actyon Sports shows that affordable off-road functionality does not have to mean noisy, clunky diesels, cheap and rock-hard suspension or plasticky interiors. Your barbeque buddies probably won’t accept it because it doesn’t fit the established mould, but that’s just their nervous herd mentality isn’t it?

Test unit courtesy of SsangYong Pietermaritzburg

The numbers
Price: R329 995
Engine: 1998 cc, inline four-cylinder diesel with variable geometry turbocharger
Power: 114 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 360 Nm between 1500 and 2800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13,1 seconds
Maximum speed: 163 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8,8 l/100 km
Tank: 75 litres
Ground clearance: 188 mm front, 200 mm rear
Approach/departure/ breakover angles: 25/25/20 degrees
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.


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