SsangYong's mid-sized Kyron out to attract

SSANGYONG Australia plans to shake up the small-medium 4WD market next March with the arrival of the turbo-diesel Kyron.

The Kyron, which was unveiled at Frankfurt and makes its debut Down Under at next month’s Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, features a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel developed in-house by the Korean car-maker, which it claims offers best-in-class power and torque.

It will be one of two diesel engines and one petrol engine in the line-up.

SsangYong claims that although the Kyron will be close in price to some of its Japanese rivals, the five-seater wagon will be much roomier and offer a more spacious luggage area.

The 2.0-litre is expected to be the entry model, selling for around $30,000,while a 3.2-litre petrol V6 model fitted standard with leather, stability control, hill descent control, rollover protection and a host of other safety features is tipped to start from around $45,000. A 2.7-litre CDi model will also be offered from around $40,000.

One of the first turbo-diesel engines offered in the small-medium off-road segment, the oil-burner took three years to develop and has an output of 141kW at 4000rpm and 310Nm between 1800rpm and 2750rpm.

It is expected to be mated to either a five-speed manual or a five-speedautomatic with sequential manual shift control.

SsangYong quotes fuel consumption figures of 9.9L/100km for the city and 6.3L/100km for highway driving for the manual.

The car tips the scales between 1929kg and 2028kg, depending on specifications.

Designed by British designer Ken Greenley, the five-door, five-seater wagon is visually less in-your-face than some other SsangYong designs.

However, the Kyron does have some quirky design cues, from the multifacetedgrille to the "shield" tail-lights. At 4660mm long, 1740mm high, and 1880mm wideand with a wheelbase of 2740mm, the Kyron is bigger than class rivals.

SsangYong is hoping to sell 35,000 Kyrons in Europe during its first year on sale but chairman of Rapson Holdings – SsangYong’s importer in Australia – Russel Burling, has a more modest target for Australia.

He was reluctant to put an exact figure on sales, except to say that the Kyron will be the company’s volume seller here.