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Ssangyong Vehicles


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  • General Member

Has anyone had an interaction with Ssangyong vehicles?

I have been looking at there range and there seems to be some good pricing there for fairly well optioned vehicles but I am a bit concerned on the back of some of the Great Wall horror storys. Crap engines, rotting firewalls etc. etc.

I would be interested to know if there a decent vehicle to drive, mainly the Actyon and the Rexton SUV. And if anyone has had any experience with them from a mechanical point of view.

Or am I better buying a few year old Hilux, Ranger etc.

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we have a Mercedes branded Van that is built by Ssangyong in korea,

it has been fairly reliable ( 430,000 km on clock) they run mercedes gear ( made under licence)

Only down side to them as I see it is they are all pretty farken ugly :)

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A while ago my dad was looking at buy a ute, and as hes a tight as **** with his money we ended up trying most of the cheaper brands.

The Ssangyong utes were MUCH better then the Great Walls. Rode better and felt better built. Even my dad couldnt get over how bad the Great Wall was. THe look on the salesmans face when he ask what he thought and got a honest response was priceless!

What about Foton? Stupid name, but all the bits theyre made from are from legit brands (Cummins engines etc)

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Yup I would consider a Foton. Basically we got a Mazda Axela for my Finace and we have both decided a double cab ute that can tow the WRX and put a dog on the back of is more sensible long term.

So we are looking at selling the Axela and buying a ute in that entry level, new, cheap ute or second hand name brand price range. Needs to be Auto, Double cab and I would prefer a Diesel I think. Beyond that we are pretty open. Even a decent sized SUV that could tow a Car trailer would be an option.

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the other guys where im wrking have a new foton .

i thought it was a hilux untill i actually looked . the outside looks modern without being try hard . the inside is simple and not try hard but doesnt scream 'budgo" either .

the engine went aight but was underpowered compared to my bt50 .

would actually buy one . lol compared to the look on a mahindra . fk me i dont even have words for them

funny fact about the foton . the passenger seat has "auto" for the power windows . i raved about it . then we discovered the drivers seat doesnt have "auto " lol . must have been designed for a lhd market

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We get heaps of the suv/ute boys in as they get smoked on servicing along with the forestry vandals and i ask them how they go etc.

Great wall have always been the ugly duckling under powered and under tecched. Only reason they became popular as they were heaps cheaper than anything else. Theyre thirsty but seem ok if you dont mind opening your wallet to fill it every 2 seconds.

The ssangyong are awesome bang for buck with the tech/interior being fully optioned. Seem to be mainly 45-65yo dudes driving them and havent heard a negative thing. Looks like they will end up like hyundai with a chunk of the market. Had one guy who runs 4 of them he runs them to 200000km then sells them but one he had over 400000km and only issues were wear items like brake pads and odd bush. Independent rear has a few fanboys.

I drive a 2014 foton most days so easiest to comment on. Done 27000km in last 5 months. Had a recall on u bolts for models assembled in june but meh was blamed on wrong heat treatment process or something. Then clock died - common issue. One of the radio buttons is sticky and radio cuts in and out. Gearbox is very hilux with the long throw but revs to low in 5th so find it wants to cruise at 120kph. Now that wouldnt be so bad if it wasnt dead as a dodo under 1700rpm. It has zilch under there to the point you have to rev the nunu out of it to get it off a hill start. Now the engine should be fine as its a chinese assembled cummins/holset crate engine, getrag box think gto/supra and dana diffs think hyundai loaders etc. Just a commercial mini truck just a pity it really needed a bit more polishing. Runs basic spec oils so cheap to maintain and should be reliable. Handling is actually pretty good for a tall truck on big tyres i havent had it step out and i push it very hard. Hasnt suffered saggy butt syndrome which all utes do and weve often got 800kg in the tray and 1000kg on the tandem unbraked. Auto both sides to lachlan.

I wouldnt go near a mahindra i did once and its forehead nearly knocked me out. Couple of guys have them and say theyre nice but i cant see it.

I would spend another 10k on buying a colorado or dmax tbh. Ill write more later on others.

Edited by evowrx
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Good info gents, thanks. I had that same thought about Ssangyong being the new Hyundai Evowrx, my old man had a hyundai quite a few years ago now when no one would touch them. It was a nice and reliable car for what he paid. Now they (Hyundai) seem to go for prices on par with the traditional big brands.

I saw the Foton doesnt do an auto thats a shame. Its a bit of a deal breaker as this will be the Mrs. Daily, I have a company car so it has to be suitable for her to do the normal around town stuff. I see theres a massive price difference in second hand utes too. 4wd Turbo Diesel go for a premium while The 2wd Diesel Double cabs seem to come up at a reasonableish price for 05+ 19-25k so same ballpark as a new lesser brand.

I have done a bit of towing but not a lot with utes, is there a big advantage towing with 4wd over 2wd? Will mainly be to the track and back type stuff, a bit of town to town.

Edited by Johnnynz
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Most of the utes that you are looking at will be partime 4wd ( no AWD) so the 2wd/4wd argument is moot as you cant really tow in 4wd. saying that the 4wd chassis are usually stronger so there is that.

re: the foton with the "cummins" engine these are built under licence, and my experience with "under Licence" builds are they are usually not as reliable nor easily fixed( parts can be a hassle) as the genuine gear,This is coming from the Bus side of my business, been a few bad stories about the chinese built buses running cummins and allisons having issues with back up services, the owners were told go see a cummins dealer they will sort it, no they didnt the parts were just not quiet the same as they genuine parts to make fitment a hassle.

I would see if you can stretch your finances into a namebrand,(I will always push a toyota but that is what I run and so does my business)

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Cummins bus stuff is special agreed. The foton stuff is available thro foton dealers but pretty sure you would be able to buy parts thro cummins using the serial number as its a cummins crate engine model escapes me. The 2wd and 4wd chassis are the same for foton i would guess to keep it to one production run. The height is nice but not so good for city.

Perfect for a high km company vehicle where depreciation comes into play as with a hilux etc you almost lose a foton/ssangyong in the first year. I wouldnt buy one personally id probably go dmax purely on bang for buck and looks to boot.

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I'm inclined to say go for a Colorado with the 3-Litre common rail diesel. They don't cost too much, capable in crap conditions, and that motor pulls like a f*cking schoolboy. Quite a car-like drive too for a giant box.

Hiluxes and Rangers still cost a bomb unless you get a povvy-pack 2WD one, mostly due to their popularity with tradies and the Hilux reputation.

The Navaras go bloody well but there's kinda a question-mark around the Frenchness of them and the parts are heinously expensive unless you go aftermarket of unknown quality.

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I must admit the more I think on it the more I lean towards a "name" brand. I hadn't considered Colorados but they look to go for ok prices second hand so i might give them a bit more of a look over the next week.

Whats the go with Injectors on the newer hiluxes? I have heard there a bit prone to failure? I noticed a few of the trademe ads for second hand late model Hiluxes notes Injectors replaced under warranty.

Edited by Johnnynz
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the main issue with all common rail and the hilux injector failure is one issue is that the fuel that is being put in is not of a good quality, if you use fuel from a high turn over fuel stop then all is good( my 05 hilux has done 260,000 km and still goes excellent and has only had minor issues( wheel bearings) ) If you use fuel out of your farm tank or even worse your logging tank which has suspect cleanliness then you will have issues, regardless of make of vehicle.

also I rate the isuzu over the similar holden

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I am actually looking at all of these at the moment, only 2wd as do round town driving. I found found price wise "brand new" you can get top of the line 2wd Colorado etc for the same price as a pov spec ranger/hilux. Also see the new Colorado isn't a 3.0L they have changed to a 2.8 "apparently better according to the salesman".

They also basically all seem to only come in diesel now if your looking 2wd other than the Hilux sr5 version, which then bumps the price up huge anyway. So from what ive seen the Colorado seems best bang for buck if you like all the extras with reversing cameras, sports bar on the back etc.

Haven't checked out the D-Max yet as haven't seen one on a yard i have driven passed, but seems like i might have to go have a look.

Theres probably a whole lot of pointless information that you all already knew :)

p.s if i decide to get a new Ute, i will have an 06 2wd Hilux done 165 if anyone's keen

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Why buy a no-name other than short term penny pinching ?

Stick to a brand name Ford/Toyota/Mazda etc if you want anything like decent resale value when you come to flick the truck off.

My pick would be a used VW Amarok.

It may be a little down on grunt, only 420Nm but the 8-speed auto is the best in class.

Or Landie Defender.

:cool:

Edited by newsuba
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the size of the engine seems to matter less and less with the common rail system.(if you look at the KW ) we have a merc sprinter common rail that has a 2.2l 130 hp same as our 3l common rail toyota's both run intercoolers/variable vane turbos,the merc runs higher injection pressures.

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 boon said:
I'm inclined to say go for a Colorado with the 3-Litre common rail diesel. They don't cost too much, capable in crap conditions, and that motor pulls like a f*cking schoolboy. Quite a car-like drive too for a giant box.

Hiluxes and Rangers still cost a bomb unless you get a povvy-pack 2WD one, mostly due to their popularity with tradies and the Hilux reputation.

The Navaras go bloody well but there's kinda a question-mark around the Frenchness of them and the parts are heinously expensive unless you go aftermarket of unknown quality.

2.8 in colorado ive heard it both ways mostly powers fine one lad carts a super saloon around the countryside and says its better than his 2010 hilux was.

I had it out with an stx today and was all over him with a tandem and decent load. He couldnt do it thro the twisties pulled over in the end. More people have issues than not with them.

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 DRFVDR said:
the main issue with all common rail and the hilux injector failure is one issue is that the fuel that is being put in is not of a good quality, if you use fuel from a high turn over fuel stop then all is good( my 05 hilux has done 260,000 km and still goes excellent and has only had minor issues( wheel bearings) ) If you use fuel out of your farm tank or even worse your logging tank which has suspect cleanliness then you will have issues, regardless of make of vehicle.

also I rate the isuzu over the similar holden

We supply racor units to the genuine dealer for the common rail toyotas and ran one from new in our hilux but didnt stop the engine ****ing itself. Diesel always from local and yep did rear w/b as well not a cheap fix. Fuel float lights annoying as well. Def feels nicer than foton or rodeo like an escort rather than a corner beep. Like the power and delivery tho.

As for resale if its personal sure if its business a foton/etc makes a lot of sense.

Few guys run amaroks and all said they wouldnt buy again.

The ranger is pick of the bunch and best driving exp but $$$. The bt50 is just too ugly even for 10k less. Both have issues too.

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the colorado / isuzu cant even get the window tracks right so i doubt the rest of it . one ute at work seriously had 3 window regs in one window before 100k .

my 1994 legacy has had no window regs

you dont have to look at the front of the mazda when you are in it so that point is invalid

the inside of the mazda is light years ahead of the ranger

worker spec ranger comes with a open diff . mazda has diff lock

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