Ssangyong Rexton Luxury SUV gets a facelift

Mahindra owned South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong has revealed a facelifted version of the Rexton luxury SUV. The Rexton Facelift is expected to eventually land in India, a country where it is currently assembled through the CKD kit route at Mahindra’s Chakan factory. The luxury SUV is the solitary Ssangyong offering in India, and was first launched in 2013. The 2014 Auto Expo saw Ssangyong displaying an updated version of the SUV with a 2 liter-4 cylinder turbo diesel motor under the hood. Coming to the latest facelift, the changes are mostly cosmetic.

The exteriors receive a new front grille that seems inspired by the Chairman luxury saloon, revised alloy wheels, project headlamps with daytime running LEDs and new tail lamps. On the inside, the seats get a heating function, the steering wheel gets a revision along with a new center console while the cabin lamps go LED. Mechanically though, the SUV remains unchanged. In its home market of South Korea, two turbo diesel engines in 2 liter-4 cylinder and 2.7 liter-5 cylinder specifications are offered, along with a 3.2 liter petrol motor.

5 speed automatic and 6 speed manual gearboxes form the transmission mix while the SUV is sold with part time four wheel and all wheel drive options. While Ssangyong offers the Daimler derived 2.7 liter turbo diesel motor in India, the in-house 2 liter diesel mill is yet to be offered here. There’s a high likelihood of the smaller diesel motor accompanying the facelift that the Rexton is bound to get in the coming months, just in time for the vehicle’s 2nd anniversary here, where luxury SUVs such as the Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport have received recent updates.

Currently, the Rexton is sold in three variants here, RX5. RX6 and RX7. The RX5 and RX6 variants run the 2.7 liter diesel motor in 162 Bhp-340 Nm state of tune, while the RX7 variant uses the same motor in 184 Bhp-402 Nm state of tune. The RX5 and RX6 variants use a five speed manual while the RX7 variant uses a 5 speed automatic gearbox. Prices of this SUV currently start at 19.83 lakh rupees for the base variant, while the RX6 and RX7 models slot in at 21.87 and 23.17 lakh rupees respectively, all prices reflecting ex-showroom Delhi figures.