KGM Actyon

Much to like in this new SUV

Sometimes a car can turn out to be somewhat of a quandary. Take the new KGM Actyon, KGM was formerly SsangYong and the Actyon is an SUV that sits between the Torres and Rexton models.

There’s much to like about the Actyon including excellent build quality, a superb paint finish, standard equipment levels and, although subjective, a striking and stand out style. However, there’s also a couple of things that would irritate longer term.

Power comes from a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit mated to a 6-speed automatic. The normal refined drive is rather broken under acceleration as the engine has a lot to haul and the transmission seems to take an age to catch up, pushing the engine revs high. 

This is a shame as under more relaxed driving it’s a smooth and refined machine. I suspect the engine and transmission combination also accounts for the fuel consumption, which during my time with the Actyon averaged, in mixed driving, 27 mpg. Not great!

Thankfully there’s much more to like than dislike, the paint finish on my test car being superb with the flake in the metallic black finish popping. The interior is extremely well finished from the leather upholstery to the suede trim. 

Standard equipment is extremely generous with heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, auto lights and wipers, powered seats, keyless entry and start, power tailgate, intelligent cruise control, TomTom navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with wireless phone charging and more. Even given the £38,649 price tag it’s a voluminous list.

To say there’s space inside the Actyon is an understatement, it is very spacious and with the comfortable seats it’s a rather nice place to be on any journey. The slightly curved touchscreen is much more integrated than many of the ‘bolt-on’ looking iPads we’re used to seeing on most cars and the Actyon dash looks far classier than rivals as a result.

However, the touchscreen is annoyingly slow to react but on the plus side it’s easy to switch off the driver annoyance…sorry assistance…features. Leave them switched on and there is more bong than Big Ben, and they’re far too sensitive. 

All told the Actyon feels nicely premium despite some reviewers thinking it variously cheap to okay, certainly I’ve seen worse on equivalent priced rivals. Add the build quality, striking style and the fact it will be a rare sight and it will appeal to those tired of lookalike cars. The downside is likely to be residuals but even more so the poor fuel consumption. I’m sure KGM will address the touchscreen issues and hopefully the engine gearbox combination and poor fuel consumption. 

Words by Mark Slack