KGM Motors Rexton Review & Prices

The KGM Rexton - the artist formerly known as the SsangYong Rexton, before the Korean manufacturer’s rebrand - is a large seven-seater SUV with a rugged edge. While cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorento have gone a little upmarket and focus more on tech and passenger comfort, the KGM Rexton fills the niche of people who buy off-roaders because they need a car that’s capable of doing hard work.

To that end, the KGM Rexton is more like a cut-price Land Rover Defender - it can seat seven, has all the off-road ability you’re likely to need and can tow up to 3.5 tons. It’s like buying your power tools from the middle aisle of Lidl rather than directly from Bosch - you’ll still get all the capability, but perhaps with a little less of a solid feeling, and much less brand kudos.

In fact, tell someone you’ve just bought a KGM and you’ll probably be met with blank stares - and don’t think that saying ‘it’s just a renamed SsangYong’ will clue in too many people either. Still, there’s more to life than being top dog in the company car park.

The Rexton comes with just one engine - a rather agricultural 2.2-litre diesel that’s paired to an automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive. Performance is pretty sedate, but there is at least loads of low-down shunt, which is just what you need when you’re heading off the beaten track or pulling a massive twin-axle caravan.

The harder thing to live with is the way it drives. The Rexton is built on a separate chassis - like a lot of old-fashioned 4x4s - and this gives it better ground-clearance and rigidity when off-roading. The payoff is that on tarmac, it shimmies and shudders over bumps, and feels vague in the corners.

The interior isn’t really much to write home about either. Yes, it comes with loads of equipment - top-spec cars get everything except the kitchen sink including heated and ventilated seats, Nappa leather upholstery, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and adaptive cruise control. 

However, it’s all set into an interior that feels just a few steps down from any of the competition in terms of design or quality. Even a Hyundai Santa Fe - which would have been considered the budget option not too long ago - feels more premium.

While it’s pretty spacious inside, the third row - like most SUVs of this size - is mostly for occasional use. You should plump for a Land Rover Discovery if you need a three-row SUV with space for seven adults. 

If you’re interested in buying a KGM Rexton, you can check out Carwow’s best deals here. Look for a used version of the old SsangYong Rexton here, or check out other used SsangYongs here. And remember, when the time comes to sell your old car, Carwow can help with that too.

The Rexton starts at just over £40,000, which represents a small saving on the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe. But if you just want a seven-seater SUV and don’t care about the Rexton’s off-road capabilities, the SEAT Tarraco is much cheaper.

It does look like decent value when you consider that other cars that can carry or tow as much come in at much more money, such as the Land Rover Discovery, or are more agricultural pick-up trucks like the Ford Ranger.