What's the news?
Unveiled at this week's Geneva Motor Show, the SsangYong XLV - short for eXciting Lifestyle Vehicle - is a B-segment concept SUV that promises striking design, enjoyable driving dynamics and comes with a hybrid powertrain.
Exterior
A smidgen over 4.4 metres in length, the XLV concept gets a muscular SUV stance, with things like a thick D-pillar, two-tone paint scheme and the presence of curved surfaces and prominent lines helping its case even further. It gets LED-powered Adaptive Lighting at the front too.
Interior
SsangYong has decided to give the XLV a 2+2+2+1 flexible seating layout, with the seventh seat movable between the second and third rows along the centre of the vehicle. While that takes care of flexibility, a double layer glass roof helps illuminate the cabin with natural light. The transparency of the roof is electronically controlled. The XLV also gets soft-touch interior trim and fabric seats.
Mechanicals
SsangYong fitted a hybrid powertrain that uses a 1.6-litre diesel engine and a 10kW electric motor, thanks to which it emits 98g/km with a manual gearbox or 109g/km for the automatic.
Anything else?
The SUV gets a '3S-Cube' communication system, which comprises of driver aids, connectivity to electronic devices and the ability for users to design their own instrument cluster information and presentation.
SsangYong has confirmed that it will eventually bring certain design aspects of the XLV to its future models.
Paranjay Dutt - 11 Mar 2014