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First drive: 2025 KGM Actyon. Image by KGM.

First drive: 2025 KGM Actyon
Will the brand formerly known as SsangYong manage to grow with its new, wallet-friendly mid-size SUV.

   



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2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

While you might be wondering what an Actyon is and how you pronounce it (some say Action, some say Ack-tee-on, no-one says East Acton) others may be wondering what the heck a KGM is. Actually, the answer is that it’s more familiar than you might think… KG Mobility, or KGM for short is not — as many may assume — one of the hordes of new Chinese brands entering the UK market, but is in fact Korean. It was previously Ssangyong, a brand well known to many of us, especially rural types (is that a slur these days?). Ssangyong, which has been building cars since 1954, was bought out in 2022 by the vast KG Group, a Korean conglomerate that encompasses everything from coffee shops to steel mills.

This Actyon is the latest part of KGM’s plan to expanding the business outwards and upwards, taking a brand known for rugged but sometimes ropey models, and making it all a bit more sophisticated. However, the company has to be careful as it’s one of the car makers in the UK which sells few enough cars that it gets a derogation from the ZEV (zero-emission vehicle) mandate. As long as it sells fewer than 2,500 passenger cars per year, it doesn’t have to worry about selling a specific percentage of electric vehicles, nor paying fines if it doesn’t manage that percentage.

So, the Actyon has to be impressive and enticing, but not too enticing…

Test Car Specifications

Model: KGM Actyon K50 1.5 T-GDI
Price: £36,995
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol
Transmission: six-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 163hp
Torque: 280Nm
Emissions: 194g/km
Economy: 33.1mpg
0-62mph: 10.8 seconds
Top speed: 74mph
Boot space: 668-1,568 litres

Styling

The Actyon takes the basic structure from the Torres, and uses it as the basis for a notably handsome SUV. KGM tries to call it a coupe-SUV, but frankly that runs into a semantic brick wall because the only thing less coupe-like than the Actyon is the bulkier Torres. Nonetheless, it's really good to look at, riding on nice 20-inch alloys, and with a light-up element in the grille that's supposed to reference the flag of South Korea. KGM really, really wants you to know that it's not Chinese...

Around the back, the general air of sleekness continues and there are faint hints of Range Rover Velar about the rear styling. It's all much cleaner and leaner than the Torres, but still definitely not a coupe.

There are some nice styling flourishes though, such as the prominent C-pillar that seems to hold up the entire roof, and the very slim LED lights at the edge of the bonnet. Oddly, there are also handle-like appendages at the rear of the bonnet that don't seem to serve any practical purpose. One wonders what Euro NCAP will make of those...

Interior

Over the years, we’ve become accustomed to SsangYong’s pretty crummy interiors, seemingly lined with cheap plastics, while switches and stalks all seemed to have been rifled from other car makers’ parts bins. Well, the Actyon pretty definitively puts a stop to that, and this is the brand’s most impressive cabin yet.

There are some bum notes — such as the gammy-looking join in the wood trim that runs across the dash — but on the whole, the levels of material quality in the Actyon’s cabin are very good indeed. The single K50 trim on offer for UK buyers comes with black-and-red Nappa leather seats as standard, and they’re very comfortable and handsome.

The big twin 12.3-inch screens stretch across the top of the dash in the fashion of Hyundai and Kia, and they’re good up to a point. The driver’s instruments — with very BMW-esque graphics — are a high point, but the central touchscreen has annoying levels of fiddliness and fussiness when it comes to working through the menus. It’s also a bit laggy, which adds to the annoyance, but at least there’s standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other than the window switches, the buttons on the steering wheel, the stalks, and the large hazard warning light switch, there are no physical controls, which adds to the touchscreen’s burden and makes it more annoying still.

There is a shortcut button on the steering wheel, but this is of limited use. Proper buttons, please, KGM.

Overall though, the Actyon’s cabin is really nice. There are lovely, tactile suede-like panels on top of the dash and doors, and nice contrasting red stitching. The hexagonal steering wheel would be nicer if it were just round, but it’s quite good to hold, and while there are plenty of cheap plastics lower down in the cabin, the Actyon is hardly the only offender in that respect. And it’s far from the worst.

Practicality

Practicality is one of the Actyon’s most obvious strong points, and against rivals such as the Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson, which have around 550 litres of boot space, the Actyon comes in swinging with 668 litres of luggage volume. To be fair, the boot is a little oddly shaped — shallow and long, rather than square and deep — but it’s certainly useful and KGM reckons that there’s so much space that you could potentially use the Actyon for some in-car camping. The company is so confident you’ll do that (apparently it’s a big thing in Korea) that is has even fitted an internal boot release.

Sadly, there aren’t any internal handles for dropping the rear seatbacks, so you’ll have to walk around the side to do those, and even then the seats-down volume of 1,568 litres is a touch disappointing.

That’s made up for by lots and lots of rear-seat legroom and headroom, plus some handy storage in the shape of seatback pockets that have an extra smaller pocket for mobile phones, and an integrated coat hanger on the back of the front seat headrest. The rear seats also recline by up to 32 degrees, so everyone should be able to get comfy.

Up front, there is useful storage in a large, open area under the centre console as well as a lidded box under the front seat armrest, two large cupholders, and decent — if unlined — door bins. There are also four USB-C sockets, divided between the front and rear seats.

Performance

There's only one engine option for the Actyon; a 1.5-litre petrol turbo shared with the basic Torres. Hybrid? Nope. An electric version? Not for some time at least. KGM points out that, in the UK market last year, more than one-million petrol-only cars were sold, and given that it's a brand that's roughly 75-percent reliant on retail sales, there wasn't much point in adding fleet-friendly hybrid nor electric versions, which would have driven the car's price point up. All true, but there is a penalty to pay...

Performance-wise, the Actyon is entirely adequate, hitting 62mph from rest in just over ten seconds, and feeling subjectively a little quicker than that thanks to the engine's generally lively nature. The standard-fit six-speed automatic gearbox is obviously two cogs down on most of its opposition, but unless you're in a real hurry it's blameless enough (although shifting from reverse to D and back again can be a slow process, via the crystal-look gearshift toggle switch). Engine refinement is pretty good, and KGM is proud of the extra attention paid to NVH for the Actyon. At low to medium speeds, the engine is all but silent, although it does growl and shout a bit when you ask for more progress. But even then, the sound isn't unpleasant.

So what's the price? Well, with no hybridisation, the Actyon's 1.5 turbo is seriously thirsty, even though it's only being asked to haul around 1,580kg. Officially, 33mpg is claimed, but this will rapidly drop below 30mpg in daily driving unless you're very saintly indeed. The small 50-litre fuel tank will be an impediment on longer journeys, too.

Ride & Handling

Hands up who remembers the original 2006 SsangYong Actyon? No? Anyone? Well, that’s perhaps unsurprising, as aside from it being one of the first SUVs to come with a sloped fastback rear end, the original Actyon was pretty rubbish — badly made and bad to drive.

This new Actyon isn’t like that at all. In fact, at first, it feels pretty good to drive. It runs on decent Michelin tyres (specially made to help with the low noise levels) and the steering, although not very informative, feels nicely weighted and responsive.

However, there are some issues. The ride quality is one — it’s just way too firm, and unlike other firmly sprung SUVs, such as the BMW X3, the Actyon’s damping isn’t good enough to make that feel sporty, rather than just irritating. It’s not as dreadfully crashy as KGM’s bigger, live-axle Rexton SUV, but it’s too hard-edged for British B-roads, which seems ironic seeing as they’re precisely the roads on which most of KGM’s British customers drive.

Of possibly equal frustration for those traditional KGM customers — many of whom are farmers who need their vehicles to work hard from time to time — is the fact that the Actyon has dreadful traction. It’s possible, but not confirmed, that a four-wheel-drive model will eventually be available, but for now the front-drive Actyon is all too keen to get its front wheels spinning, and the traction control system seems lazy in the extreme to help.

Drive the Actyon gently, on a fairly smooth road, and it’s fine. Add bumps, or try to accelerate out of slow corners, and it struggles.

Value

KGM is an avowedly value-focused brand, and the Actyon's entry price of £36,995 seems pretty competitive, and it gets even better when you consider the single K50 trim is fully loaded. Nappa leather, two big screens, adaptive cruise control, and heated front and rear seats are all standard, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging and a heated steering wheel are also included. You get a 360-degree camera and 20-inch alloy wheels, too.

Verdict

In many ways, the Actyon is a really good car. It's certainly one of the best-looking cars in its segment, with a classy cabin, lots of space, a massive boot, and good all-round quality. However, it's let down by its ride, traction, thirst, and emissions. A very mixed Korean bag then, but one which holds more than a little promise.



Neil Briscoe - 23 Jan 2025



      - KGM road tests
- Actyon images

2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.

2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.2025 KGM (SsangYong) Actyon. Image by KGM.








 

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