SsangYong Rexton Y200 II / Y285 II RX270 (2008-2012)

Miss it a lot – In 2012, our family decided to buy a new car that could accommodate all our needs, we needed a large SUV for our growing family. We went out one day to our local car dealers and came across a 2008 SsangYong Rexton RX270xdi Sports. Was something I had never seen before, after taking a decent look at it, we took it for a test drive and fell in love… Read more

with it (thanks to the previous owner who kept the car in pristine shape). This was the base model but still came with quite a few goodies for the price the previous owner had paid (less that RRP) which included a decent sound system, side steps, roof rails, a DVD player for rear seat passengers, rear air vents which went all the way into the third row with their own fan speed controls, brake assist and electric and heated side mirrors.

This car also drove beautifully with not much turbo lag, great ride and handling and decent fuel economy with an average of 9l/100km from its 5cyl 2.7l turbo Diesel engine which made a respectable 121kw and 340nm which was pretty good for a car of this era. The AWD system was excellent and there wasnt much to fault about this car. In the time that we have owned the car, we did around 130,000km since 2012 (total of 190,000km) without it missing a beat. Servicing costs were also pretty low which was surprising as the car was fitted with Mercedes Benz running gear. The car aged incredibly well, all the paint still looked pristine minus a few tiny scratches and the interior held up extremely well. This car had been apart of the family and was truly loved and looked after.

At around 180k km, we started to notice a problem with the AWD system being stuck in the wrong setting, although the setting was manually adjustable, we switched it over but it still wouldnt go into the correct setting. At first we thought it was nothing but then it never went away which was partly our fault for not doing anything about it. $1,600 latter, it was fixed. After this, we had no problems with the vehicle at all but then sadly we had to let it go as it got written off. This was hard as this car had brought so many lasting memories.

If anyone was considering buying a SsangYong, I would highly recommend one.

The allmost perfect car. Great buy – This car is built for the off-roaders. That love to get a bit dirty. Got it in 2012. It definetly could be improved. Had it for a year and had done 30000 km and it wouldn't change gear. Had to pull over on the busy road and turn the car off wait a couple of minutes and then restart. Happened for a little and the stopped. Got to the end of last… Read more

year (2016) and couldn't get it out of drive. I thought that would be the end of it, took it to the machanic and hat to get part of the gearbox replaced. Having previously owning a Mercedes I was expecting big things. I didnt quite get it but for the price, didn't really matter. The interior in quite stylish just lacking a bit of colour. Came with a lot of air conditioning. 1 st, 2nd and 3 Rd row seats. Just lacking a bit of tech compared to its rivals ( HoldenCaptiva Ford Teritory TX and TS and the and the Hyundai Santa Fe. Why did we chose the Ssangyong Rsxton. Heard great thing about it. I'm probly being a bit picky. The paint isn't that great either. it scratches very easily and if you are someone like me, and don't like scratches on your car, it's expensive to get fixed. Great job Ssangyong Mercedes motor group., just a lit bit from great for the price. would recomend

Do Not Buy – I read all the reviews on this site n others and despite the warnings not to buy cause there were a few good one. I went out bought one owned it for one month drove it three four times mind you not very far just locally and thank god was only local. In this time engine light had come one three times first time got $1500 fillers of work done to… Read more

repair such as wiring. New glow plug sensor. New fuel water separator. And few others things. Second time code just got cleared and only drove it home less than 7 km next day went to start it same thing engine light back on buy this time I have had it and had sent it back to dealer got refund. While it does look stylish. From the side. 3 row seats very cramped. And a pain to get kids in and out of. Steering is a lot different to Australian cars you'll find a lot of over steer to have to go round a corner. While it is a four wheel drive and went OK on the sand is still very low compared to its rivals being land cruiser or Pajero.

So trying to go up sand dunes didn't have it in it to do it. Instead went around is very good sound system that's jack on the driving comparison. 2 and row seats OK but still very crowded. Remember it's to have a Mercedes engine but in fact it's a blue print of that engine Mercedes didn't actually manufacturer it. Being a European car don't really think it's suited for the Australian client. I was lucky and able to take mine back but if you buy one and don't have that option you will be stuck with endless problems and regret. The key has a battery if it goes flat you can't buy one in Australia. I could not recommend highly enough not to buy one the turbo diesel is what I had and it smelt all the time not much power really I got told prior to buying it. That old be better off with a push bike and in all honestly you would be. Do not buy a SsangYong Rexton 2006 or really any. It's a cheap made car. Made to look good but that's it cheap made and cost a lot to keep fixing.

Never again – Performance on the low side. Handles like a rocking chair Noise reasonable Finish is acceptable. Interior is acceptable. Reliability is good for travel to the corner shop. Running costs OK.. The vehicle is reasonable but the Service supplied by the Importers with Roadside call centre is hopeless they have no idea whatsovever. Availability… Read more

of Spare Parts and price for same are shockers so make sure you dont breakdown too far away from home. Oh by the way forget the warranty and I think the National Service Manager is rude arrogant and indifferent.

brilliant/reliable tow car – we bought a 2006 rexton brand new and it has served us well for a family 7 seater and the car has towed 2.5 tons for many trips interstate and locally .Its now just ticked over 100.000kms and still strong ,still towing long distance .it is nearly due for a new clutch as expected working hard most of its life. reliable ,efficient some sensor trouble on glow plugs and parts sourcing Show details

It's done it again – You guessed it, the clutch is broken again. 4 clutches in 27 months and only 24000klms. What is wrong with this car. I guess it is time to let it go and purchase an ozzie car. It looks good - a lovely car but nothing but problems with the clutch. Goods looks No warranty service - just a useless piece of paper Show details

Love the car. Excellent all rounder – Love our Rexton and had both series I and II. Preivously drove a Merc ML320 and the Rexton is very similar (the parts are a lot cheaper despite similar technology!) Current Rexton is a 2007 Rexton II RX270 Manual with 60,000kms. Excellent fuel economy (9L / 100kms) No issues to date but I agree that a coil spring and shocker upgrage is a must… Read more ·  4

for Aust conditions. Doesn't matter what brand you buy just spend the $1000 odd dollars to get new gas shocks and stiffer coils.

Most of the issues that people experience are due to the Dealer network not the vehicle. Most Dealers struggle to see enough vehicles to accurately diognose faults and SsangYong Aust provides limited support. Even SsangYong dealers don't want to give a decent trade in price despite selling the car later at a huge profit. They have a huge margin on the new cars so they expect a large margin on used.

Common issues are wheel alignment (no-one has accurate specs not even the alignment specialists or SsangYong themselves), Delphi injectors can sometimes give trouble (Aust Dealer's charge $1700 odd each vs $400-500 if you buy genuine Delphi units tfrom Korea), spare keys and consumables are rediculously expensive from the dealers..... buy on-line from OS, much cheaper and still genuine parts!

Overall, If you're prepared to do your own parts buying and try a few dealers to find the best, you should have a long and positive relationship with your SsangYong. Efficient, Beautifully Styled, Excellent Tow Vehicle, Excellent Diesel Engine Expensive parts (from Aust Dealers only) Lack of info from SsangYong Aust.

Value and Comfort – I purchased my Rexton 2006 270 xdi with 70 000km on the clock - paid 105 000 , Have been driving the last 9 months and to date I can only sing it's praises , it is true value for money , and on second hand price there is nothing close to it's feature set , I am using a non SsangYong dealer , what is letting the car down is poor service centers and… Read more

uneducated technicians, find yourself a proper service center and ask about the OBD reading at centers ( they will know what you mean) .

Lastly , everyone talks about depreciation , now lets see , losing 40 % of 105 000 is 42 000 (Rexton)

25% of 300 000 is 75 000 (Mercedes , Land Rover etc) , point is , value for money whichever way you look at it. (Comparison is made on year model and KM )

If you are looking at second hand Rexton - you will be in for a pleasant suprice Price Dealership

Bad Rexton – I first posted a review on the 3rd of Jan 07 if you want to read it and know I had the car for 8 months and 14500km. …..  Well what can I say but I hope nothing goes wrong with your cars for every one who has brought them.  I have found Raptson (the Aus & NZ distributor) response to my problems to be absolutely appalling, along with the dealer. … Read more

I'm know considering to take the dealer and Rapston to Consumer Affairs.  Instead of listening to my complaints they tend to like most who are untrained in customer service start to attack you and make you feel very unconfident that this will be resolved or that they can help you at all.

I have a question for anyone who can answer it because the dealer can't.  My so call quiet 2.7 xdi makes a very annoying rattle that sounds like a petrol car pinging its head off even under a very slight load.  The engine is quite but this noise is disturbing.  The dealer has told me it's common and some are louder, pity help the people who's are louder then mine.  They have even tried to tell me it's bad fuel, but I fill at Shell and Mobile.

I will admit I have had friends that have had problems similar but with other manufactures vehicle, some even worse.  The difference is that they all have had there problems rectified quickly.  Shame on Rapston for not looking after it's clients.  If they had have been more helpful and prompt or actually offered any help at all I would have posted it

Don’t buy the silver because there is a problem with the painting process and your get light and dark patches which look like zebra strips and they want fix it or recognize it as even a problem.

I'm not sure how others have found service $, but I think its very expensive $304.6 for the 10k.  What have the rest of you had, is this good or bad?  My previous 2002 5.7 ltr HSV was cheaper in service (except if chewed through tyres every 20k) plus I drove it hard.  If your wondering why I got rid of it and didn’t buy another, well the family got bigger and seven seats was a better option.

Another problem I seem to be having is the front end was out when I took delivery of the car and I have not been able to rectify it since (pulling to the left), has anyone else had this?

A big AA++ to the service department of my dealer because they are very helpful and replaced a broken rear window and defective cup holder very quickly, much faster then I expected.

I hope Rapston reads these reviews because I will keep giving regular updates until I can get rid of the car.

If Ssangyoung reads these reviews then sack the distributor and come over head in your own right because you have a great vehicle in the Rexton.

Sorry for all those who love the car and my very poor rating of the car, but a good car is make of two basic components the ‘car’ and the ‘backup service’.  You can’t have one without the other and when ones bad then it brings the other down as well.  I just hope that the dealer, Rapston and Ssangyoung can patch this mess up so I can selvage something out of this and write a happy review.  At least I’m still a dreamer. Could be a great car Aussie Reps (Rapston & Dealer)

Good – Great to drive. Fantastic fuel economy overall 8.6 Lit/100 [ not as stated on the sticker but it never is ] Will not be my last Ssangyong. 2010 Rexton 5 Seat. Purchased February 2010. 42000 Kms on the clock since. This is a business vehicle and travels extensively through rural Western Australia. Very sound cruising vehicle. Quiet and stable.… Read more ·  1

Excellent overtaking torque in 5th gear. Drives very predictably on gravel which is around 30% of my driving. Been over many a farm track and sandy paddock very easily. I havnt needed AWD low range yet. Tough car, while felling an old dead Wandoo tree i accidently felled it into the passengers side front door [ Yes, that was stupid. ] which stuffed the outside, but there was zero distortion on the inside of the door. That was impressive. [ Not the tree thing, the door. :-) ] Excessive cost of fuel & air filters. Fuel filter. $180.00 from the dealer. $50.00 x U.K. incl postage!

Very poor Kuhmo tyres fitted from new, wont be replacing those. [ Nothing to do with the vehicle ]

Still trying to work out the heating/cooling system as to exactly how it works, but it does, very effectively.

Very complicated owners manual.

Rexton 2.7II (2010 model) – Fantastic to date having travelled 28000 km in first 10 months of having it but the Dealer lets em down. Great vehicle on and off road. Have traveled from Adelaide to Canberra, and 4WD trips in Robe area and Lincoln National Park (Sleaford to Wanna) It eats the sand work and can embarrass the one eyed toyota, nissan lovers. I bought the vehicle… Read more ·  1

after researching on the net and test driving. My wife loves it and as to the economy, we average about 9litres/100 km no matter where we drive. I tow a go kart race trailer and still end up with the same economy as long as I set the cruise on 110 by the GPS. The speedo reads higher than actual speed but the car is smooth and quiet. have had a couple of little squeeks from the front suspension and inside the passenger door lock area which the dealer will get back to look at. I will be adding air bags to the rear and having heavier shocks added when needed, but all in all a great drive and car. The dealer in SA I was disappointed with after buying it and let them know very quickly and will be giving them a chance a sorting the minor warranty squeeks, but the servicing is done by a qualified service centre external to Ssangyong using original parts.

If you want a well finished vehicle with plenty of power and pull, try before wasting the extra $10k or so on the tojo or nissan. Drive and power from the smooth engine. Economy and how happy it leaves to better half. Service support in SA, and the softer rear end which the air bags will fix

Excellent – I have had my Rexton RXDi270 Limited for two years now and have done 60000 klms. Almost 30000klms of that towing a new York tandem caravan (not pop-top). The car is still on the original tyres and will be for probably another 15 - 20000klms and when not towing, I regularly achieve 9.5 - 9.8 litres per 100klm. When towing the van (2100kg) use… Read more

around 14ltr/100klm depending on winds. Have only had one mechanical failure and the cause of overheating was one of the three fans (large one) failed to engage when the engine was under load, causing the temp to rise and the vehicle to go into limp home mode. This was rectified by the dealer in Shepparton Vic, and as we live on the Gold Coast, Ssangyong Assist provided us with a Mercedes Rental vehicle and paid our accommodation account for the few days (over a weekend) whilst the part was in transit from Sydney. I have nothing but the highest praise for the Dealer here on the Gold Coast for service and approachability - they cannot do enough for you. Also Ssangyong Assist were very helpful and their attention was immediate when needed for the overheating situation. The Rexton is a dream to drive, the leather, sunroof and all of the other creature comforts make this a very good touring vehicle. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great all-round vehicle that actually is good to drive in the congested city as it is on the open road. Ease of driving,comfort, reasonable costs of service, economy (9.6l/100klm) effortless performance in all conditions. Slow filling of fuel tank as constantly diesel foams & overflows out of tank opening: low rated towing capacity in Australia - 2270kg. (in NZ& UK 3500kg)