By Dr LongIn a rather unexpected and surprising move recently, Competitive Supreme, official franchise holder and distributor for SsangYong vehicles in Malaysia, unveiled the sporty-lifestyle SUV Actyon in the form of a pick-up! The Actyon SUV (seen in the 3rd picture below) is actually a much better looking (read: less goofy and weird) replacement model for SsangYong’s ‘iconic’ Musso SUV. I would think that the SsangYong Kyron is more deserving to have its wrinkly and somewhat-sagging ‘butt-and-pelvis’ chopped off to make up for a Sports Utility Truck. SUT is SsangYong’s lingo for their pick-up.
Under its bulging hood, a Mercedes-Benz derived 3rd generation common-rail turbodiesel pumps out 141ps of power at 4000rpm and spins a torque of 320Nm from a low 1800rpm through to 2700rpm. The Acyton also features variable geometry turbocharging. Such output figures while not segment-leading (the Ranger TDCi – also with VGT - claims 143ps) but it is undeniably in a class of its own with the most powerful 2.0L oil burner.
To put things in perspective, it even betters the figures of the larger 2.5L powered Mitsubishi Triton (136ps), Toyota Hilux (102ps) Nissan Frontier (133ps) and even the 3.0L Isuzu D-Max (130ps). The gearbox is however, still a 4-speed unit and has a low range transfer case, switchable between high and low ranges via push switches. Apart from a lower annual roadtax, a smaller capacity engine usually translates to overall lower fuel consumption as well, but then again that’s pretty much dependent on style of driving, traffic conditions, tyre pressures et al.
The black leather interior looks like that of a passenger car with the dashboard taking styling cues and features from both the Kyron and Rexton II. Being a CKD model, prices are indicated to be just sub-RM90k. It is available for viewing and booking at all SsangYong showrooms nationwide.
The German carmaker that’s bent on taking on Toyota globally, Volkswagen, has attempted a 21st century’s iteration of its iconic Beetle of late. Creatively and jovially named VW Up!, the cab-forward hatchback measures 3.45m in length and revives the small rear-engine, rear-wheel drive (RR) design of the original people’s car.
The concept you see here is essentially a city runabout planned as a cute, compact but spacious and affordable supermini of VW’s future. It will be powered by either a two or three cylinder engines of compact design and small displacements.
