SURPRISES all-round in the Car Dealer office: SsangYong is unveiling a brand-new model, to the undoubted delight of UK dealers.
The compact SUV crossover-type vehicle will debut at next month’s Paris Motor Show.
Teasing us with some preliminary information, the company says that the model is the first front-wheel-drive SsangYong, and also the first to use car-like monocoque construction.
Both points sound very promising indeed for ride and handling, not to mention weight control.
The engine also sounds pretty damn tasty – a 2.0-litre turbodiesel, pumping out 175bhp. That’s an exceptional figure, right up with BMW’s class-leading diesels.
It’s also probably why SsangYong is keen to point out the availability of full-time four-wheel-drive on some models, too.
We also like the name: C200. But for a space between ‘C’ and ‘200’, it could be a Mercedes. We wonder if the brand management people will have something to say about it…
A key element of SsangYong’s mid- and long-term strategy, no launch date has been announced for the all-new model. You can be sure, though, we’ll be there at Paris, getting all the gen from Paul Williams, the MD of Koelliker UK, SsangYong’s importers here.