Kgm Actyon vs Ssangyong Torres

What's the difference?

Is all of the above enough to spur you into Actyon? It should be, or at least make your medium-SUV shortlist.

Bold styling, keen pricing, an inviting cabin, loads of space and an involving driving experience make the new KGM everything we wanted from but never really got from the old SsangYong.

A bit more torque, a little less thirst and a softer ride would make a surprisingly good family-friendly medium SUV a real crowd pleaser.

We’re looking forward to what else KGM has coming in the future.

The KGM SsangYong Torres Adventure feels fresh-faced and offers competitive pricing and ongoing costs. Some of the technology could use a little tweaking but the cabin is practical and you get a fair amount of luxury features for its price tag. Value is assured and this is one to consider.

KGM currently sells no fewer than three medium-sized SUVs of roughly similar dimensions.

There’s the more-compact Korando (which arrived in 2020), the bigger and boxier Torres (released in 2024) and, of course, the new Actyon. While all sit on variations of the same monocoque-bodied platform, the newcomer benefits from additional development (and funds) under KGM ownership.

Not obvious unless viewed together, the Actyon is designed to be a sportier and more coupe-like take on the Torres, and is slightly lower at 1680mm as a result. But it’s also a bit longer at 4740mm and wider at 1920mm wide. Both share the same 2680mm wheelbase.

This may seem an extravagant niche for KGM to pursue, but it claims the original SsangYong Actyon (unveiled in 2005) beat the admittedly far-more influential BMW X6 by about three years, to become the world’s first productionised coupe-style SUV.

Whatever, today’s Actyon is a sleeker and perhaps prettier design than the Torres, with obvious Range Rover (Evoque, Velar) homages throughout, particularly when it comes to the lighting elements.

According to KGM, the grille’s lighting design is inspired by the four symbols found on the South Korean flag, representing heaven, earth, water and fire.

A nod to SsangYong’s reputation for tough, rugged vehicles are the controversial bonnet-mounted ‘handles’, a decent ground clearance rating of 206mm, squared-off wheel arches, unusually-wide C-pillars and clear Jeep Grand Cherokee overtones in the tail-light and other rear-end treatments.

What should be a visual mess seems to meld together cohesively regardless of influence, making the Actyon a distinctive, handsomely-offbeat design.

Despite sharing similar underpinnings to the Korando, the Torres is its own model when it comes to design.

It seems to borrow from a few different sources and there are some Kia Sportage and Land Rover Defender elements that are easy to see once you start looking closely.

It's refreshing to see such a bold and personality-rich design in this segment but there is a tendency to favour form over function.

There are handles on the bonnet which serve no purpose, a fake ‘wheel cover’ design on the rear (which is annoyingly off-centre) and a bunch of fake vents scattered across the car.

It looks like an SUV you would take off road but if this was a movie, it would be the actor instead of the stunt double.

Head inside and you'll find a gorgeous cabin with copper accent panels, thick soft-touchpoints and black synthetic leather trims.

The dashboard features contrasting stitching in copper and is headlined by a massive display panel that houses the dual 12.3-inch technology panels that look awesome.

Despite still featuring a few notes of harder plastics, the cabin still feels high-end and well-built. Although it has the largest steering wheel I’ve seen in the segment.

Inside is where the Actyon really gets into its groove, as an impressive, thoughtfully engineered family-sized SUV.

Big doors open up nice and wide, revealing a welcoming interior, with a sense of space and airiness, aided by deep windows, large mirrors, a lofty driving position and – in our top-spec K60 test vehicle – the vast glassy sunroof above.

The sporty front seats look and feel fab, fit like a glove and offer plenty of adjustability for a broad range of backs and bottoms alike.

A chunky square-ish steering wheel is good to grip, and, along with the instrumentation’s distinctively angular graphics, gives off lots of BMW vibes.

In fact, it is clear that KGM has been inspired by its latest round of up-spec Kia, Hyundai and even Genesis compatriots when it comes to the Actyon’s fit, finish and presentation. There seems to be no concessions of quality or ambience in order to maintain the Actyon’s keen pricing, and that’s remarkable.

Especially as most things work so well.

Let’s take the 12.3-inch central display. No physical buttons are present, unfortunately, and that’s probably partly due to the modern, clean, horizontal look that today’s designs seem to adopt wholesale.

However, the difference here is that it does not quite suffer the same pitfalls as normal software-based, electronics-heavy set-ups.

Along the left side of the main screen border is a row of permanent fast keys for home, media and climate. Up the top of it is a tab for a temporary menu for fast access to driving modes, stop/start on/off, traction control, camera views, vehicle settings and general settings. While down the right-hand side of the screen border and close to the driver for easy access is a swipe-left tab for a detailed computerised climate-control display. This takes up one-third of screen real estate.

Sounds complicated but it is actually disarmingly intuitive. You're still prodding and swiping screens, and that’s always a potentially-dangerous distraction. But at least nothing is more than a double action away. And almost all functions are also accessible in a dedicated widget home screen. Handy.

Helpfully, KGM also provides a big, physical button on the steering wheel as a ‘favourites’ fast-key to whatever you use most. We set ours for direct drive mode access.

Meanwhile, all of the Actyon’s other main cabin functions, including the climate control, endless storage, twin USB-C ports, varying interior lighting and audio sound of adequate quality, operate without complaint.

Now, while the upper-level materials seem premium, cold and hard lower plastics beg to differ, yet they neither look nor smell cheap, so that’s a win.

But all these favourable first impressions don’t mean there isn’t any room for fixes in this South Korean family truckster.

At the very top of that list should be turfing out the very, very fiddly drive selector. Imitating Volvo’s infinitely more-effective toggle functionality, it needs two, three and even four stabs at selecting Drive or Reverse before engaging. This is a form of torture.

Running close behind is a multimedia system that needs at least 20 seconds to boot up on initial start-up. Not every time, just after a period of inactivity. Painfully slow, it’s also a hazard as the reversing camera won’t operate during this time! Fail.

Other annoyances include the lack of digital radio and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, meaning you’ll need a cord to access both via your smartphone. And finally, that C-pillar is a massive blind spot.

Meanwhile, out back, all the expected (but not always available in others) amenities are present, like air vents, twin USB-C ports, overhead grab handles, reading lights, coat hooks, a folding armrest with cupholders and an abundance of storage.

But there is also a shocking number of surprise and delight features, including electric front passenger seat adjustment – for slide and recline, adjustable backrest angles, outboard seat heaters, side window blinds, tablet holders incorporated into the back of the front headrests, shallow pockets for smartphone storage set within the larger map pockets, huge door pockets that can hold a 1.5-litre bottle and a back-row speaker-mute function for weary rear-seat travellers needing peace.

When parked, there’s enough space with the backrests dropped for a 180cm person to sleep flat on their back, highlighting the 1440 litres of cargo capacity, or an impressive 668L with all five seats up.

The only note here is that there is no luggage cover to hide valuables (or snooze underneath). Lucky the glass is all heavily tinted. Beneath the floor is a space-saver spare wheel, thankfully.

Overall, then, the Actyon’s cabin is a cavernous, classy and well-equipped affair.

The cabin of the Torres almost defies its mid-size tag because there is oodles of space for taller occupants. Both rows feature excellent access with the 195mm ground clearance and wide door apertures. My eight-year-old son loved his view this week and didn’t have any issue climbing in and out.

Despite lacking lumbar support, seat comfort is best in the front and fatigue doesn't set in too quickly on longer journeys. The rear row offers plenty of under-bum padding but the backs are decidedly flat, expect a bit of movement from passengers in corners.

There are lots of storage options with a glovebox that can house a manual, mid-sized middle console, shelf underneath the centre console, six drink bottle holders, four cup holders and a phone tray.

The boot has a great luggage capacity of up to 703L when all seats are in use and the rear row has a 60/40 split to open up storage options if you need to.

The touchscreen multimedia system is a bit too simple in terms of its information and customisation. It's responsive but functionality isn't always the best. Music playing over Bluetooth hardly ever connects automatically, you have to select the Bluetooth function which is annoying while on the go. The radio is pretty crappy as it rarely picks up any stations and when it does there is a lot of static.

You do get wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with the CarPlay easy enough to connect to.

Charging options are good with four USB-C ports and two 12-volt sockets, one of which is located in the boot. But you do miss out on a wireless charging pad in this grade.

The rear row features enough amenities to keep occupants happy, like the charging options, directional air vents, armrest and map pockets but my son said it was hard to position the air vents to blow air directly on to him.

There are three variants available for the Torres. All figures below are quoted as drive-away pricing, including its rivals.

The base grade ELX starts at a low $38,000, then you move up to the model on test for this review, which is the Adventure and it is priced from $43,000. The top-grade Ultimate model is only a little more expensive at $47,000.

Compared to its rivals, the Adventure is positioned towards the bottom end of the market with the closest rival, the Kia Sportage SX+ sitting at $46,476. Then comes the Hyundai Tucson Elite at $48,531 and the Toyota RAV4 XSE sits at the top at $54,337.

All Torres grades are well-specified but the Adventure gets solid standard equipment like synthetic leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel and front seats, dual 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system and instrument cluster, wired Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto, four USB-C ports, two 12-volt sockets, 18-inch alloys and a temporary spare tyre.

Practicality is ensured with the dual-zone climate control, auto start/stop, keyless entry and start, reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers, LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, extendable sun visors, and powered tailgate.

You miss out on electric front seats but honestly, in terms of value, the Torres Adventure nails it.

A familiar unit if you’re an existing Korando or Torres driver, the Actyon uses a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, direct-injection, turbo-petrol engine.

Delivering 120kW of power at 5400rpm and 280Nm of torque between 1500-4000rpm, it drives the front wheels only at this stage via a six-speed torque-converter auto supplied by Toyota-owned Aisin.

With a power-to-weight ratio of nearly 73kW per tonne, it falls behind the larger-capacity 2.5-litre non-turbo alternatives as found in the Mazda CX-5, but matches rival 2.0-litre non-turbo units as used in the Sportage and Tucson.

A trio of driving modes are offered – 'Normal', 'Sport' and 'Winter' (to control traction in slippery conditions) – while a handy pair of paddle shifters allow for some manual-ratio manipulation, though it will still change up automatically rather than bounce on the rev-limiter.

The KGM also follows class convention in its double wishbone front and multi-link independent rear-suspension set-up, though it boasts higher-than-usual ground clearances for a front-drive medium-SUV that’s resolutely not an off-roader.

Towing capacity is rated at 1500kg with a braked trailer and 750kg unbraked.

All Torres models share the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine but the Adventure model is a front-wheel drive, and the only grade that has an all-wheel drive is the Ultimate.

This is surprising as the Adventure moniker would suggest AWD capability ... so you could actually go adventuring.

The Torres offers up to 120kW of power and 280Nm of torque, and features a smooth six-speed auto transmission which is enough to ensure that it is is a pleasant open-roader.

Without even mild-hybrid-style electrification to help improve efficiency, how does the Actyon perform when it comes to fuel economy?

The official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) average consumption figure is 7.6L/100km with a CO2 emissions rating of 174g/km.

Which might not seem too bad, but remember this one likes to sip from the 95 RON premium petrol bowser. Filling the 50-litre tank should result in about 655km of range, on average.

So much for the theory. During our time with the Actyon, we recorded a disappointing 10.3L/100km – though it’s worth keeping in mind this included performance testing which tends to drain the tank a bit harder.

The official combined fuel cycle figure is 7.4L/100km and based on its 50L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of up to 676km. That’s not the best range we’ve seen in this segment but it’s still respectable for the odd longer road trip.

After doing a good mix of open-road and urban driving this week, I’ve managed a real world usage of  7.7L which is a great result overall.

Okay, this the best-driving KGM ever. No shocks there, as this is the first model under the company’s new stewardship.

But it’s also the best SsangYong ever. Faint praise maybe, considering how off-road-biased and workhorse-like so many models were/still are, yet the Actyon can hold its head up high in more-sophisticated circles.

Not that pressing the starter button reveals that straight away.

With a dinky capacity and hefty, circa-1650kg mass to overcome, the 120kW/280Nm 1.5-litre turbo four needs plenty of revs to get going, meaning there’s a moment of initial lag before the speed starts piling on. Not great if you’re in a hurry. And it's pretty vocal to boot.

Essentially, the Actyon regularly has to work harder than larger-engined alternatives to achieve the same result. A quick power-to-weight calculation tells the story: 72.8kW/tonne versus 85.6kW/tonne for the 1578kg, 135kW/245Nm 2.5-litre Nissan X-Trail.

But, once on the move, there is a decent wad of torque for spirited acceleration as well as smooth throttle responses, and enough in reserve for sufficiently quick highway overtaking. We clocked 9.7 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

Three driving modes are offered – Normal, Sport and Winter. Sport holds on to the ratios for a big longer, and is best suited for open-road driving.

More torque wouldn’t go astray, though, especially when the car is fully laden.

And the six-speed auto transmission, whilst smooth, can also be slow to react to downshift requests. The abrupt and clumsy stop/start system doesn’t help when moving off the line again, either.

Things improve when on the move, aided by a handy set of paddle-shifters when you’re in the mood for some manual-mode ratio manipulation, though the software does upshift if you forget.

In the wet the KGM also feels planted. And though it does not take a lot to spin the sticky Michelin-shod front wheels, it remains composed. An AWD option would probably be a welcome addition to the range. 

You’d never call the Actyon a sports SUV, but there is a keenness to the chassis tune, reflected in the strong braking and positive steering – the latter being an absolute first for a SsangYong product.

Light enough around town to be easily manoeuvrable (with help from deep windows and surround-view cameras), it weights up nicely and consistently at speed without ever feeling too heavy, and provides just enough road grip and feedback so you can confidently push on knowing what the front wheels are doing. That’s all you can ask for in a family SUV.

Plus, the advanced driver-assist safety (ADAS) tech is pretty reigned in most times, only making itself unwelcome with occasional lane-keep assist wheel-tugging and drowsy-driver alert paranoia.

Thankfully, a quick swipe up on the multimedia screen will extinguish these and others quickly. 

Now, there’s a bit of body lean if you want to make your occupants car sick through tight corners, but a bigger problem is the Actyon’s busy/bouncy ride on anything other than smooth roads.

Blame the lack of suspension travel and standard 20-inch wheels, because they do not absorb enough of the bad stuff. 

It’s worse with one person, and the ride improves with more bodies on board, but a recalibration and perhaps smaller alloys or adaptive dampers need to be on KGM’s to-do list. It’s the only dynamic blot. Our advice is to try this on your regular commute route before you buy.

Speaking of blotting things out, the Michelin tyres’ noise-reduction abilities seem to work, and impressively at times, though adding the missing rear luggage cover might be a more-effective sound barrier over Australian coarse bitumen highways.

Still, the Actyon is neither dull nor tiring to drive. And for a new brand offering a value SUV challenger proposition, that’s better than most nowadays. 

When it comes to power and its delivery, the Torres is willing but never spritely. It’s a bit sluggish off the mark and the auto-stop/start feature doesn't help but there is a decent well of power to dip into once you get going, making this a solid open-roader.

The steering can feel a bit wishy-washy on a winding road but there’s surprisingly not that much roll. Suspension is good without feeling floaty and you’re not bothered by the bigger bumps.

Visibility is good most of the time but occasionally the passenger side A-pillar can hinder, at least from my driving position. The back window is a smidge too small for my liking, especially on an SUV of this size.

The Torres doesn’t feel too big to park and the reversing camera is clear and features dynamic guidelines but all SUVs should have a 360-degree system, considering their bulk.

The Torres is so new that it hasn't been tested with ANCAP yet and is thus, unrated but it has eight airbags, including a front centre airbag.

Standard equipment includes blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, safe exit warning, tyre pressure monitoring, forward collision warning, front fog lights, LED DRLs, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping/departure aids, reversing camera, front/rear parking sensors and cruise control.

Note - it's not adaptive cruise control. Sometimes adaptive cruise control systems can be all over the place with when they 'slow' down and how they function in the real world. The system in the Torres is old-school but steady to use and operate.

Curiously, despite having both functions, you have to choose whether the lane keeping aid or lane departure warning is active.

The Torres has two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top-tethers. The back seat is wide enough to accommodate three child seats if they're not too large.

The Torres has AEB but it's operational parameters haven't been assessed yet.

Owners also experience the peace of mind of a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, as well five years of roadside assistance, which is better than most rivals in 2025.

Service intervals are at every 12 months or 15,000km, with alternating capped pricing of $338 or $442 per annum for the duration of those seven years.

Clearly, with such a competitive aftersales program, KGM is gunning for a firmer foothold in the most fiercely fought family SUV segment in Australia.

The Torres comes with a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty which is great for the class and a seven-year capped-price servicing program for $2678, at an average of $383 per service, which is very reasonable.

Intervals are good at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.