Ssangyong Tivoli vs Zeekr X

What's the difference?

Did you know SsangYong translates to ‘Double Dragon’?

How friggin’ cool is that? Far cooler, at least, than the Korean brand’s history, which the word ‘tumultuous’ barely begins to cover.

After years of ownership woes and a near-bankruptcy, the brand came out the other side with enough stability to field a range of new vehicles, courtesy of its ambitious new owners - Indian giant Mahindra & Mahindra.

The Tivoli small SUV is the first car to launch under the new, cashed-up leadership and when it landed in Korea in 2015 it was solely responsible for the ‘Double Dragon’ brand turning its first profit in nine years.

Fast forward a few years, and a re-booted SsangYong is again confident enough to enter the Australian market, with a four-pronged, all-new SUV assault.

So, does the Tivoli have what it takes to break into our highly competitive small-SUV scene and help SsangYong pull a miraculous Korean turn-around, a-la-Hyundai?

I spent a week in the mid-spec Tivoli ELX diesel to find out.

Zeekr is making waves in Australia at the moment but it's not because of the car you see before you.

Nope, it’s the 7X mid-size SUV that’s captured a heap of attention and a whole lot of sales. In fact, of the 1832 sales the brand has managed over the first three months of 2026, just 54 were for the X.

But that was the old X and this is the new one. With more power, more performance, faster charging and a whole heap of pretty special equipment, especially for the small SUV segment.

So, is that enough to finally put the X on the map?