Ssangyong Stavic

By Godfrey Castle
nly a mother could love it,Who died? Dont knock it unless youve tried it. These were some of the remarks we had when we put the SsangYong Stavic through its towing paces earlier this year. Yes, the shape is different and black does have certain connotations, but there are other colours that make it marginally more appealing. However, if its value for money and copious amounts of interior space that you're looking for then the Stavic is at the top of the list. Think of the Stavic as a vehicle designed from the inside out: Who cares what it looks like, its just sooo comfortable.

What you get

The Stavic offers a third generation Mercedes-Benz engine featuring common rail diesel technology and gearbox. The 2.7-litre, five cylinder engine develops 121 kW at rpm and 340 Nm of towing torque at only rpm. It's a rearwheel drive with a five speed T-Tronic gearbox. The suspension is fully independent and wonderfully smooth, it has ventilated disc brakes all round for added safety and, with our test caravan in tow, recorded braking times from 100 km/h to standstill in 2.9 seconds. The radio is an MP3 player, takes CDs and tapes and the tuner can be
controlled from the height-adjustable steering wheel. The instrumentation is easy to read, but is located in the centre of the dashboard, which takes some getting used to. Above the dashboard is a roof console with a multi-meter that digitally displays information, including the battery charge level ideal for outdoors people. The Stavic is also a five door, seven seater with seats that slide forward for added comfort and versatility. We liked the aeroplane styled tables mounted behind the leather seats, and the eightway adjustable drivers seat with a fold flat option. Added to this, the whole cabin benefits from air conditioning. Another plus for caravaners is the high projection headlights with levelling you wont blind oncoming motorists when towing at night. Other features include an aerial built into the rear window, windscreen washers built into the windscreen wiper swing arms, electric windows and rear threequarter opening windows. For safety there are dual front airbags, side impact bars and pre-tensioning safety belts. All this with a three year km maintenance plan and a km factory warranty.
40 mm on the towball. The height of the towball stood at 410 mm and no additional drop plate was required. The length of the Stavic compliments the straight line towing stability of this combination and we found it to be an exceptionally pleasant one to drive. The gears are well spaced 42 km/h in first gear, 70 in second, 120 in third and a top speed of 145 km/h. Being diesel you can expect to get a fuel consumption as low as 13.6 l/100 km. Verdict: This vehicle offers far more value at a lower price than some of the big name brands. If you can live with the unusual styling you'll be very happy. Price: R299 900
ENGINE Diesel Cylinders/capacity V6 /3565 cm3 Power I.S.O. (kW/revs) 190@ Torque (Nm/revs) 340 @ TRANSMISSION Shift type 5-Speed, auto Drive wheels rear ACCELERATION (seconds) 0-100 km/h 19.05 Hill Climb 200m climb over 2 km 1 min 34 sec OVERTAKING ABILITY (seconds) 60-80 km/h 5.40 80-100 km/h 5.70 FUEL CONSUMPTION (litres/1 km) km/h 1 3.6

How does it tow?

We hitched up a Jurgens Penta (GVM kg) and recorded a tail drop of
Outdoor 42 Caravan &2005/6 Life Dec/Jan