2019 SsangYong Rexton Technology & Safety Review

The SsangYong Rexton in its top of the line trim stands at P2,230,000. While you do get a lot of interior flashes, there is also a good serving of safety. While it comes equipped, it might be just slightly underwhelming in some areas, but overwhelming in others. 

Here is a rundown of all tech and safety features of the newest and only PPV from South Korea at the time of this review’s publishing. 

What’s included: Speed-sensing door locks, auto up and down on all windows, cruise control, 8-way power-adjustable driver seat with seat memory, power-adjustable passenger seat, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, keyless entry with push start, dual-zone automatic climate control, front and rear parking sensors, touch screen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, middle row USB and power outlet, auto brake hold, sunroof, smart power tailgate. 

Going through the list of tech features will take almost an entire day, but SsangYong has been known for including many creature comforts in the book when it comes to their top of the line cars. All inclusions are enough to keep up with the rest of its rivals. 

You also get a gauge cluster that’s malleable, can display a multitude of items, and tweak a bunch of settings. The LCD is also shaped atypically, which makes it seem more integrated into the cluster. You can see everything from fuel economy, to media, as well as a myriad of settings to tweak. You can also make this gauge display a digital speedometer with a few appearances to choose from. the backlighting of the analog gauges may also be switched off, for that “all-digital” experience. 

The headunit is great. This is one of the highlights that let the SsangYong be better than average compared to other cars in its class. Other head units in the segment don't support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which gives this SUV a leg up over some competitors. Your audio is blasted through a six-speaker audio system. While it’s not branded, it does feature clear midrange tones and a low-end that fill the cabin so it doesn’t sound hollow. 

What you won’t like: The power tailgate refuses to open at times because of the smart feature, rear aircon vents are off to one side. 

There are only a few things that the Rexton gets wrong. The smart tailgate was good when it worked the first time, but when you want it to work again, it refuses to work – which is normal, but this rendered the tailgate locked because I couldn’t even get it open with any switch, be it on the tailgate, fob, or dashboard. It’s a sore spot, but all the trouble stopped when I turned off the power tailgate and smart tailgate feature. 

The rear aircon vents are off to one side, so sharing will the air might be a challenge for the passengers at the back when the weather gets hotter than usual. 

What’s included: Six SRS airbags, ISOFIX Child Seat anchors, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, traction control, hill start assist, hill descent control, parking sensors, immobilizer, alarm.

Safety features aren’t anemic, the Rexton covers the basics. While other SUVs and pickups in the class have many acronyms, the SsangYong keeps true to what you need, which is underwhelming. 

The Rexton will keep you safe in the event of an accident, but we would have liked to see the car be active in terms of safety features, and not passive. Still, it’s the standard fare of items that one can expect from a top of the line variant, minus some of the party tricks found in its rivals.