2019 SsangYong Tivoli Technology and Safety

It’s quite endearing when you discover that a car is more than just good looks. Case in point: SsangYong Philippines’ subcompact crossover. As I’ve found out in my general review of the 2019 Tivoli Premium Sport, the brand deliberately specced the car with tons of practical and totally usable tech features to please the taste of techie car buyers. Even better, it also comes with just enough safety features to ensure the well-being of its passengers – all packaged with a sticker price of P1,160,000.

But, the list of equipment isn’t without a few quirks. Here’s a closer look at the 2019 SsangYong Tivoli’s technology and safety offering as found inside the range-topping Premium Sport variant.

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not a fan of the Tivoli’s Android-powered infotainment system. The display is too soft, there’s noticeable lag when using it, and yes, there are no physical volume knob or buttons for tactile operation, except for the ones found on the steering wheel. The desire to use Apple CarPlay, which the facelifted Rodius has, just made it worse since the car doesn’t have any.

The good thing about it, though, is that Bluetooth pairing is seamless and handsfree voice calls are clear; you just have to settle with a plain screen with the Bluetooth icon and song title if you use your phone to stream music while driving. Sound quality from the speakers is fairly good as well and the display for the reverse camera is clear even at night.

Aside from these things I mentioned, the Tivoli Premium Sport ticks almost all the boxes when it comes to the list of tech features it offers. The climate control functions well, it has auto-dimming rear-view mirrors, and automatic halogen headlights work, albeit, a bit sensitive. It also has rain-sensing wipers, auto-folding side mirrors (you lock the car), one-touch lane change, and auto-lock function. The last one is my favorite as it activates even when you’re just around six feet away from the car, which leaves little room for thieves to break in.

Probably the best addition to the Tivoli Premium Sport is the cooling function for the front seats. This is quite nifty, especially when you’ve left the car basking under the sun an open parking spot. It greatly helps in dissipating the oven-like heat that the leather upholstery was subjected to.

With the Tivoli’s abundance of tech features, again, I’m still wishing for SsangYong to add cruise control to this compact crossover – something that regular highway users would appreciate.

The long list of high-tech features inside the Tivoli has its drawback – the active and passive safety features aren’t abundant, as opposed to what other cars within the same price range offer, but it’s just enough.

It has the standard things you could see on most cars these days: dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, seatbelt reminders for front passengers, ISOFIX child seat tethers, immobilizer, security alarm, and of course, three-point seatbelts for five people.