21 July 2011
The Scoop
The Ssangyong Stavic is presented as a luxurious yet affordable multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).
The best way to describe this car may be to use the analogy of a Monet painting. It looks good from afar but up close it’s a bit of a mess. There’s an array of features on offer but they’re a little hit and miss.
Prices start at $35,990 for manual and $38,990 for auto.
The drive
The Stavic has seating for seven, however, if all seven people decided to hop in for a weekend away, they would have to be going to a nudist colony because, despite the car’s size, luggage room is disappointing.
The car also seems to have a thing against people getting inside it in the first place. There are no handles to grab onto for the driver and passengers and the seat itself is above the height of an adult’s hip.
There’s a Mercedes-designed 2.7 litre, five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that drives the rear or, optionally, all wheels. This doesn’t go well with the rigid chassis and unfortunately the result is a loud and coarse ride.
What is cool is about the Stavic however is that it remembers your driving style and adjusts the shift points accordingly. Points for this feature in reference to families who may have an alternate drivers.
However, on the downside, try not to overtake in this one – it’s slow to react and speed-stability is iffy. There’s a lag from standstill, so performance in general is a tad substandard.
Safety
The Stavic is also slightly territorial as it doesn’t seem to like other words beginning with the letter ‘S’. Safety is one of them. You’ll find only two airbags, ABS, ESP, traction control and rear-parking sensors. Side and curtain airbags aren’t even an option and the speed-activated locks don’t kick in until you’re going 60km/h – very strange.
Unfortunately, there’s no ANCAP rating for the Stavic.
3 words to describe this car:
Unsightly, inconsistent, clunky.
What are the best things about this car?
It’s affordable and quite smooth in auto mode. Braking is decent and well-calibrated.
What are the downsides of this car?
It looks like a car the mafia would choose to transport dead bodies around in and the interior is ‘pleather’-trimmed.
What kind of petrol does this car use?
Diesel. 9.9 litres per 100km.
Soundtrack of choice for the Honda CR-V?
The White Stripes.