SsangYong’s square-jawed Torres crossover is coming to Australia, and it’ll offer both petrol and electric power.
The company has confirmed the Torres is expected here in July, with the electric Torres EVX following in the fourth quarter of 2024.
It’s been a long time coming for the new mid-sized SUV.
The petrol-powered Torres was revealed all the way back in June 2022. Shortly after its debut, the company confirmed it was delaying a local launch due to the model’s popularity in its home market of Korea, and a late 2023 launch was mooted.
Torres EVX
The Torres EVX was only revealed in March 2023, and the word from SsangYong Australia since then had been that it was being evaluated for the local market.
The electric model features a single, front-mounted electric drive unit producing 152kW of power and 339Nm of torque, good for a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds.
It’s powered by a BYD-sourced 73.4kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, with claimed electric range of 462km on the WLTP cycle.
It has a kerb weight of 1915kg, and has a braked towing capacity of 1500kg.
Torres
The regular Torres is offered exclusively with a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 120kW of power and 280Nm of torque and mated with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
It is, however, also offered with all-wheel drive, unlike its electric counterpart.
Kerb weight ranges from 1490kg to 1618kg, while braked towing capacity is 1500kg.
Its engine meets Euro 6d emissions standards, and WLTP combined cycle fuel economy is between 7.93 and 9.1L/100km.
The Torres measures 4700mm long, 1890mm wide and 1720mm tall on a 2680mm wheelbase; the EVX is slightly longer (4715mm) and taller (1735mm).
For context, the Toyota RAV4 measures 4600mm long, 1855mm wide and 1685mm tall on a 2690mm wheelbase.
SsangYong has given the Torres EVX unique styling inside and out to distinguish it from the slightly older petrol Torres, with a different front end and a curved glass assembly inside incorporating the infotainment touchscreen and digital instrument cluster.
The company, rebranded in other markets as KG Mobility or KGM, already has a vehicle in the mid-sized SUV segment in Australia: the slow-selling Korando.
The brand sold just 631 examples in Australia last year, well below its Musso range (3491 sales) and Rexton (1844 sales). That made it one of the worst-selling mid-sized SUVs in Australia, bringing up the rear with the likes of the Peugeot 3008 and 5008 (584 and 184 sales).
An electric version, the Korando e-Motion, was revealed back in 2021. The company said at the time it was under study for our market, but it never appeared here.
Korando e-Motion 
Korando
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