Mr. Young Han Song, SsangYong’s Executive Managing Director is one straight talking corporate executive. After forging a partnership with SsangYong Berjaya Motor Philippines (SBMP) in January of this year, the partnership is starting to bear fruit with the local launch of four models: Korando, Rodius, Tivoli, and Tivoli XLV.
Among the four models launched in the Philippine market, Mr. Song is particularly upbeat about the Tivoli, SsangYong’s B-segment crossover. He credits this bullish attitude towards the Tivoli because of the increasing preference of Filipino buyers toward crossovers and SUVs. It’s a fact reiterated by Mr. David Macasadia, SBMP’s Managing Director who said that the small SUV segment is growing at more than 30 percent year-on-year.
Zeroing in on the segment’s best-seller, the Ford EcoSport, Mr. Song is says that the Tivoli offers more than its American counterpart, particularly on the area of design.
Citing the huge strides that SsangYong has done thanks to its new “Nature Born 3-Motion” design philosophy, Mr. Song says the Tivoli has the sporty and aggressive styling that buyers, particular first-time car buyers crave for.
This is a trend already seen in SsangYong’s home country where 30 percent of first-time car buyers below the age of 30 flock straight to the Tivoli. Despite stiff competition, it’s currently Korea’s best-selling compact SUV selling 45,021 units last year compared to the Renault-Samsung QM3 (24,560) and Chevrolet Trax (12,727).
In SsangYong’s biggest overseas market, Europe, the Tivoli is also the brand’s best-selling nameplate, overtaking the Korando compact SUV.
Apart from styling, the Tivoli also boasts of SsangYong’s next-generation powerplants: an house designed 1.6-liter gasoline and diesel. The e-XGi gasoline engine found in the standard Tivoli boasts of 126 horsepower and 156 Nm of torque while the e-XDi diesel engine in the Tivoli XLV has 115 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque. They can both be mated to an Aisin-sourced 6-speed automatic with shift responses “as fast as a dual clutch automatic”.
Developed as a strategic global model (the first one developed after SsangYong’s acquisition by the Mahindra & Mahindra Group), the Tivoli serves as a cornerstone in SsangYong’s turnaround plan. The Tivoli alone is expected to achieve 100,000 units of annual production for the brand.
Whether or not you agree with Mr. Song’s statements, the Tivoli is already doing its job of turning the company around. Not only is SsangYong raising its domestic sales target thanks to increasing popularity, but it also helped improve SsangYong’s sales to a 17.5 percent jump year-on-year with a profit of US$ 17.7 million. All in all, 64,000 Tivolis were sold globally, the best annual performance among the brand’s vehicle models.
puede cguro tivoli for 3 years. before you end up paying your installment. sira dito, sira doon na nag korean cars. the design is outdated, korean brands are unreliable. sa sakit ng ulo, prepare to buy some alaxan by then.
ReplyDeleteI can only speak for the Hyundai Tucson (which I have owned for 3 years) and I can say that the quality and reliability is similar to Hondas and Toyotas that I've owned before. Let's hope Ssangyong's quality is up to par.
DeleteThats pure hearsay sir.. Let google your be your bestfriend and do a research about korean cars then you'll be surprise on how they change the game.
ReplyDeleteBaka nung 80s and 90s pero ngayon ok na reliability ng mga koreana at mas ok pa yung design kesa iba
ReplyDeletemagaganda naman mga koreana nung 90s ha hehehe
DeleteThey're a lot better now but not as good as Jap cars. Within the 5 yr period you wouldn't have a headache. The headache would start after that. I should know because I used to own a Sta Fe. There's a reason why korean cars have a low resale value and I thought I knew better.
DeleteReliability studies usually covers the 5 yr period of the car. Since Korean cars are good enough for that period they generally have very good reviews. Nobody review cars more than 5 yrs old. I found that out too late.
Ang mga koreana ay hot. Jinri Park FTW
DeleteBeing a car owner for the past 20 years, i don't think any car has good reliability after 5 years. Depende na lng yan sa owner pag maintain ng owner. Just too bad that before koreans had poor dealer network so parts were harder to source.
DeleteAfter 5 yrs breakdowns are inevitable. But for comparison I have an Innova '05 too. Both were and still is with the Innova, casa maintained I kept my Innova '05 and sold my Sta. Fe '06. I think you have an idea why.
DeleteYeah 10 years ago hyundai and kia's reliability was still poor but since this decade reliability has improved markedly this decade. I can't say about the ssangyong's reliability though. I doubt if it is good quality and dealer network would be limited
Delete06 santa fe was average at best it was much better ride and power than ppv suvs. Now the 3rd gen santa fe is the editors choice of car and driver mag. Quality surveys by jh power says that hyundai/kia now are at or near the top in terms of quality
DeleteWell, I didn't buy the Sta. Fe because it looked good on display. I've already said my opinion about reviews, no use arguing.
DeleteI may have mistated the model yr though. It was '07 model. The one preceding the latest.
Deleteso far no headache felt on my Santa Fe and no more back pain and body pain cause of my old 2012 fortuner.
DeleteAgree, Sta Fe's interior is luxurious. The nvh is amazing. But sadly it just gets old too quickly.
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DeleteMaybe thats because hyundai completely redesigns cars every 5 years. If you want a timeless classic get a crosswind. I bet isuzu will be selling it 20 years from now
DeleteIf Sa Fe would last even half that, that would be a lot of improvement.
DeleteHad the new santa fe when it came out and never had any problems with it in 5 years with me. Its the longest time i had the same car abd its not gonna get replaced until something better comes out
DeleteWait a bit longer.
DeleteMaybe when the new version of the santa fe comes out in a couple of years. It makes my midsize car redundant because it combines power, car like ride and fuel economy.
DeleteIt looks better than the Ecosport inside and out.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to reliability and after sales service.
well, so far ford's after-sales service and maintenance cost is as painful as hell..
DeleteYeah ford service really sucks it took months to replace a dented hood. With a limited dealerships network i don't thin this brand will fare much better
DeleteTivoli m/t has 1 airbag to keep prices close to the base Ecosport that has 2 airbags.
DeleteTivoli has a low sedan-like 167mm ground clearance. This makes it more of a Kia Soul competitor than an EcoSport competitor.
Grabe ang distributor ngayon ng Ssanyong, same ata ng Mazda. Pareho mag kadalas mag release ng press releases dito
ReplyDeleteYes, both SsangYong and Mazda share the same distributor in the Philippines.
DeleteBut that's not saying I'm favoring them over any others. If there's a lot to write about, I will write about them (in this case, it's a 5-day brand immersion). If there's nothing newsworthy, then I won't write about them. It's simple as that.
Ulysses, long time reader (since well before Carguide), I trust your integrity.
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy for SsangYong to have a hit.
Carguide, you said "Apart from styling, the Tivoli also boasts of SsangYong’s next-generation powerplants: two in-house designed 1.6-liter gasoline and diesel engines. ". I know you meant Ssangyong has two types of Engine. But saying it like that, you're saying that one Ssangyong vehicle has 4 engines in it. It's a pain to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your opinion. I cleared it up :-) must be from all the beer in Korea LOL
DeleteYes, Korean cars have improved their reliability but i still have my money on Japanese cars. I don't want to gamble my hard earned cash on Korean cars.
ReplyDeleteToo much stigma on Koreans.. yet you type your comments and rely a lot of your online life with a Korean Android Smartphone / tech. Stop living in the 90's it's been OVER 20 years already sheesh.
ReplyDeleteHe's talking about a car not smartphones. You do realize that?
DeleteIf koreans can make high quality electronic products that has wiped out jap counterparts why not cars? If their quality was so bad they wouldn't sell it to western litigation happy western countries and be accepted there. I would trust korean cars more because they are sold in the west than cars that are designed and sold exclusively for third world countries
DeleteLower end Tivoli has only 1 airbag last time I checked.
ReplyDeleteEcosport has dual airbags and ABS+EBD across the range. Electronic Stability Control standard on all powershift models.
Problem with Korean brands is they delete safety features on lower trims and sometimes middle trims so they can lower the price to match Thai/ASEAN manufactured vehicles.
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks better than the ecosport which looks too tall for its size and the trunk too small. Reviews in europe seems to be positive better received than the juke
ReplyDeleteAs an ordinary car owner, the first question I have is if the parts are easily accessible. it doesn't matter if the car is built like a truck, it will still suffer from problems in the future. My second problem is if the parts can be replaced with parts from other brands to make them cheaper.
ReplyDeleteIf most Korea Novelas are good to watch, then most Korean cars should do fairly good as well. Simple math.
ReplyDeleteAng arte talaga ng pinoy dito sa australia pinakamabenta hyundai. Ayaw ng iba dahil korean lang pinagtiisan mga pipitsuging sasakyan dahil japanese daw
ReplyDeleteBakit nasali ang hyundai at kia dito? Ssangyong pinaguusapan diba? Ssangyong is not hyundai or kia. Just like toyota is not suzuki. Idiots.
ReplyDeletemaganda ang ssangyong tivoli xlv! mga briton, italyano nga nagagandahan eh. Mas magaling ba kayo sa mga yon? aber!?
ReplyDeletessanyong tivoli xlv FTW!
ReplyDelete