► New Tivoli from under £13,000
► Available to buy from August 2015
► Five-year warranty included
SsangYong might finally have its competitors worried, as it announces the new Tivoli SUV will be priced from less than £13,000 in the UK. It’s bound to set the cat among the pigeons, as most crossover rivals cost thousands of pounds more.
With a 1.6-litre engine, six-speed manual transmission and 16in alloy wheels as standard, the Tivoli is priced to steal sales from the likes of the best-selling Nissan Juke (from £14k) and Skoda Yeti (from £16k).
It still can’t undercut the champion of cheap, Dacia, however. Its Duster crossover starts at £9495.
SsangYong Tivoli: priced to turn heads?
The Koreans have extended their budget pricing to the cost of options. The red leather pack costs £350, where German rivals would typically charge thousands for upgraded hide.
And the My Tivoli styling pack for £400 allows buyers to choose a different colour for the roof and pick from two unique colours, Jazz Brown and Icecap Blue, for the body. The influence of the highly customisable BMW-era Mini lives on…
Tivoli prices, specs
Of course, that eye-grabbing £12,950 sticker only gets you the base SE version: a petrol engine, manual gearbox, and no four-wheel drive. Step up to the diesel Tivoli, and you need to spend another £1250.
Smarter models with more equipment are more costly again. The EX trim adds leather upholstery, the option of automatic transmission, 4×4 drive and a rear-view parking camera with prices from £14,600. The ELX is the top-of-the-range model, adding all the bells and whistles: diamond-cut alloy wheels, parking sensors, keyless starting, automatic headlamps and wipers, full TomTom sat-nav, and seven-inch touchscreen.
But that badge… Is this enough for SsangYong to achieve cut-through?
Time will tell. We’ve yet to drive the Tivoli, but an affordable, well-built SUV could be just the ticket to get SsangYong on to more choice lists. UK sales start in August 2015.
Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK, reckons it’ll make SsangYong a household name. ‘This is a car that will really put SsangYong on the map and change brand perceptions,’ he claimed.