SsangYong’s fourth-generation Korando compact crossover has gone on sale, priced from £19,995.

The SsangYong Korando is on sale now in diesel format

A core part of plans to expand fleet sales in the UK, the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage rival is founded on offering a spacious five-seater vehicle – boot space rises to 1,248 litres – with a value proposition and generous specification and “class-leading” NVH along with a seven-year/150,000-mile warranty.

The range comprises seven variants based on two engines, two gearboxes (six-speed auto with paddle shifts or six-speed manual) and four trim levels. The entry-level 163hp 1.5-litre turbo petrol arrives in December in ELX and Ventura specs with 2WD and manual gearbox. Until then, the entry point is the 136hp 1.6-litre diesel, priced from £26,495 for the Pioneer trim, which is aimed at caravanning customers, and comes with the auto gearbox in 2WD and 4WD. NEDC Correlated CO2 emissions for the diesel start from 144g/km with fuel economy of up to 48.7mpg on the WLTP combined cycle and a 0-62mph time of 12.0 seconds. Petrol economy and performance stats will be announced in December 2019.

The top-of-the-range Ultimate model is available as a petrol 2WD with manual gearbox (from early 2020) and 4WD with auto box or with the 1.6 diesel engine with automatic transmission and 4WD. Prices start from £26,495 for the Ultimate.

All models come with an infotainment system that includes DAB radio, Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come with the middle and top specification models, as does a rear-view reversing camera. Mid-range models get an eight-inch touchscreen, rising to nine-inch on the Ultimate and accompanied by a fully digital ‘Blaze Cockpit’ with a 10.25-inch full LCD cluster.

Other features include remote power tailgate on top models and electronic parking brake on automatic variants.

Driver assistance features available include forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking system, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, front vehicle start alert, safety distance alert, driver attention alert, and emergency stop signal.