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By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 57

In 2021, SsangYong targeted the affordable end of the market for family-sized EV Crossovers with this car, the Korando E-Motion. There was more cabin space and luggage capacity than you'd normally get from an EV of this price: and a just about acceptable decent 211 mile range too. Is it worth a look on the used market?

Modelsword count: 7

5dr compact SUV (E-MOTION EV - 2WD])

Historyword count: 231

Back in 2021, almost every month we were seeing developments in EV technology. What we weren't seeing was retail asking prices of electric vehicles falling as quickly as family motorists wanted, as the cost of creating EV technology became able to be spread across greater sales numbers. Back then, if you wanted an EV that was credibly family-sized, you'd have been doing well to find a decently specified one that was significantly under £35,000. But that's exactly what Korean maker SsangYong aimed to provide with this car, the Korando E-Motion. SsangYong didn't electrify the entire Korando range - the thirsty 1.5-litre conventional petrol version still continued. Like that model, the E-Motion could only be had in front-driven form, which felt slightly disappointing given that the Korando model series had historically built its reputation on 4WD: provision of that extra traction would have been an additional extra selling point for the Korean maker in this segment. Still, customers in this class didn't really need it, the Korando E-Motion's task being to wrest sales away from its closely priced arch-rival, the MG ZS EV, in the fight for custom from budget-orientated family folk contemplating the switch to an EV. SsangYong was taken over by the KGM conglomerate at the end of 2023 and this car was renamed the KGM Korando E-Motion. It's the earlier SsangYong-badged model from 2021-2023 that we look at here.

What You Getword count: 188

It's not difficult to recognise this E-Motion model as the EV representative in the Korando line-up. For those who don't notice the blanked off front grille, special badging and unusual 17-inch wheels, SsangYong added blue finishing to the door mirrors and the rear bumper. And yes, you have to have it. It's all a bit more sober inside, where the only real giveaways to this car's battery status lie with the bespoke instrument cluster and angular silvered auto gearstick. The 8-inch central infotainment screen isn't very big - and doesn't include navigation with base-spec trim - which might be an issue if you're looking for charging sites with poor 'phone reception. You do get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. And quite a bit more rear seat room than is offered by a rival MG ZS EV (or a rival Peugeot e-2008 come to that). This SsangYong's boot space isn't much affected by the battery pack, rated at 551-litres - which compares very favourably with the 448-litre figure of that MG ZS EV. Fold the rear seats on a Korando E-Motion and the capacity figure grows to over 1,200-litres.

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