Ssangyong Motor’s new car ‘Torres Option’ for the first time in 4 years
Shin Hyun-ah’s Differences Episode 26
hello. My name is Hyuna Shin. Ssangyong Motor’s first new car in four years, the Torres, started pre-orders on the 13th of this month. The official release is early next month. Exact options and prices have not yet been revealed, but they will come out on the official launch day.
If you look at the photos and the manual posted on the website, you can see some peculiarities in the options and interior and exterior design.
A typical example is the ‘side storage box’. You can see it on the C-pillar side. This is a customization option for those who do a lot of outdoor activities. It’s an option I’ve seen in Land Rover Defender, but it’s almost the first among domestic sports utility vehicles (SUVs). The default color is silver. If you select the exterior color as two-tone, you can change it to black.
There is a key hole in the picture. It must have been designed to be locked with a key. I visited the Ssangyong Motor Design Center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on the 29th to see the Torres car. The actual car on display was not a model with a storage box attached, but when you look at it roughly, the box doesn’t seem to have a huge capacity. However, people who do a lot of camping carry a lot of tools with them. The capacity is enough to be useful for carrying around rather than putting it anywhere in the trunk. However, there may be a rattling problem when driving.
The storage box option price is 300,000 won, and the Torres comes in two trims, T5 and T7. The upper trim, the T7, will also have to be selected at an additional cost.
Another striking feature is the indoor display. Torres has one more display besides the cluster and center display. It’s the 8-inch control panel that sits underneath the center display. Most of the functions are operated through this display. If you look at the picture, you can see that you can change not only the air conditioning function, but also the drive mode, auto hold setting, and driving method. So Torres doesn’t have any physical buttons other than the emergency light button. According to an official from Ssangyong Motor, the Torres will be the first among domestic cars to have a multi-function display at the bottom.
The unique thing about the interior and exterior design is that the emblem of Ssangyong Motor has disappeared on the front and back. There is nothing on the front, and ‘TORRES’ lettering is on the back. It is said that the emblem was applied only to the wheel and the steering wheel. Apparently, since the emblem is the identity of the company, it is said that there was a lot of opposition from within Ssangyong Motor about removing the emblem. Nevertheless, it seems that the opinion that it is not right to play the game with Torres itself rather than adding the emblem of Ssangyong Motor, whose brand status has weakened a lot, is reflected more strongly. The fact that there is a limit to realizing the authentic SUV style is also said to be the reason for the deletion of the emblem.
Another distinctive feature is that the top of the steering wheel is cut off. Usually, the D-cut steering wheel has the lower part cut off, but Torres design manager explains that the upper part was also cut to secure the driver’s view. It is said that the reason that the dashboard was placed slim and without any decorations was for the sake of wider space and to secure the view.
The garnish in the shape of the rear spare tire is also Torres’ unique personality. It is said that the fact that real tires are not included is for the practicality of the car. This is because there are inconveniences such as having to open the trunk sideways if there are tires. So, you can think of it as if it had a spare tire, so it took only an authentic SUV-like image, and designed it in a way that enhances practicality instead.
Torres will be officially released early next month. I wonder if he will really become a relief pitcher for Ssangyong Motor. Today’s content ends here. It was all Shin Hyun-ah.
Reporter = Shin Hyun-ah, reporter at Hankyung.com [email protected]
Video = Yoo Chae-young, reporter at Hankyung.com [email protected]