KGM Torres EVX review: Is bigger always better?

August 9, 2024 Matt Allan

The KGM Torres is the first new model from the relaunched Korean brand but does it bring anything new to the electric family SUV segment?

The world of EVs is awash with new names that we in the UK and Europe aren’t familiar with. From BYD to Omoda, there are plenty of Chinese brands suddenly appearing and looking to make an impact.

So you’d be forgiven for thinking KGM was another such brand, especially as the Torres is a totally new car. But KGM is, in fact, the new name for Korea’s SsangYong – a brand that’s been around in the UK for 30 years.

After some financial difficulties at home, the company has been rebranded and relaunched and is announcing itself with the Torres, which is looking to mix it up among major players such as the Volkswagen ID.4, Ford Explorer and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

The Torres is a largish SUV that sits between the existing Qashqai-rivalling Korando and the massive seven-seat Rexton. It’s also KGM’s second stab at an EV after the electric version of the Korando, so we’ve been putting it to the test.

Design, interior and technology

Straight out of the gate, KGM’s new direction appears to be a winner and the car looks great. SsangYongs have often been pretty dull – designed to just blend in – but the Torres is a bold new direction for the renamed brand. It’s clearly heavily influenced by Jeep, with that tall front edge and segmented illuminated ‘grille’, plus a couple of pretend tie-down points on the bonnet, but there’s plenty of character to make it its own. The boxy, angled shape is confident and worlds away from the apologetically anonymous style of the slightly smaller Korando. Bizarrely, the chunky styling also seems to mask the Torres’s size somewhat. It’s a bigger car than it first appears, at 4.7m it’s almost 30cm longer than a Renault Scenic E-Tech, for example.

That’s apparent inside, where there is acres of space. Four adults will have no problem getting comfortable and you’ll probably even fit in five without too much complaint. The boot is a massive 703 litres, meaning this five-seater offers almost as much luggage space as the 5-metre-long Kia EV9 or VW ID Buzz, and feels as spacious as some seven-seat cars.

The interior materials are another step forward for the brand but still not quite up to speed with other Korean brands or mainstream European car makers. Lower-grade K30 models get faux leather trim on large parts of the doors, seats and dashboard while K40 cars get the real deal, on the seats at least.

Below the faux-leather top, the dashboard features an attractive copper shelf along the centre which acts as a wrist rest when using the 12.3-inch touchscreen – part of a pair with the digital instrument display. Buttons and switches are notable for their complete absence anywhere apart from the steering wheel.

The lack of physical controls means everything – from media and climate to driver assistance – is controlled via the touchscreen. And that’s really, really bad news. Perhaps I got a ‘Friday afternoon’ car but the interface and operating system were so appallingly slow and unresponsive it made it difficult to use the car. Frequently the screen would take a good 60 seconds or more to boot up after you start the motor. Simple commands such as trying to adjust the temperature were a hit and miss affair and, at one point, the sat nav decided I was somewhere in the Faroe Islands rather than Inverness-shire. That would be slightly amusing in isolation but it was part of a wider pattern of errors and failures that caused real concern about the usability of the car.

Perhaps my car simply needed a software update but when everything is managed via a screen, you need that screen to work properly and dependably.

Battery, motor and performance

The KGM Torres EVX only comes with one powertrain, making things simpler than many of its multi-option rivals.

That marries a 73.4kWh battery (supplied by BYD) to a 204bhp motor. Look around at similarly priced rivals and you’ll see a similar story.

In the Torres that 204bhp translates to a 0-62mph time of just over 8 seconds. There’s a decent amount of shove at lower speeds, which is fine for nipping around town but the Torres can’t quite keep up with the pack on the open road.

That’s true of the handling, too, with slightly slack body control and super-light steering. That proves useful for manoeuvering this big beast through urban areas or tucking it into a parking spot but does mean there’s a mild but constant sense of disconnection on faster, twistier roads.

With a range of 287 miles, the Torres should fit into most users’ needs perfectly well, and 130kW charging means a 10-80% refill only takes around half an hour. However, look around and there are other cars in this class that offer more miles per charge and a quicker recharge. What none of them can match is the 10-year, 620,000-mile (1m kilometre) battery warranty that KGM offers.

Price and specification

SsangYong’s speciality used to be undercutting its rivals by thousands of pounds but the KGM Torres EVX is priced from £45,000, which means this budget brand is suddenly going toe-to-toe with everything from the VW ID.4 and Kia EV6 to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Nissan Ariya. And that’s a problem. While it offers more cabin space than all of those, they offer better range, more premium interiors and infotainment systems that actually work.

Nonetheless, the Torres EVX comes with plenty of creature comforts. There are two trim levels – K30 and K40 – and both come loaded with equipment. All versions get a heated steering wheel, power adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, and heated rear seats. Keyless entry, auto-dipping LED headlights, dual-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control are also fitted across the board, and – for better or worse – all versions feature the twin 12.3-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The K40 is £3,000 more and as well as a heat pump and real leather upholstery, adds a powered tailgate, 20-inch wheels and a 3D camera system alongside blind spot warning and safety exit alert.

Verdict

Whatever name you call it, KGM has specialised for years in offering plenty of bang for your buck, offsetting sometimes lower-quality details with bundles of equipment and ridiculously low prices.

The problem with the Torres EVX is that it’s not able to do that.

It’s a decent enough car – that infotainment system aside – but the expense of the electric drivetrain means it can’t undercut rivals in the same way. It offers more space than virtually anything this side of a Kia EV9 but in other regards, from range and performance to equipment and price, it’s distinctly average.

It’s a sign KGM continues to head in the right direction but not the slam-dunk value winner we might have hoped for.