Kimberley Barker combines working as a horse riding instructor and a gardener so thought the Korean SUV would suit her busy life. She was wrong. She is our second owner reviewer, please share your experience as a car owner at liz@automuse.co.nz

The Ssangyong Rexton was first launched in 2006 and has produced many a new version throughout the last two decades. 

The most recent of which is an elegant yet sporty SUV, with a beautiful chain-mail pattern grille. 

But the vehicle we are discussing is more reminiscent of a soccer mum’s car, that has been hit with one too many wayward goals, than an SUV, and the chain-mail decor has been exchanged for rust and cracked leather. 

The Rexton in question is a 2006 model, AWD with a 2.7L diesel engine. I bought her in January 2022. She’d only had two homes before mine, now has 311,000km on the clock, with the last 50,000km from me. I truly wish I could say she is still going strong, but the car that was first named Reliable Rhonda is now known as Lousy Louisa. 

My Rexton is not the car for the faint-hearted. The leaky sunroof is for those who need the thrill of an underwater action movie. The clouds of smoke that follow at high speeds are suited to volcano lovers. 

The failing gearbox is the ultimate adventure for adrenaline junkies who don’t want to know if you’re going to get to your Grandfather’s 90th birthday or if you’ll break down on the side of the Desert Road. (At least you get nice views of the mountains while you wait three hours for the AA to arrive.) 

Lousy Louisa is an average size for an SUV. At 1869mm wide and 4719mm long, she is a bit of a chunky lady. Maneuvering through narrow town streets takes a bit of extra care, but it is easy enough if you are comfortable driving larger vehicles. Parallel parking and reversing into parks 

is straightforward, but there are no modern cameras or warning lights to help those who don’t know how to use their mirrors. Avoid at all costs the smaller parking spaces unless you have the patience for an 8-point turn. 

The Rexton is a nice drive when all the gears are working, it goes ok on uneven ground, and the AWD is handy for when you encounter sand or mud. 

But you must take caution on a family holiday; when you load seven people into the seven-seater car, make sure you avoid potholes because the chassis drags on the ground. 

When she is not overloaded for her old age, she turns smoothly and breaks evenly, but if you are in a race to accelerate from zero to 100km/h, it would be faster to find a penny-farthing and engineer a rocket to the back. 

Overall, I would recommend the 2006 2.7L AWD Rexton to those who want to spend thousands of dollars just so it passes its WOF. The vehicle was purchased to tow heavy trailers and served its purpose for the first 6 months, but after that the fix-it jobs started piling up. Even now the spare tyre is rusted in place, the sunroof no longer opens, and the boot gets propped open with a broom. 

Perhaps if she had been bought by an architect with a nice office, the Rexton may have lasted a few more years. 

But as someone who requires a grunty SUV to haul horses and gardening equipment, and as someone who puts miles on the car, I want a vehicle that can withstand the elbow grease that comes with the job.