KGM Actyon SUV

1.5 K50 5dr Auto [2025]

If you’re unfamiliar with KGM, then maybe the name SsangYong is better known to you.

KGM is what the South Korean automaker is branded as nowadays, although admittedly, its cars never sold in vast quantities under the SsangYong name in the United Kingdom.

It first launched here in the early 1990s and is perhaps best recognised for repurposing Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The Rexton SUV, for example, had an uncanny resemblance to the early M-Class, partly because it shared much of the Mercedes’ underpinnings.

However, under the ownership of Mahindra, best known here for being part of the all-electric Formula E racing series, it moved away from collaborations and began developing cars itself.

Eventually, though, SsangYong hit financial trouble and was bought out by the KG Group, which renamed the brand KG Mobility, or KGM for short.

Now, it's launched its first clean-sheet design since its revival: the mid-size crossover SUV Actyon.

The Actyon name is a revival of a car that existed between 2005 and 2018, but it shares few if any, similarities.

According to the marketing spiel, the name is a combination of the phrases “act young” and “act on”- more specifically, "encouraging drivers to chase their dreams and embark on new adventures with confidence." This new motor certainly has more potential for such adventures than its ladybird-shaped predecessor.

So, KGM has brought the Actyon to the UK, but with a new brand name. This means it'll have to prove itself from scratch - and it’s doing so at a time when the marketplace is becoming increasingly crowded with East Asian manufacturers desperate to crack Europe.

BYD, ORA, Jaecoo, Omoda, and Skywellare among the newcomers - all admittedly from China. Fellow South Korean brand Genesis is relatively new to this country but is an offshoot of Hyundai, which is, of course, already very well established.

These new kids on the block have had mixed results so far, so we’re interested in how the Actyon performs.