KGM Torres review
At a glance
| Price new | £36,749 - £41,749 |
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| Used prices | £21,380 - £31,414 |
| Road tax cost | £195 |
| Insurance group | 29 |
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| Fuel economy | 31.1 - 33.2 mpg |
| Miles per pound | 4.6 - 4.9 |
| Number of doors | 5 |
| View full specs for a specific version | |
Available fuel types
Petrol
Pros & cons
- Available with four-wheel drive
- Five-year warranty
- Huge boot
- Stiff ride and sloppy handling
- CO2 emissions are high and fuel economy is poor
- Dim-witted gearbox
KGM Torres SUV rivals
Overview
No, the KGM Torres isn’t another temptingly-priced family SUV, from an upstart Chinese brand. It is in fact one of the artist formerly known as Ssangyong’s latest models. In case you missed it, Ssangyong got gobbled up by another South Korean industrial company, KG Group, who rebranded the company as KG Mobility.
The change of ownership came about in late 2022, following SsangYong’s near bankruptcy. Unlike the other highly successful South Korean brands Hyundai and Kia, SsangYong has always been something of a niche product in the UK, trading on value pricing more than outright quality, and historically known for building quite challenging-looking cars. As such, while the Torres won’t be knocking any rivals out of our best SUVs list, it is at least more appealing to look at inside and out.
The rugged styling, which is quite different to KGM’s established SUV models such as the Korando and Rexton, and the availability of four-wheel drive should at least help the Torres stand out in a marketplace saturated with highly competent rivals. There are a large number to family SUVs to choose from, with the Torres chasing bigger cars in the class like the Skoda Kodiaq, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan X-Trail.
Here we’ve been testing the petrol version, with an electric SUV badged Torres EVX also available. You can find out more about how we test cars on our dedicated explainer page.
What’s it like inside?
Dominating the cabin of the KGM Torres is a twin-screen setup with a pair of 12.3-inch displays. Similar to the approach now taken by a number of other brands – including BMW, Hyundai and Vauxhall – this merges the central infotainment screen with a digital drivers display that replaces the conventional instrument cluster, giving the effect of one large continuous screen that stretches half-way across the dashboard.
Unfortunately, neither the touchscreen infotainment system or driver’s display have particularly sharp graphics or speedy responses. To make matters worse, there are very few physical buttons as is the fashion these days. That means even key functions like controlling the heater must be carried out through the main screen.
The interior feels solidly put together, if not particularly plush given how much the Torres costs. You won’t find swathes of soft touch plastic, and the faux wood and metal trims aren’t particularly convincing. Even the cheaper – if smaller – MG HS feels classier inside.
Measuring 4,705mm in length, 1,890mm in width and 1,720mm in height, the five-seat only Torres is a larger car than it might seem initially in photos, and bigger in all dimensions than the Nissan X-Trail. This is notable because the X-Trail manages to squeeze seven seats into its footprint while the Torres is a strict five-seater with no extra third row of chairs.
KGM Torres boot space and practicality
If sticking to five seats limits the KGM’s passenger-carrying practicality, it does at least help to deliver best-in-class boot space. With the rear seats upright and ready to accept occupants there’s a massive 703 litres of luggage room. This expands to 1,662 litres of cargo capacity when the rear seats are folded.
Disappointingly, the rear seat back only splits 60:40 with no load-through facility when many rivals now offer more flexible 40:20:40 adaptability. You’ll also find there are no handy levers to activate the folding mechanism from the boot; you’ll have to open the rear doors and lower the seat-backs the old-fashioned way. There are also no clever storage nets, load tie-down points or useful cubbies, save for some underfloor storage.
Returning to the good news, every passenger will find they have plenty of room. Up front there’s tonnes of head and legroom, with loads of space between driver and front seat passenger. There’s plenty of storage spots too.
Rear seat passengers also get plenty of head and legroom, so four six-footers shouldn’t complain too much on long journeys. It isn’t even too much of a squeeze to get three across the rear bench. The rear outer seats get Isofix, with no such provision on the front passenger seat.
KGM Torres engines and drive
The Torres is available with a single 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which is paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox as standard. This uses a small shift-by-wire toggle switch in place of a conventional gear shift, helping to free up more space for those up front. There is no manual gearbox option.
It produces 163hp and 260Nm of torque, driving the front or, as an option on top spec K40, all four wheels. Accelerating from 0-62mph takes a claimed 10.8 seconds regardless of how many wheels are being driven, making it one of the slower cars in the class.
The Torres feels even more reluctant than the numbers would suggest on the road. You need to rev the engine hard for it to really get going, revealing a noisy and slightly harsh engine note. Not helping matters is the dim-witted six-speed automatic gearbox that is hesitant to kick down for stronger acceleration, and is slow to shift.
It’s better when you’re driving sedately, but it’s still one of the worst automatic gearboxes in the class. Admittedly, I’m yet to drive the four-wheel drive version, although I can’t imagine it being any better. I suspect it’ll be a similar case with the ride and handling, another area where the Torres feels unpolished.
The suspension feels stiff, transmitting every bump and rut to your posterior even on what looks like a smooth road. Potholes and ridges send a right thump through the Torres, at least with the 20-inch wheels that are standard on K40 trim. I suspect the smaller 18-inch wheels will help comfort a little, but I can’t imagine it’d suddenly make it comfortable.
Hopes that this would translate into keen handling are dashed at the first roundabout. The steering is slow and imprecise while body roll is pronounced. It doesn’t take much for the front tyres to give up, so you’ll feel the nose washing wide far earlier than you might expect.
Things get even less attractive when it comes to running costs. KGM says the Torres will do just 33.2mpg according to WLTP calculations, which is not very competitive at all. I averaged around 28mpg on a wide range of roads, and wouldn’t expect much over 30mpg even with a lighter right foot. Similarly, CO2 emissions of 194g/km (or 207g/km for the four-wheel drive variant) are very high for a vehicle of this type, making it a no-go for company car users. There is at least the Torres EVX if you really must have a KGM on your drive.
All versions are capable of towing a braked trailer of up to 1500kg, although you won’t be going anywhere quickly.
What models and trims are available?
The Torres sits between the Korando and Rexton in KGM’s model range. K30 is the entry-level trim, which comes with a generous equipment list including 18-inch alloy wheels, faux leather upholstery, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. Two large 12.3-inch screens are also used for the digital dials and main infotainment display.
Above this sits the K40 trim, which is available with two- or four-wheel drive. Extra equipment over the K30 includes large 20-inch alloy wheels, an electric boot, heated and ventilated front seats and adaptive cruise control. No version is particularly cheap, with top spec four-wheel drive models costing over £40,000.
To find out exactly how good the Torres compared to the rest of the class, click through to our verdict page.
