• Fuel economy is reasonable given size
• Expect a big tax bill for running a Rexton
• Shorter warranty than before is a disappointment

What are the running costs?

The KGM Rexton is only available with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which gets reasonable fuel economy considering the car’s massive dimensions. Officially, it’ll return 32.9mpg on the WLTP combined cycle, we managed about 29mpg during our test.

The biggest problem with the Rexton’s diesel is the high CO2 emissions, which are 225g CO2/km. That puts the Rexton in the third-highest CO2 band for car tax. That’s £3,300 to tax it for the first year alone. This tax bill makes the call of the range of plug-in hybrid seven-seaters like the Kia Sorento a lot more appealing.

The tax news gets worse too; every trim of Rexton falls foul of the £40,000 Expensive Car Supplement tax, a tax on so-called luxurious vehicles. As of April 2025, that means a surcharge of £425 on top of your annual vehicle excise duty (VED) bill from the first through sixth year of registration.

Servicing and warranty

Remember SsangYong’s noteworthy seven year / 150,000-mile warranty? Well, that has gone with the rebrand. KGM’s warranty is now five years / 100,00 miles which isn’t a good luck no matter how it might be spun. It’s less than the Kia Sorento’s seven-year warranty but beats the Skoda Kodiaq’s miserly three years. The pricier Toyota Land Cruiser boasts a longer warranty at 10 years.

The warranty interval for the Rexton is every 12 months or 12,500 miles, whichever comes first. A service plan is available to cover the first three services, first MOT and provides two further years of RAC roadside assistance, on top of the 12 months roadside assistance that’s included as standard.

Reliability

• Proven engine and chassis
• KGM has a good reliability record
• No recalls since its launch in 2018

This is where the hard-wearing Musso pick-up truck base proves its worth. As a commercial vehicle designed to carry timber, cement and other heavy, abrasive materials, it’s been stress-tested beyond what the Rexton will ever face. It’s a durable foundation and we’re confident there won’t be any major reliability headaches with a Rexton. This is bolstered by the fact the Rexton has been subject to no recalls since it’s introduction as a SsangYong back in 2018.