Ssangyong Tivoli vs MG ZST

What's the difference?

I was asked the critical question while I had the Tivoli ELX on test – “Do you think people will buy this car?” After some time in thought, my answer was – “Not many… yet.”

Those who can look past the brand perceptions are getting an SUV which is damn near as good as anything on the market – and likely cheaper to run.

To that, you can say a lot of things: If only it cost slightly less. If only its rear was better looking. If only it had a five-star safety rating.

But here it is – the fact that the Tivoli can even hold a candle to its slick, finely tuned competition says a lot. The Double Dragon is back, and if it can afford to stick around for a while, perhaps it will stand a chance of putting the big players on notice.

Will the MG ZST Essence fit a small family? Absolutely, and all but the middle seat passenger will be comfortable but there are areas open for improvement. Like it's safety, laggy tech and adding a few extra items in the back seat.

Yet, it still offers a good host of features and an attractive package for a reasonable price tag. Unfortunately, my son missed having the basic amenities but did like the sun roof.

SsangYong is hardly a brand known for its consistent or good-looking design. In the past, the brand has floundered between the squared-off lines of the Musso and the unresolved bulbous curves of the last-gen Korando.

The brand’s re-launch has finally brought it up to speed, with every car across its range featuring a consistent design language. It’s improved out of sight, but still isn’t without its flaws.

Up front, there’s an angry-looking, squared-off horizontally slotted grille, with angles galore wrapping around the small SUV’s sides.

The angles continue up the A-pillar and across the roof for a squared-off, European-influenced roofline.

Then, around the back things get… strange. A pronounced curvy ridge makes its way over the rear wheels and into a rounded-out boot. It seems at odds with the angular rear glass and lower garnish.

There’s just way too much going on around the back; it’s overly styled. The chintzy chrome finish around the lower reflectors doesn’t help, nor do the big round SsangYong badge and bold ‘T I V O L I’ typeface.

The 16-inch alloys on the EX and ELX grade are a simple 10-spoke matte-silver. They’re nothing special, but at least they're easy to clean.

Inside, things are also mixed. There’s plenty of good and bad. The seats are clad in a robust cloth with plenty of sponge for comfort, and there are sensibly placed soft surfaces in the doors and on the centre console for your elbows.

The dash has an aesthetically pleasing symmetrical theme to it and is finished mostly in decent plastics. The 7.0-inch media screen is pretty good, too, but the rest of the centre stack is a bit nasty and old fashioned.

There’s the mix of gloss plastic and silver surfaces, a giant climate control dial and the so-so buttons that litter its surface. It reminds me of Korean car designs past, like the Holden (Daewoo) Captiva and generations-old Hyundais. Credit where credit is due, though - it all feels much better built.

I’m actually a big fan of the Tivoli’s steering wheel, it has a ridged, chunky shape and is finished in a pleasing artificial-leather material. The function stalks behind it are solid, with rotary dials on them to control lights and wipers. As the primary touch-points for the driver it’s neat that they have a unique, SsangYong personality to them.

Being the newer and shinier version of the ZS, the ZST presents as a nice little package with its full suite of LED exterior lights, shiny chrome accents and its well-shaped body.

The front is distinctively different from its design muse with a darkened grille, and redesigned fog lights that feature new air intake vents. Other highlights include the 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels with sporty red brake calipers lurking behind them.

The interior is pleasant with a massive sunroof creating a light-filled space and giving the illusion that the cabin is larger than it is.

The synthetic leather upholstery and trims seem robust and perfect for families, but also feel quite plasticky under hand. The red badge embossing on the headrests is lovely, though.

The dashboard is well-proportioned and headlined by an upgraded 10.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system and fully digital instrument cluster.

The gearshift feels a tad too skinny and tall for the general aesthetic but the circular air-vents add some cute personality.

The Tivoli might be a small SUV but it has a cavernous cabin. It’s seriously impressive and rivals some of the best players in this segment, like the Honda HR-V.

The front seat offers huge amounts of headroom, leagues of legroom, great space for your arms on either side and a fully telescopically adjustable steering wheel.

Storage is comprised of a shallow trench under the climate-control stack, decently sized cupholders in the centre console and doors, as well as a deep console box and a glovebox, which seems to disappear forever into the dash.

There’s also a rather odd trench cut out of the dash above the console box. It’s ridged and has a rubbery surface but seems useless for storing things, which will simply topple out when you accelerate.

As previously mentioned, there are comfortable surfaces for resting your elbows on for front occupants.

Room for back-seat dwellers is also excellent, with awesome legroom for the segment and leagues of airspace even for taller folk. There are the same padded elbow-rests in the doors and deep cupholders, but no air-conditioning vents or USB ports.

There are also weird elastic ropes on the back of the front seats for storing things (with mixed success) and a pull-down armrest.

The boot is rated at 423-litres (VDA), which is deceptively large (size-wise not far off the HR-V’s 437-litre space). The problem here is the shape of the boot itself. It’s deep from the floor to the retractable screen, and SsangYong says it will hold three golf bags, but it’s the narrow width and length which limit  its potential.

I found it awkward to move some odd-shaped objects, like a heater and some boxes, and the high entry-point to the bootlid makes things a little difficult when moving heavier items.

Our ELX has significantly more room thanks to a space-saver spare under the boot floor. The Ultimate, which sits above has a full-size spare, further limiting boot space.

There are the same odd elastic ropes in the edges of the boot wall for smaller loose objects or cables.

Practicality is hurt by a lack of individual storage options and a back seat that has only two USB-A ports for its amenities.

The cabin space is spacious, though, and both rows have a decent amount of leg- and headroom despite the massive sunroof.

The steering wheel features height but not reach adjustment and to accommodate I have to sit much closer to the wheel than normal thanks to my poor little T-Rex arms.

Individual storage is the best up front with a small middle console and glove box, two cupholders and two drink bottle holders. The doors also feature large storage bins, which is great to keep the cockpit feeling neat.

The rear row gets two map pockets and a small storage bin in each door. There is also a (very) shallow storage nook at the back of the middle console… think a packet of gum or small wallet size.

My seven-year old isn't as comfortable in the rear because it lacks directional air vents, reading lights and a fold-down armrest. All items which will hinder an adult's comfort, too.

The boot space is a good size at 359L but you can bump it to 1187L with the rear seats folded, the backrest featuring a 60/40 split.

The height of the floor is adjustable and when set in the lowest position creates a deep well to tuck larger items, like luggage, into.

The hard cargo cover can be awkward to shift around or store but is otherwise out of the way when it counts.

Other amenities accentuate the premium-feeling the Essence is going for with the heated front seats and electric drivers seat offering well-padded comfort but on longer journeys, I miss having adjustable lumbar support.

The rear seats aren't as comfortable as the front only because the synthetic leather feels slippery, which is accentuated when you hit corners!

In terms of technology, you get two USB-A ports in each row but the front also gets a 12-volt port. You miss out on fast and wireless charging options.

The multimedia system looks great but can be sluggish to respond and the apps can be slow to load but I like the built-in satellite navigation.

The upgraded sound system has six speakers instead of four but the sound quality is a bit tinny with music and calls.

It was simple to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay. It also has Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and AM/FM radio.

There are four variants for the ZST and our test vehicle is the top-spec Essence model, priced at $33,990 drive-away.

Our example's 'Pebble Black' finish is an included colour but other paintwork options can cost an extra $700.

The price point positions it right in the middle of its rivals with the Omoda 5 costing $35,990 drive-away  and the Jolion sliding into the most affordable spot at $30,990 drive-away.

To highlight the value-for-money comparison, the Kia Seltos Sport+ FWD model costs $38,790 drive-away and then you start creeping up into the $40K bracket for similarly specified small SUVs.

The ZST Essence is the top-grade and it has a decent number of premium features for its price tag, like a panoramic sunroof, synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats and an electric driver's seat, keyless entry, keyless start and a full suite of exterior LED lights.

Other standard features include wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 10.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system, digital instrument cluster, one-zone air-conditioning, built-in satellite navigation, 360-degree camera system and an upgraded sound system with six speakers.

Our Tivoli is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine producing 84kW and 300Nm of torque.

That seems a little low on the power front compared to petrol competitors, but the strong torque figure available from an almost instantaneous 1500rpm gives this engine a solid amount of get up and go.

If you aren’t opposed to diesel, I would strongly suggest this engine over its underpowered 1.6-litre petrol equivalent, as it has almost twice the available torque.

It might seem risky for SsangYong to be offering diesel in a segment where the fuel type is unpopular, but it makes sense from a global supply point of view, as diesel is largely the fuel of choice in the Tivoli’s home country of South Korea.

The ELX is front-wheel drive and can only be had with a six-speed torque converter auto transmission manufactured by Aisin.

The Essence variant has a 1.3-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a maximum power output of 115kW and 230Nm of torque.

It's a front-wheel drive and features a six-speed auto transmission. Overall, it has enough power to keep up with traffic on the open road but you have to be firm with the accelerator to keep your speed consistent.

Over my week of mainly urban driving I scored a fuel-consumption figure of 7.8L/100km against a claimed urban figure of 7.4L/100km which is not too bad, but also not stellar.

The official claimed/combined usage figure is at a bold-sounding 5.5L/100km.

The Tivoli has a 47-litre fuel tank.

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.3L/100km and my real-world average came in at 7.7L. That is after a good mix of urban and open-road driving, so the usage is good.

Based on the combined fuel cycle and the relatively small 45L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 616km.

We never recommend that you drive blindfolded, but if you could and you drove the Tivoli, I honestly believe you’d have trouble telling it apart from any other small SUV on sale today. 

The diesel engine feels strong from the get-go and pushes the 1390kg SUV along with a reasonable urgency. It’s no performance drivetrain, but it's as good as, if not better than, most of the petrol competitors.

The six-speed torque converter auto is mostly great around town but is old-school in that you can definitely feel each ratio. It also had the unfortunate habit of occasionally grabbing the wrong gear.

I once caught it out altogether under heavy acceleration and it spent a whole second fishing for the ratio it wanted. It’s still better than a continuously variable transmission (CVT) for driver engagement, though.

Steering is on the light side but is direct and offers decent feedback. The ELX offers three steering modes - 'Comfort', 'Normal', and 'Sport', which artificially alter the weight behind the steering. 'Normal' is by far the best.

The suspension was also notably impressive. Fellow Korean brands, Hyundai and Kia, have harked on for a long time about local tuning efforts, but I found the Tivoli’s suspension tune almost as good. It’s a slightly more spongey, comfort-focused tune, but I was impressed at how composed it felt in the corners.

The ELX has a cheap torsion-bar rear suspension setup, which could only really be noticed over rough road conditions.

Behind the wheel, the Tivoli was also surprisingly quiet at lower speeds. This makes for a nice, quiet drive around town, despite the diesel engine, but at speeds above 80km/h and engine rpms above 3000 the noise became significantly worse.

I’d say the Tivoli drives just as well as most Hyundais and Kias from just a few years ago. There’s room for improvement in the little details, but for the brand’s first effort since its international re-boot, it does a darned good job.

The ZST Essence has an okay amount of power relative to the car's small size.

It's an adequate cruiser when I ferry just my husband and son around, but feels a full load of luggage and people.

The steering is responsive and it's an easy car to manoeuvre in tight car parks or city streets, which is great. The visibility is pretty good despite the chunkier pillars and you feel confident when checking your blind-spots.

While the suspension is fairly forgiving and ride comfort is decent, you will still notice the bumps, especially when seated in the back.

The cabin suffers from some wind and road noise and at higher speeds we had to find we raise our voices a bit to be heard. Around town, you don't notice it.

This is just a personal preference but the brake and accelerator pedals are skinnier and more centrally positioned than I prefer. You get used to it, though.

The ZST is pretty easy to park and it's great that you have a 360-degree camera system but the image quality can be grainy. You get rear parking sensors, too, but miss out on ones at the front.

The ZST Essence has a good suite of safety features that now come standard like rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring.

Other standard features include tyre pressure monitoring, LED daytime running lights, forward collision warning, lane departure alert, adaptive cruise control, seatbelt reminders, a 360-degree camera system and rear parking sensors.

The ZST only features six airbags, while many of its rivals sport seven, including the newer front centre airbag. The ZST variant scored four- from a possible five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2017 testing.

It's important to note that the tested ZS model did not have AEB or lane support systems at the time of testing, these were introduced from the 2020 model year onwards and the ZST has both.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top tether anchor points but two child seats will fit best. There is enough room for front occupants when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.

The SsangYong Tivoli now leads the small SUV segment with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is miles ahead of the acceptable industry standard of five years/unlimited kilometres offered by most competitors.

Service pricing comes in at a completely fixed and impressive-for-a-diesel $322 per yearly 15,000km service for the life of the warranty.

Extra service items are tidily laid out in a chart breaking down parts cost, labour, and total price, with the most notably expensive item being transmission fluid ($577), which, at worst, is recommended to be changed at 100,000km.

From this we can tell SsangYong intends to target Kia’s audience and use this part of the business to categorically beat its competition.

The ZST Essence comes with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is on par with coverage offered by a growing number of its rivals.

There is a seven-year or up to 70,000km servicing program for a total cost of $2339 or an average of $334 per service, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are at every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first, but could be annoying if you travel a lot.