SsangYong Tivoli SUV - Interior & comfort

Bearing in mind that the SsangYong Tivoli is a cheap car to buy, the interior is surprisingly good quality – certainly a step up from previous SsangYong models.

SsangYong Tivoli dashboard

SsangYong has a pretty poor reputation when it comes to interiors, so the inside of the Tivoli may surprise potential buyers even more than how the car looks from outside. That’s because the design of the cabin can stand its ground next to most of the cars in this class, thanks in part to an eight-inch central screen, plus an adjustable instrument cluster that lights up in six different colours.

The standout features of the Tivoli Ultimate trim are a new 10.25-inch digital instrument display and a larger central touchscreen that rival the tech found in most competitors.

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Though the Tivoli’s interior is undoubtedly a vast improvement over other SsangYong models, there are still a few gripes here and there. There are a few too many black gloss trim inserts for our taste and some of the materials aren’t up to the standards of the best in this class. The area below the infotainment screen has been improved for the facelift but a few scratchy plastics remain on show.

The controls are attractively laid out with big, easy-to-prod buttons and a chunky dial to operate the air-conditioning system. A nicely integrated eight-inch colour display screen in the centre of the dashboard incorporates a phone-mirroring system, if you’d rather use your phone’s apps. Entry-level cars make do with a basic-looking radio unit but the touchscreen looks far more modern.

Equipment

The Tivoli comprises three trim options – the entry-level EX, the Ventura and top-of-the-range Ultimate. The EX gets now-essential features, with DAB radio, Bluetooth, remote central locking, electric windows, air conditioning and cruise control all included. Now, there’s also a lot of safety equipment included, with the must-haves alongside auto high-beam and traffic-sign recognition.

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Choose the mid-range Ventura and plenty more equipment is included as standard. Roof rails, LED fog lights and 16-inch alloy wheels smarten up the styling, and this model also benefits from an extra airbag, keyless start, heated seats auto lights and wipers, parking sensors at each end and a space-saver spare wheel. Ventura is the first to get the aforementioned touchscreen, which features a reversing camera plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The flagship Ultimate has 18-inch diamond-cut alloys, leather seats, powered folding mirrors, a sharp-looking digital instrument cluster and dual-zone air conditioning. There’s also an Ultimate Nav specification above this, but it adds only a bigger touchscreen and sat-nav.

Options

Aside from metallic paint, there aren't many options to be had on the Tivoli, but then the Ventura and Ultimate are very well equipped.