SSANGYONG decided to herald its return to the UK market with a round of serious price slashing.
Smart move given that you could probably count the number of people who have even heard of the Korean car maker, let alone its model range, on one hand.
Not that the name is a new one to these shores, the company has been here before and even sold the trio of Rexton, Kyron and Rodius models that still comprise the line-up.
Now under the banner of Italian auto group Koelliker, the plan is to claw back some former patrons and attract others away from more established marques - and price cuts of up to £3,000 are part of the strategy.
So too is a pledge to invest more than 1.9 billion euros in 20 new models based on five different platforms from next year until 2014.
Ssangyong also hopes that world-famous Italian styling house Italdesign, founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro, will be involved, having already designed the latest Rexton.
Rexton is the most attractive and rugged model in the Ssangyong stable. It needs to be, seeing as the big 4x4 is squaring up against the likes of the Land Rover Discovery, Jeep Cherokee and Mitsubishi Shogun.
With a label of £19,995 for the tested 'S' version, a £2,600 reduction on the lowest price of the previous model, there's definite value to be had - provided the Rexton can hack it with the proven off-roader brigade.
Well there's good news and some less palatable. On the positive side, the Rexton has a robust, quite muscular styling, accentuated by its silver roof rails, and includes a raft of standard kit.
It has ample space for five passengers - including in the centre rear position - a vast boot, plus lots of stowage for cups, bottles, oddments and sunglasses.
And the back seats split and fold 60/40 at the flick of a switch to a flat if not flush position.
High or low range four-wheel drive also come courtesy of a dashboard-mounted switch and the Rexton's towing limit of 3.2 tonnes means it can cope easily with tugging caravans or boats.
No doubt, it's a serious budget-priced challenger for the big boys.
Now here's the rub. The 2.7-litre turbodiesel is excessively noisy and howls when you touch the throttle, the steering is wallowy with loads of body roll and the five-speed manual gearshift is so loose it feels like something is missing.
In fact the most apt way to describe the driving experience is to call it agricultural - and if you can operate the fiddly, removable sound system you're lucky to hear anything over the din.
Given that emissions are high, reliability unproven and resale values unknown, opting for the Rexton may not be the safest of bets - even if it is going for a song.
FAST FACTS
Ssangyong Rexton II 270 S (5seat) 5dr
Price: £19,995
Mechanical: 165ps, 2,696cc, 5cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 12.9 secs
Combined mpg: 31.4
Insurance group: 12
CO2 emissions: 228g/km
BiK rating: 35%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles, 3yrs paint, 6yrs anti-rust