KGM Tivoli review

Is the KGM Tivoli a good car?

On paper, the KGM Tivoli (formally known as the SsangYong Tivoli until 2024) looks like an attractive proposition in a segment where sensibility and practicality trump most other attributes. It’s got all the equipment you could hope for in a relatively cheap compact SUV, it’s spacious inside and the warranty period is impressive. You can’t ignore the poor driving experience and inefficiency, however, and it generally feels a step behind the Dacia Duster and alternatives from Stellantis. Plus, while the interior is solid overall, the quality of the materials isn’t great – even for a car at this price point.

How much does the KGM Tivoli cost?

The Tivoli sits at the entry point to KGM’s range, and is described by the firm itself as a ‘value-priced compact SUV’. That claim is comfortably backed up by prices starting from just over £23,000 for a manual version or around £24,500 for the automatic (those are the two options in the single K40 trim). 

So the Tivoli is keenly priced, but it still has some tough competition in the shape of the Dacia Duster, Vauxhall Frontera, Citroen C3 Aircross and the MG ZS, and there are also B-segment supermini-based crossovers to contend with too, such as the Renault Captur and Nissan Juke. Unlike the Vauxhall, Citroen and MG, the Tivoli doesn’t come with the option of a pure-electric drivetrain as it’s only offered with a turbocharged petrol four-cylinder, with the aforementioned manual or automatic transmissions sending power to the front wheels only. 

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Despite its budget-focused positioning, the Tivoli is still generously equipped in its solitary K40 guise. Highlights inside include leather heated seats and a heated leather-clad steering wheel, tinted windows, a 10.25-inch driver’s display, a nine-inch central touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, integrated sat-nav, dual-zone air-conditioning and a rear parking camera.

As part of SsangYong’s rebranding as KGM, the Tivoli gained a makeover. It’s visually similar to the Tivoli that arrived back in 2015, although a revised front end is designed to give it more presence. This consists of a new bumper and grille arrangement, plus fresh headlights and fog lights. A few red trim accents and 18-inch wheels certainly make the KGM version more eye-catching than its SsangYong predecessor.

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While other markets get the option of a diesel, there’s just one powertrain available in the UK for the Tivoli – a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol. The power output stands at 160bhp and there’s 280Nm of torque (260Nm with the automatic), which sounds like plenty, but translates to a pretty sluggish estimated 0-62mph time of 11 seconds. You can’t blame the car’s kerbweight either, because at 1,300kg (1,318kg for the auto), the Tivoli is pretty light, making that poor acceleration time all the more confusing. In the automatic we found the gearing to be fairly well judged, although if you do decide to push on, shifts can be rather laboured. 

Even though the Tivoli has lost the option of smaller 16-inch wheels, even on its larger 18-inch rims, it is relatively composed on the motorway or smooth surfaces. However, once you head on to twistier, more undulating roads, the Tivoli loses a little of its poise. Hitting a bump mid-corner will knock the chassis off line, sending a thump through the structure as the wheel rebounds with a noticeable lack of control. There are no fancy adaptive dampers or sport suspension options here: the Tivoli features MacPherson strut suspension up front and a Torsen beam set-up at the rear. It settles down with extra weight on board, but it’s still way off the comfort you’ll get from a Renault Captur or Suzuki Vitara, which is a shame. At least wind and road noise aren’t too intrusive.

It’s not the most agile crossover and it doesn’t have much grip, but there’s a decent level of weight behind the Tivoli’s steering, so it feels composed in this respect. Start making too many sudden steering inputs and you’ll notice the ratio doesn’t feel particularly linear in its response – sometimes tugging back to self-centre the wheel. The Tivoli features three steering modes – Winter, Normal and Sport – but it’s best left in Normal, as Sport feels artificial and Winter just restricts the powertrain in slippery conditions. 

KGM doesn’t provide 0-62mph times for the Tivoli, but its SsangYong predecessor completed the sprint in 11 seconds with the same powertrain, and we think that's unlikely to have changed much with the latest car. It certainly feels no quicker anyway. 

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The Tivoli used to be offered with a diesel and two petrol engines, but now there’s just one petrol unit with a manual or automatic gearbox. 

According to KGM, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine will return 40mpg with the former, and with the latter, 37.1mpg. During our time with the automatic Tivoli, we struggled to get into the mid-30s, which is surprising given the relative lightness and compact size of the car. 

Emissions aren’t particularly great either, with the manual putting out 161g/km of CO2 and the auto 175g/km – meaning you’ll have to pay £680 in tax the first time the manual is registered on the road, and a whopping £1,095 for the auto. In comparison, a Dacia Duster TCe 130 petrol will return north of 50mpg and sits several tax bands lower than the KGM. 

It’s too early to say how the move to KGM branding has affected the Tivoli’s depreciation, although the old SsangYong versions saw it lose an average of 49.33 per cent off its value after three years and 60,000 miles. 

The Tivoli should be a snip to insure compared with rivals, though, as both variants sit in group 18.

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The Tivoli was revealed way back at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015 and when SsangYong rebranded as KGM in 2023, it proceeded to get a significant front-end refresh to complement the new marque’s other, much newer offerings, such as the KGM Torres and KGM Actyon.

The modernised fascia takes on a more streamlined look, with no upper grille to speak of. There’s a more imposing lower grille these days to give the Tivoli a meaner stance on the road, and to prevent you mistaking it for any other compact SUV, there’s ‘Tivoli’ branding on the nose. As before, there are black A-pillars and a hidden part of the rear pillar to give the roof a floating look, plus 18-inch wheels now come as standard, rather than the old, rather dinky 16-inch rims. 

Step inside the Tivoli and you’ll notice the driving position is much more akin to a traditional SUV, giving you greater visibility at the front. KGM has also revamped the interior – although on the whole it’s very familiar to the old SsangYong layout. The nine-inch touchscreen used to be only offered on the top-spec Ultimate, but now comes as standard on the Tivoli in its sole K40 trim. 

The selection of controls below the central screen has been restyled, but in essence they do the same job, operating the climate control and heated seats. The lighting for these buttons turns off when the KGM’s ignition is off, though – which then makes this area look like an opening for a CD player. The steering wheel buttons put some premium manufacturers to shame, as they give you proper feedback and feel sturdy. 

In fact, most of the Tivoli’s interior feels very well screwed together and while some materials might not look the most upmarket, we’re confident that they would cope with some heavy use.

The exterior colour palette for the Tivoli isn’t the most inspiring with dark blue, a beige ‘latte’, black, silver and white to choose from – all combined with black alloy wheels.  

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Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

We imagine most owners will make frequent use of the Tivoli’s standard-fit Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto compatibility and we’d recommend they do. The infotainment system KGM uses for its nine-inch touchscreen isn’t the most ergonomic we’ve used, and the display itself isn’t the clearest either. 

The system is quick to respond to inputs, however, and for the driver’s 10.25-inch display it’s a relatively clear-cut layout. The integrated sat-nav’s graphics are a bit dated and not the easiest to follow, but the system works well enough.

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The Tivoli might be KGM’s smallest car, but it still packs more in than you might expect. Interior space is good, with enough room for four tall adults to easily get comfortable. Headroom and legroom are generous for a car this size. and the cabin feels bright and airy. The elevated ride height that defines the crossover class helps make entry and exit straightforward.

Storage space in the cabin is good, with deep pockets in the doors, and bungee-style map pockets on the seat backs are useful – although we suspect many young children will be unable to resist pinging them.

Further back, there’s a 423-litre boot that compares favourably to supermini-based crossovers such as the Nissan Juke (354 litres) and the Peugeot 2008 (350 litres) but less so with the Renault Captur (455 litres). KGM says it’ll swallow three golf bags. Given the passenger space on offer, that’s still very competitive.

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We don’t have enough data to include the KGM Tivoli in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, but that shouldn’t worry you. The brand has a reputation for building solid and durable off-roaders, and the Tivoli should be no exception. Should the worst happen, you do get a five-year/100,000-mile manufacturer’s warranty and 12 months of RAC roadside assistance cover.

Euro NCAP awarded the Tivoli a creditable four stars out of five safety rating when it was tested in 2016, although this rating has since expired because the testing standard has gotten more stringent since it was initially tested. The newly branded KGM version hasn’t been resubmitted for testing despite coming with more standard safety assistance technology than it did back in 2016. All models get multiple airbags, active rollover protection, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, traffic sign recognition, driver attention alert and hill descent control. 

Warranty

SsangYong used to offer an incredible seven-year, 150,000-mile warranty on its cars, along with 12,500 miles protection for the clutch and brake pads, which was a unique offer in the new car market. KGM has slimmed this down to a still very competitive five-year, 100,000-mile warranty for its internal combustion engine cars. 

Servicing

Perhaps unsurprisingly, KGM has retained the same servicing schedule as SsangYong for the Tivoli, which requires attention every 10,000 miles or 12 months. For £31 a month over three years, KGM will cover the first three services, the first MoT and equip you with two years of extended breakdown cover.  

KGM Tivoli alternatives 

Considering its size and levels of equipment, the KGM Tivoli is extremely competitive when comparing it with the budget-driven Dacia Duster and MG ZS.

There’s not much to separate the KGM from its rivals when it comes to interior quality, with all three showing some areas of cost-cutting – though the Tivoli does have a reassuringly sturdy feel inside. The powertrains of the Duster and the ZS are a little more refined than the Tivoli’s, plus we suspect the Duster would leave the others (and a few more premium SUVs) in the dust or mud when it comes to off-road ability.