From the print edition
South Korean car builder Ssang Yong has returned to Costa Rica. Builders of off-road vehicles using Mercedes Benz technology for engines and transmissions, Ssang Yong pulled out of Latin America due to the world economic problems of 2009-2010. After this retrenchment, the company returned first to Chile (their best foreign market in 2011), Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala and now Costa Rica.
Capital for the Ssang Yong Costa Rica franchise is from Spanish investors, and the local company operates under the name Pantera Motors. General Manager Juan Carlos Boade has 20 years of experience in car sales.
The Ssang Yong showroom is in Santo Domingo de Heredia, 50 meters south of the Delta gas station on the highway from Tibás to Santo Domingo, north of the capital.
Their state-of-the-art mechanical support shop is in the Condal Industrial Park in Colima de Tibás, building 32, behind the EPA hardware superstore. For more info, call 2244-4168.
Ssang Yong’s flagship Rexton model combines luxury and ruggedness. The Muso model, while more Spartan, is still a very capable family or work vehicle.
