The SsangYong Istana is a commercial minibus in a 5-door body, which was first introduced by the Korean car company SsangYong Motor in 1995. The basis for the creation of this model was taken minibus Mercedes 100D. The appearance of SsangYong Istana is significantly different from its German counterpart, however, it retained its sister features. Model Istana turned out more streamlined. As for the doors, in contrast to the Mercedes 100D, the rear door of the Korean minibus rises up (in the 100D it had a double swing door). The wheelbase of the car was 2,455 mm.
Regarding the size of the body and the number of seats, there were two versions: the usual one, containing 12 seats, had a length of 4,890 mm, and a height of 2,000 mm; The extended version of Istana Long had 15 seats, the body length was 5,340 mm, height - 2 105 mm. The width of both versions was 1 855 mm. For the SsangYong Istana car, three engine options were proposed that were longitudinally located in front: a five-cylinder diesel power unit with a volume of 2.9 liters and 97 hp, a four-cylinder “diesel” with a volume of 2.3 liters and 78 hp. and a four-cylinder injector gasoline engine with a capacity of 122 hp. All minibuses were equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Cars SsangYong Istana possessed front-wheel drive. The front suspension was independent on transverse levers and with longitudinal torsions, and the rear one was dependent, in the form of a continuous beam on longitudinal springs. The braking system included ventilated front disc and rear drum brakes.
Salon minivan SsangYong Istana is quite spacious and can easily be transformed. The first row of seats in the passenger compartment can be rotated 180 °, which allows you to arrange two rows of seats facing each other. Having thrown backs, it is possible to arrange berths. On the left side of the first row of seats there is a heater and air conditioning control panel.
In order to make extra space for luggage, you can fold the back row of seats. And in front and behind you can sit comfortably. The front seats have two adjustments: the longitudinal position of the seat and the backrest tilt. On the armrest of the driver's door was located the control unit for electric power windows of the front doors.
