What is it?
THE new SsangYong Musso – it’s all tough stubble on the outside, a wet-shaved smoothie on the inside.
That’s the Musso: rugged pick-up truck with a luxury SUV interior.
Rugged enough to be backed by a seven-year warranty that extends over 150,000 miles. The Musso – it’s more than just leather seats and heated steering wheels.
Built on the same platform as SsangYong’s Musso SUV, the Musso features four-wheel drive, a Euro pallet sized load deck and over a 1 tonne payload.
You can choose your Musso in various states of toughness, from basic workhorse to tricked up pick-up.
There’s Musso EX, Musso Rebel, Musso Saracen, and a limited edition version Rhino.
We jumped in a Musso Saracen (£24,995 ex VAT) to find out more about this latest pick-up contender. It was loaded with 700kg of blocks on a Euro pallet.
Interior of the Musso Saracen – straight from SsangYong’s Rexton SUV
Why would you want to drive a SsangYong Musso?
- Well, for a start you’re getting a lot of pick-up for the money. There’s plenty of equipment, plenty of space inside, 1 tonne payload and four-wheel drive go-anywhere ability
- The equipment roster is epic: 18 inch alloy wheels; nappa leather seats that are heated and ventilated; a heated steering wheel (brilliant for those freezing early morning starts); 9.2 inch screen with TomTom navigation; automatic projection headlamps and LED positioning lights, cruise control and…comes up for breath…
Bright-finished Musso Saracen stepbar
- …a blinged up exterior that includes bright finished tubular side steps, bright rear corner bars, bright finished mirrors and door handles and Saracen graphics. Oh, and there’s a reversing camera. Is that enough for you?
- It’s spacious inside too: there’s plenty of seat space in the rear seats, while the door frames are low enough for kids to see over easily (so perfect for weekending lifestyle stuff)
- It’s got a good, strong-pulling engine that moves the Musso along smoothly – a SsangYong built 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine with 181PS and a great dose of torque – 400Nm
- The Aisin 6-speed automatic slides through the cogs without fuss too
- And out on the road, it’s remarkably quiet and civilised. And feels very self-assured down bumpier B-roads with the load in the back
- But what about the business end? The load bed is 1,300mm long, 1,570mm wide and 570mm deep and happily takes a Euro pallet. There’s also a load-liner and tie-down hooks
- It can take 1 tonne, while the automatic Musso has a 3.5 tonne towing capability – the highest combined total load capacity for any pick-up on sale in the UK
- And that brilliant warranty: seven years? Sounds like great peace of mind to us
The business end: Musso load bed takes one tonne on a Euro pallet
What might put you off a SsangYong Musso pick-up?
- The ride. It’s passable with a load (there’s just lots of secondary patter all the time) but gets severely upset without anything in the back. SsangYong says it is aware of this and plans to revise the springing before the pick-up reaches UK customers
- The load bed is deep but it’s not particularly long and is shorter than rivals. SsangYong says it’s considering a longer wheelbase option for 2019
- There’s no USB connectivity in the rear passenger compartment
- Lease rentals on rivals are likely to be lower
- A small voice in a big shouty UK pick-up market
Our verdict on the SsangYong Musso Saracen
This pick-up is all about a hard-hat image with designer underwear beneath the boiler suit.
And it carries it off pretty well.
We see the Musso appealing to lifestylers, property developers and (in EX guise) farmers, equine stables and the sort. it could also make a great alternative company car.
With the brilliant seven year warranty, the Musso makes a great case for being bought rather than leased. You’ll know that you can run and run this pick-up with full confidence that if anything goes wrong, a SsangYong dealer will put it right. On their account, not yours.
While brand recognition will be an issue, the Musso really offers a different take on the pick-up market: capable, luxuriously kitted out, and very good value. And with some class leading features, too.
Musso Saracen rear seats – loads of space in the rear
What else should you know about the SsangYong Musso?
The SsangYoung Musso is built on the same architecture as the new Rexton SUV. The Musso shares its body-on-frame construction and four-wheel-drive system.
Musso is Korean for rhino – and takes its strong, tough and powerful image from the brand’s heritage established over 60 years ago and from the original Musso of the 1990s.
SsangYong is committed to refreshing its entire product portfolio – Musso is the latest new model to come from the brand in a programme of new introductions stretching into the 2020s. So watch out for more from the Korean brand.
SsangYong is backing its faith in the new Musso by introducing a sector-leading 7-year/150,000–mile warranty.
“We believe in the strength of our new truck,” says Nick Laird, managing director of SsangYong Motor UK, “so we’re announcing this new warranty which will also apply to Rexton on which Musso is based. No other pick-up or SUV comes with such comprehensive reassurance, and without the small-print of so many other manufacturer warranties.”
SsangYong Musso Saracen specification
| Model tested | SsangYong Musso Saracen auto |
| Price excluding VAT | £23,745 ex vat |
| Load length | 1,300mm |
| Load width (max) | 1,500mm |
| Load height | 60mm (internal); 765mm (load height) |
| Load capacity | 1 tonne |
| Payload gross | 1,085kg |
| GVW | 3,215kg |
| Towing Capacity | 3,500kg (braked) |
| Engine | 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel |
| Power/torque | 181PS / 400Nm |
| Economy combined | 32.9-35.8mpg |
| CO2 emissions | 211-226g/km |
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