BEAUTY AND A BEAST
New SsangYong picks up top points for luxury and power
In Korean, Musso means rhinoceros but there is nothing remotely clunky or clumsy about SsangYong’s new pick-up.
Tough? Yes. Strong? Yes. But also very refined for a pick-up – and definitely for a rhinoceros.
The Korean manufacturer is one of those companies who have been making four-wheel utility vehicles for decades and the previous Musso was indeed a snarly big workhorse.
In this new guise, however, it has been turned into a handsome prince. That is because the new Musso is based on the company’s big Rexton SUV with al l its luxurious finishing touches.
In fact, it was so premium inside, I kept forgetting I was driving what is, essentially, a commercial vehicle. The top- of- the- range model, for example, comes with Nappa leather seats.
It is a big, bold car, carrying what is going to become a signature feature – the shoulder wing grille stretching out in chrome across the radiator. It has matching chrome roof bars, adding to its overall rugged and handsome appearance.
The load deck is big enough to take a Euro pallet and comes with 12V/120W power outlets and rotating hooks to help strap down equipment.
When it comes on sale in July, it will be available with a series of accessories such as, for example, a tonneau cover.
It has a 1.0-ton payload and a 3.5- ton towing capacity, hill descent and a four-wheel drive system that gives you three ratios for whatever job you are doing. That means it remains as capable as it always has been. But it is inside where drivers are going to notice the difference. It will easily take five people in the double cab in extreme comfort and probably more luxury than anyone could have imagined.
The black leather is complemented by piano- black gloss finishes and the sound system has attractive silver honeycomb speakers in the door panels.
The new Musso comes with all the gadgets we have come to expect these days – DAB radio, Bluetooth, MP3 connectivity and all except the entry level model include Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and a mirror system to link them on to the 8in touchscreen. There is also sat nav.
On the road, the 2.2-litre turbo diesel with 181PS gives you the push you need to take this big beast bowling along.
What is surprising is that alongside the smoothness from the six- speed automatic transmission comes quietness you would not expect from such a large vehicle and the comfort of a big saloon car. It manoeuvres well too and is a very easy drive.
SsangYong are pushing forward these days and the new Musso is a great road presence for them.
They have two new dealerships in Scotland – Frasers in Edinburgh, who also have a successful showroom in Falkirk, and Lawrence La of Kemnay in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Ab
Scotland is the ideal id terrain for a vehicle ve like this. It is the th Beast from the East – butb in a good way.