The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Musso has muscle and value
The Ssangyong Musso has always been a pick-up that offers good value for money. Having driven it across fen and fell in the Lake District, I can confirm it also has superb off-road capabilities.
It even comes with an industry leading sevenyear, 150,000-mile warranty for unrivalled peace of mind.
But what might surprise you most is that it’s impressively comfortable and well equipped.
The current Musso was launched in 2018 but was given an update towards the end of last year, with a bolder front grille and upgraded levels of standard equipment.
The dashboard design is shared with Ssangyong’s big SUV, the Rexton. Compared to that found in other pick-ups it’s extremely plush. At its heart is a 9.2in touchscreen infotainment system that has built in sat-nav among its many features.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also included as standard. This is particularly useful for tradespeople, who can have the car’s system read aloud text and Whatsapp messages from customers while they’re on the road.
Speaking of on the road, the big Musso is pretty comfortable.
I took advantage of having a pick-up to travel to Dunfermline to collect some secondhand furniture for my home office.
On the M90 the leather clad seats were comfortable. Bryan Burnett was spinning some good tunes on the radio, which I could hear clearly because wind and tyre noise were both extremely low.
The new 2.2 litre diesel engine is impressively refined as well.
Ride quality is good enough as long as you don’t compare it to a luxury saloon. The six-speed automatic gearbox also does its work smoothly, though the 10-speed auto on the Ford Ranger is more responsive and flexible.
When it comes to being a workhorse, the Musso has things sewn up. You can have just shy of 1,100kg in the load bay while at the same time towing a 3.5 tonne braked trailer.
The double cab has plenty of room for four or five people and there are lots of cubby holes for storage.
Prices start at just over £23,000 (excluding VAT) for entry level models, with top spec versions just over £30,000. That makes it very good value for money indeed.