SsangYong Musso XLV

Here is the ute that buyers have been waiting for: the brand new 2020 SsangYong Musso XLV.  Why do I make a bit of a ‘song and a dance’ over it?  Well this is bigger and better than the standard Musso in more ways than one; and I venture to say better than many of its rivals.

Would you believe that the SsangYong Musso, which is a mid-sized ute manufactured by the South Korean automaker SsangYong, has been around from as far back as 1993.  My goodness; that’s 27 years ago!  The Musso has been messing about in mud and hauling beer crates for quite some time, then.  Like a good wine, with each upgrade it has been getting better with time; and now we celebrate the arrival of the best SsangYong Musso ute thus far.

It looks pretty sweet!  I like the styling of the new Musso ute.  It’s not a cumbersome design; it boasts a bit of elegance and plenty of muscle – just what the ladies like, really.  However, this time size really does matter and SsangYong have given extra length to the new Musso XLV.  With the longer tray out the back, the Musso XLV’s on-road presence and aura jumps up a few notches making the tough dual cab ute longer and even more useful.  The distinctive front-end is led by a grill that takes its inspiration from the spread wings of a bird in flight.  The bold headlight package also incorporates LED daytime running lights and high-intensity headlamps for better night vision, LED fog lights, positioning lamps and directional indicators.  On the rear tailgate, a collection of LED rear lights enhance a purposeful new design which features the SsangYong ‘shoulder wing’ image, as well.

SsangYong Musso XLV Ultimate Plus Interior

Step inside the new Musso XLV cabin, and the interior offers a level of quality and comfort customers have come to expect from a decent SUV, rather than a Ute.  The soft-textured Nappa leather seats in the Ultimate Plus have heating in the front and rear plus cool venting for the driver and front passenger.  There’s plenty of room to comfortably seat five people, and the decent level of standard infotainment technology extends to some pretty fine options, as well.  The Musso steering wheel offers mounted controls for the infotainment system, phone and cruise control.  And the SsangYong Musso XLV Ultimate Plus also comes with a heated steering wheel.  ELX and Ultimate models feature an 8-inch screen, built-in rear-view camera, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to connect to your smartphone.  Life in a Musso is great for the ‘Muso’!

The new Musso XLV rides smoothly with muted levels of interior noise, low vibrations and not much in the way of harshness.  Thanks to premium insulation materials, polyester wheel-arch liners and an eight body-to-frame mounting system, the Musso drives nicely and is up there with the best of its rivals.

2018 saw a couple of new engines for the Musso giving it a whole lot more thrust and vigour.  One was a punchy 165 kW petrol, which in my mind was quite a good performer and smooth.  But this larger 4WD Musso XLV ute only comes standard with the turbo-diesel and its strong torque delivery.  I can understand SsangYong’s reasoning as there is 420 Nm low down and throughout the mid-range.  From the driver’s seat, the Musso has a refined and smooth diesel unit that can leave you thinking that the Triton and the Navara, with their similar-sized turbo-diesel fours, felt fairly ordinary and unrefined.

The new diesel unit is a perfect match for the recently introduced larger XLV.  Boasting 133 kW/420 Nm, the 2.2-litre e-XDI 220 turbo-diesel engine is a gem.  The Musso XLV is also a tough 4WD ute boasting an AISIN six-speed automatic transmission, making it a strong package that is really likable on-and-off the road.  Suspension lifts, rugged underbody protection and the diff-lock feature are some items you’ll like if you really want to ‘go bush’.  The big Musso’s part-time 4×4 system is electromechanically operated via a rotary dial.  It’ll set itself into low range, and get out of it, with less fuss than many other dial-operated systems.  The six-speed automatic works well in low range too, and with the ‘manual’ control, via the shifter toggle, you can get the best from the Musso’s off-roading capability.

The Musso XLV is even longer and bigger than a Ford Ranger dual cab, and it has lengthier overhangs.  These overhangs are the only downside to its off-roading capability as they are out in the open for getting clipped on drop-offs and steep inclines.  Traction, however, is as good as you’ll find.

Putting the new SsangYong Musso XLV to work is a pleasure.  You’ll appreciate the strength of the new Musso, thanks to its extremely strong ladder chassis, which enables the vehicle to provide a substantial towing platform.  The vehicle is capable of towing a maximum of 3500 kg, putting the new Musso XLV ute at the head of its class.

The XLV also has a surprisingly generous loading deck/tray (1.6 m long), which will take 1011 litres of cargo with a payload of 800 kg.  It is easily large enough to carry a full-sized Euro pallet.  The Musso XLV tray is both wider and longer than the trays on all the popular dual cabs out there and has the distinction of being able to carry a full-size pallet between the wheel arches.  Some other nice features out the back are the 12V/120W outlet to plug your power tools into, as well as the rotating hooks to strap down loads and stop your gear sliding around while travelling.  It looks and feels like the real deal, matching it up nicely against the Navara, Ranger, Triton and Hilux stalwarts.

SsangYong Musso XLV ELX

Surprisingly affordable, the 2020 SsangYong Musso comes in three trims.  If you go for the base model SsangYong Musso XLV ELX, bought at around $37k, you get plenty of nice standard gear that includes: 17-inch alloy wheels, a full-size spare wheel, LED daytime running lamps, front and rear fog lamps, auto on/off projector headlights, power folding and heated door mirrors, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, fabric seats, rain sensing wipers, power windows (driver’s auto down), an 8-inch smart audio system, six speakers, hands-free Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, cruise control, a reverse camera, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Front Vehicle Start Alert (FVSA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), 420 Nm of torque, 4WD, a limited slip differential with lock function and a leaf spring rear suspension.

The 2020 SsangYong Musso XLV Ultimate can be bought for around $42k and adds to the base model’s list things like: 18-inch black alloy wheels (coil spring models), Enduro-Lite seats, a 7-inch instrument cluster, heated and vented front seats, a leather steering wheel, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TMPS), front and rear park assist, Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), a coil spring rear suspension, and a no cost option – leaf spring rear suspension that comes with 17-inch alloy wheels.

The flagship SsangYong Musso XLV is called the Ultimate Plus which can be bought for around $47k.  This is a really nice looking ute and boasts 20-inch alloy wheels, a sunroof, auto on/off HID headlights, LED tail lights, leather heated and cooled vented front seats, a heated leather steering wheel, rain sensing wipers, powered front seats, an optional Brown leather seat package, speed sensitive steering (SSPS), a 360° camera, and the smoother coil spring rear suspension.

Heaps of optional extras for the 2020 SsangYong Musso XLV ensure you can set your Musso up just the way you like it.  That’s why SsangYong have options like: an Aluminium Tray, Front Mesh Cabin Protector, Round Rear Ladder Holder (incl Brackets), an LED Light Upgrade, a Carry Tray – 1200×1200, a Carry Tray – 1500×1200, side rails for the canopies, Premium Side Step LHS and RHS, Roof Racks, a Premium Underbody Protection Kit, Accessory Black 18-inch Wheels, a Tow Bar with a Towing Capacity of 3,500kg Braked/750kg unbraked/350kg Down ball load, a Weight Distribution Kit, an Electronic Brake Controller for towing, a suspension Performance Lift Kit, a Performance Suspension Kit, a Constant Load suspension Lift Kit, various dash cams and a heads-up display.

You can also equip the new SsangYong Musso XLV with a rear seat entertainment system, which the kids are sure to love you for.  This system includes: a 10.1-inch LCD touch panel, a widescreen LCD high quality display screen, the ability to link your mobile device through Samsung Mirror Casting and HDMI for Apple devices, access to web apps such as Netflix, Stan, YouTube and Google through your phone and USB input points.  A fully loaded Musso with all of the best options is quite the deal, for sure!

Big, bold and solid, the 2020 Ssangyong Musso XLV ute has a well-equipped array of safety features to keep its occupants safe and secure in the event of an unavoidable crash.  The Musso pickup is equipped with six airbags.  It also has a smart safety driving system including: Autonomous Emergency Brake System (AEBS), Blind Spot Detection (BSD) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA).

SsangYong Musso XLV

The current 2020 SsangYong Musso XLV models include:

• Musso XLV ELX Diesel 6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV ELX Diesel 6 SP MAN
• Musso XLV Ultimate Diesel 6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate (rear Coil Spring) Diese l6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate (rear Leaf Spring) Diesel 6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate Plus Diesel 6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate Plus (AW20) Diesel 6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate Plus (S/Roof+aw20) Diesel6 SP AUTO
• Musso XLV Ultimate Plus (sunroof) Diesel6 SP AUTO

For any more information on the SsangYong Musso XLV or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of SsangYong dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!