SsangYong Musso ELX XLV 2022 Review

The second-generation 2022 SsangYong Musso exists on the fringes of the top-selling workhorse ute market that is populated by many, but dominated by few.

Originally introduced in 2004 as the Musso Sports and – after a 14-year hiatus – replaced by a second-generation, Rexton SUV-based model tagged simply as the Musso in 2018, the ute is SsangYong’s biggest-selling model but barely registered a blip on the 2020 Australian sales charts by finding only slightly more than 1000 customers.

In mid-2021, a cash-strapped SsangYong introduced an updated version of the Musso that, though it changed little apart from a dramatically restyled the front-end, could end up playing a part in reversing the company’s fortunes.

It’s early days, but a 2021 sales total of 1883 units, almost double that of the year prior, is a step in the right direction.

The Musso is available in regular-wheelbase or long-wheelbase XLV form, with three trim levels: ELX, Ultimate and Ultimate Luxury Pack.

Here, we take a look at what should prove to be the most popular variant: the auto-transmission, long-wheelbase ELX.

Short- and long-wheelbase versions of the 2022 SsangYong Musso have different rear suspension systems and load-carrying abilities.

Regular-wheelbase (3100mm) ELX models are tagged at $34,990 drive-away (manual, auto adds $2000) and are fitted standard with 18-inch alloy wheels, an independent multi-link coil-spring rear suspension, and a tub measuring 1300mm long and 1570mm wide. They’re also able to carry a payload of 790kg.

Long-wheelbase (3210mm) Musso utes add $1500 to the price and are available in ELX (from $36,490 drive-away) and auto-only Ultimate (from $42,790) form and ditch the 18-inch wheels in favour of sturdier 17-inch alloys.

They also have a simpler, more-rugged live-axle/leaf-spring rear suspension, a longer tub measuring 1600mm and are able to tote loads of up to 1025kg.

At $38,490 drive-away, the auto-equipped ELX XLV reviewed here sits mid-way through the Musso range.

It comes with cruise control, a cloth-trimmed cabin featuring an 8.0-inch infotainment touch-screen, leather-rimmed steering wheel, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity, a vertically-adjustable steering column and manual-adjust seats.

Seat trim at Ultimate level steps up from cloth to leather-look, the front seats are heated (as is the steering wheel) and ventilated, and the headlights are upgraded from regular halogen to high-intensity discharge (HID) globes.

The newly-introduced $3000 Luxury Pack (for Ultimate only) adds dual-zone climate-control, a power sunroof, Nappa leather seat trim, powered front seats with lumbar support for the driver and heated rear seats.

If there’s a pleasant safety rating surprise in store for the 2022 SsangYong Musso ute, the brand doesn’t seem ready to talk about it.

Despite rivals such as China’s GWM Ute achieving a five-star rating, SsangYong remains steadfastly silent and quotes no rating for either the Musso or its Rexton SUV sibling.

This is perhaps not surprising – in terms of its safety kit, the SsangYong Musso is not the best-equipped ute in its class. But it’s not the worst either.

Basic safety technology – six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, parking sensors front and rear – is standard across the range, while Ultimate versions go a bit further with blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane change collision warning and 360-degree parking cameras.

As with the pre-update model, the Musso also comes with self-dipping headlights and sounds a warning if a collision is imminent, or if the vehicle ahead moves off in stop-start traffic.

However, listed among the missing items, regardless of which model Musso you choose, are AEB in reverse (which its major competitors don’t feature either), pedestrian avoidance, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and driver attention detection.

That’s not a perfect checklist, but some others – five-star rated – aren’t perfect either. The elephant in the room is the question of how the 2022 SsangYong Musso would perform if subjected to the ANCAP crash testing under its current protocols.

Under the bonnet of the 2022 SsangYong Musso, the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine – linked to an Aisin six-speed automatic gearbox – carries over from the pre-update model and, in short-wheelbase form, produces 133kW/400Nm.

Heavier, higher load-rated long-wheelbase XLV versions gain an extra 20Nm of torque to help compensate.

Though the tending-to-porky 2.3-tonne XLV Musso’s power-to-weight ratio sounds less than promising (it’s quite a bit better in short-wheelbase form), it feels eager enough on the road, at least when unladen.

Drag a trailer weighing close to the 3.5-tonne rated maximum while also carrying a load in the tray and things could be quite different.

Noise and vibration levels are entirely acceptable for a four-cylinder diesel and the variable-mode six-speed auto transmission chooses its ratios nicely.

A rotating-switch controller on the centre console shuttles between 2WD and high- and low-range 4WD and, if you want, manual gear selection is available via a little rocker switch high on the shift lever. The rear diff is auto-locking, not switchable.

With an official fuel consumption figure of 8.9L/100km, indications are that the Musso XLV is possibly going to drink more diesel than any of its competitors other than Chinese offerings such as the GWM Ute, which is quoted at 9.4L/100km.

In the overall scheme of things, our long-wheelbase ELX’s recorded average of 10.9L/100km in a varied mix of driving was something most ute owners would find entirely acceptable.

The 75-litre fuel tank is slightly down on the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux (both 80 litres), but virtually equal to the Isuzu D-MAX and Mitsubishi Triton.

The CO2 figures aren’t inspiring: the officially quoted output is 233g/km which approaches the GWM Ute’s 246g/km.

The 2022 SsangYong Musso looks, feels and is roomy. There’s plenty of glass, enabling good views of the world outside for driver and passengers alike, the seats are cosy and well-shaped and the dash leans towards an upmarket look with stitched, soft-touch surfacing and intuitive placement of most controls.

The latter includes steering-wheel located switching for the cruise control, phone and six-speaker audio.

Legroom throughout is generous, and there’s heaps of headroom and shoulder-room wherever you might be sitting. The rear seat area is equipped with amenities such as air vents at the back of the centre console, as well as a fold-down arm rest and damped grab handles.

There’s no inbuilt sat-nav but, like just about everybody these days, SsangYong makes it available through standard-fit Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

The long-wheelbase Musso’s on-road appeal is enhanced by Australian input into the suspension settings which deliver a well-controlled ride that is not too compromised by the XLV’s live-axle, leaf-sprung rear-end and one-tonne-plus load capacity.

Unladen, you’re naturally going to feel the long-wheelbase Musso’s firmer-sprung rear-end but it’s not too wayward on chopped-up or loose gravel surfaces.

Off-road, the 215mm ground clearance, minimal departure and breakover angles and lengthy rear overhang might find you getting caught in places where others aren’t.

The steering tends to be on the heavy and slow side (3.2 turns from lock to lock) but it’s much more linear and secure-feeling than SsangYongs of the past which tended to react unpredictably to inputs from the helm. Once again, the work done on Australian roads has helped a lot.

The warranty is pretty good, too. Musso owners are offered a mighty seven years and unlimited kilometres of cover that includes roadside assistance for the full period, as well as a service pricing list that quotes $375 per visit up to 105,000km or seven years.

Spend a week or more in the 2022 SsangYong Musso ute – particularly the long-wheelbase XLV – and it’s hard not to be impressed.

Though there might not be a cab-chassis or a 4x2 single-cab workhorse in the Musso line-up, the prices don’t really reflect it.

You can step into a fully-equipped Musso twin-cab for roughly the same price you’d pay for a basic, bare-bones cab-chassis or single-cab ute from a volume-selling competitor.

And if SsangYong doesn’t include a muscled-up show pony such as a Ford Ranger Raptor in its model portfolio, there is a Musso – the independently-suspended, Luxury-pack Ultimate – with more car-like manners and sumptuousness than any ute has a right to offer, at a price that undercuts even the mid-rangers in its competitor group.

Then there’s the styling.

Although SsangYong is known for some weird-looking vehicles in the past (look at the SsangYong Stavic people-mover offered in Australia between 2005 and 2008), today’s Musso looks more flowing and less boxy than most utes.

Thanks in part to the blatant new front-end treatment, it also has a degree of macho appeal that’s equal to all but the most extroverted super-utes.

Fact is, the SsangYong Musso today is a good – really good – workhorse ute.

Let’s hope it can ride on the same wave of success being enjoyed by other Korean car-makers (which tellingly don’t yet have a ute available) to find the place on the Australian market that it deserves.

How much does the 2022 SsangYong Musso ELX XLV auto cost?
Price: $38,490 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 133kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 233g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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