New SsangYong Musso ute to get Aussie chassis calibration

The reborn SsangYong Musso dual-cab ute will arrive in Australia in November and will get locally-calibrated suspension to suit Australian conditions as part of the South Korean brand’s Aussie relaunch.

Locally-tuned suspension and steering has proved successful for Hyundai and Kia and now SsangYong -- which is owned by Indian car-maker Mahindra -- appears to be taking its Australian relaunch very seriously with similar undertakings.

The SsangYong Musso ute's chassis tweaks will be in addition to a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine (133kW/400Nm), 3500kg towing capacity, six-speed automatic transmission, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and -- eventually -- a big range of accessories including canopies and sports bars.

Pricing has not been confirmed but two versions of the SsangYong Musso ute will be sold in Australia – short and long.

The shorter 5095mm Musso ute arrives in November. Its tray is slightly smaller than most regular pick-ups like the Mitsubishi Triton, Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. The longer 5405mm SsangYong Musso will arrive in early 2019 with a tray slightly longer than its established rivals.

Interestingly, the shorter SsangYong Musso ute (codenamed Q200S) will have rear coil-springs like the Nissan Navara, while the long version (Q200L) gets leaf springs to cater to heavier loads, but both will have suspension tuned here in Australia, for local conditions.

“We are shipping [evaluation] cars to Australia to get the tuning development started. We’ll have cars on the ground next month,” said Daniel Rim, SsangYong’s head of global sales.

The senior exec wouldn’t say who is doing the chassis calibration work, but confirmed all models will eventually get fettled for Aussie conditions.

It’s understood that three model grades will be offered -- EL, ELX and Ultimate -- but specifications and pricing are not yet known. However, Rim said the ute will be competitive with the Mitsubishi Triton. The GLX 4x4 dual-cab diesel is currently priced at $35,490 drive-away.

“I think we will be [price] competitive to Mitsubishi,” he said.

“We’ll compete with Mitsubishi Triton over there [in Australia]. We are competing well with the Mitsubishi in Chile. We already have 40 per cent market share there,” he said.

SsangYong – which means double dragon in Korean – is clearly very serious about its Australian relaunch, in which the new Musso ute will play a big part. The brand is spending millions of dollars to get the foundations in place, insisting it’s here for the long run this time.

Rim wouldn’t say what the sales targets are for Australia but said: “I think we’ll do much better than [previous importer] Ateco did.”

Previously, SsangYong vehicles were distributed in Australia by independent importer Ateco Automotive, but this time SsangYong has created a factory-backed sales company, SsangYong Motors Australia (SMA), and will be throwing lots of marketing and development dollars at it.

SMA will launch four models in November with around 20 dealers from the get-go. As well as the Musso, the new SsangYong range will include the small Tivoli SUV and mid-size XLV SUV, and the large Rexton SUV, which is based on the same ladder-frame chassis as the Musso ute with which it also shares its 2.2-litre diesel.

Managing director of SsangYong Motors Australia, Tim Smith, told motoring.com.au there would be plenty of accessories for the new Musso, although it will be dual-cab-only.

“We’d love our customers to be able to tune their car to whatever they’re trying to do.

“The chassis tuning program will be a finished vehicle tune where we tune the suspension, some other things and steering. Phase two is to offer an accessory package that’s able to tune the car further to whatever application the customer has, maybe heavy duty off-roading with lift kits, that sort of thing," said Smith.

SsangYong is yet to confirm what sort of warranty it will offer on its vehicles in Australia, including the Musso dual-cab.

“Everyone wants to have the best warranty,” said Smith.

However, he indicated there’s a chance the South Korean SUV specialist will offer better coverage than its European warranty of five years, unlimited-kilometres.

Asked if a six- or seven-year warranty is possible, Rim stated: “We are analysing the trade-offs”.

The global sales boss said SsangYong “recognises that customers in Australia do want extended warranties so we will keep that in business plan,” but wouldn’t be drawn on whether it will be a class-leading warranty.

“We’ll find out in the next month or two -- we’ll announce it then,” he said.

SsangYong appears to have done its homework for the Australian market, which is the world's fourth largest destination for pick-ups but also one of the most competitive and challenging, and Rim said its new four-model line-up made it the perfect time for the brand's local relaunch.

“It’s a great time to get back into Australia because we have all new products.," he said.

"You have not seen any of these new vehicles -- the XLV, Tivoli, Rexton and Musso -- and we’re very confident to bring these vehicles back to Australia with a factory-backed operation.”

“We will invest in marketing, invest in the brand and make sure the dealers are well taken care of.”