Gareth Evans is picking over how the KGM Musso stacks up as a value-driven pickup truck. Can it cope with his towing demands and still offer a comfortable daily drive?
Update 1: Welcome to the fleet
The recently rebranded KGM, formerly known as SsangYong, is a South Korean firm that’s been building Musso (derived from the Korean for ‘rhino’) pickups in its factory in Seoul since 1993. I’ve driven every version, and they’ve got consecutively more impressive as the generations passed. This latest KGM Musso has been on UK roads since 2018, with a heavy facelift in 2023 bringing it right up to spec in this competitive corner of the market.
After spending much of 2024 with its arch rival, the Isuzu D-Max, what better way to compare the relative talents of these two top-value trucks than spending six months with the KGM Musso to see what it’s like to live with?
The one I’m running is in Saracen specification, which means it’s the shorter of the two KGM Mussos available and the spec is top of the range. Headline figures include a huge payload rating of 1095kg, a braked towing weight of 3.5 tonnes, a 2.2-litre diesel engine and a six-speed automatic gearbox.
Luxuries include Android Auto, nappa leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and LED headlights.
The Saracan+ boasts a longer payload area and whopping 1.2-tonne loading capacity, giving it the biggest load area available, but even in ‘normal’ Saracen specification I shouldn’t think I’ll have much need for additional storage.
Not only is the load bed vast, but it’s seriously deep too. My KGM Musso has an optional top roll cover (£1,419+VAT) and sports bars (£725+VAT including fitting) to further enhance its usefulness, and this will come in very handy indeed because I’m intending on putting the truck to regular, heavy use towing my race car and transporting all my kit to several events during 2025.
I’ll also be taking the Musso off the beaten track on occasion to test its mettle as a mud-plugger, having driven many rivals on the same farmland it’ll be fascinating to see how it stacks up. The spec sheet gets things off to a good start with a switchable four-wheel drive system including low-range gearbox, multilink rear suspension and plenty of axle articulation for tackling rugged terrain.
The list price for this pickup is £34,255+VAT, so with optional extras included the vehicle you see in the pictures would be £36,399+VAT. That puts it up against the D-Max DL40, which is a trim level up from the DL20 I tested last year. It’s worth noting that you can pay considerably more for a D-Max, though – the lifestyle-focused V-Cross is a fiver under £38k, while the Arctic Trucks AT35 is a whopping £52,495…
So what I’m testing here is a comparatively cheap truck with an impressive spec sheet. Can it cut the mustard when put to task, though? Let’s find out…
Update 2: The first 2000 miles
I’ve done 2,000 miles in the KGM Musso now, and it’s time to get my first impressions down. First and foremost, I’ve felt privileged to be able to enjoy the more premium features you simply don’t expect on a vehicle at this price level. The heated seats and steering wheel are front of mind here – a combination hitherto seen on much more expensive machinery.
I’m loving having Android Auto too. Its operation through the screen has been a godsend on multiple occasions, although plugging it in can be slightly irksome, and occasionally the sound begins to stutter. This is fixed by unplugging the cable and plugging it back in again, but in order to do this safely (and legally) you’ll need to stop driving, and you’ll need to wait for the system to kick back into action. I’d also prefer it to be wireless altogether, but beggars can’t be choosers. It’s still very impressively specified.
Towing is a primary use case for my time with the Musso, and I’ve been doing rather a lot as I frantically get my car ready for the race season to begin in early April. The reversing camera is an excellent feature for this, allowing me to reverse up to the tow ball accurately enough to hitch the trailer every single time. Well, almost… because the position of the camera on the tailgate means it gets extremely dirty in mid-winter conditions and can occasionally need a wipe before you can see properly.
And on the subject of tailgates, the roller cover over the load deck has taken a little getting used to. Locking and unlocking it is particularly confusing, because in order to keep it secure the locking mechanism is a complicated process of using a latch on the underside, the separate key in various positions and its button. It operates independently of the huge tailgate; which incidentally could do with some help from gas struts because it’s very heavy.
The roller cover itself is fine in its operation, but be warned: it’s not waterproof. This means I’m going to need to plan carefully to ensure I put items that can get wet just behind the cab, where it lets in most of the water. It does drain itself well, so it isn’t the end of the world, but if you’re looking for a vehicle to carry loads in a fully protected environment you’re going to need a proper canopy cover like I had fitted to the Isuzu D-Max I ran before.
In better news, the 2.2-litre diesel engine makes light work of dragging my 1,400kg trailer, and while the fuel economy to begin with was pretty disappointing, it’s improved a lot over the first few thousand miles as the engine is broken in. To start with it was doing less than 20mpg with the trailer hitched and 23mpg without, and at time of writing those figures have increased to 25mpg hitched and 28mpg empty.
So overall life’s getting better with this truck. I’m looking forward to the weather warming up and sampling those ventilated seats…
Update 3: Are you sitting comfortably? Well, no, actually…
In my previous update I commended the Musso for its heated seats and steering wheel, which make it feel like a more premium vehicle. And for this update I want to dwell on the seats again, but for a different reason: they’re simply not very comfortable.
I’ve done quite a few longer journeys in it now, and despite the electrically adjustable driver’s seat offering lots of flexibility, I simply can’t find a position that works for me over longer distances. I’ve tried tweaking the lumbar support, various combinations of distance between seat and steering wheel/pedals, height adjustments; everything I can think of. I’m simply not happy with it.
I’ve never experienced this before in my 15 years of road testing vehicles, because other cars have an obvious reason for this sort of discomfort, such as offset pedals (a characteristic of many French products), but I can’t work it out in the KGM, instead having to conclude it’s the seats themselves.
And on that note, the ride quality isn’t the best either. The damping between body and chassis isn’t as supple as other pickups, and this results in vibrations through the cabin when you hit even the most minor of bumps in the road. At several points while towing I’ve thought I’ve got a problem with the trailer, such is the unsettling shaking on some of our poorer road surfaces.
Still good positives
But it’s not all bad news. Other aspects of the Musso Saracen’s spec make me smile. For example, it plays a happy little tune when you switch it on or off, which manages to be endearing but also a useful cue to help you remember you’ve hit the keyless ignition.
I’ve been glad it’s got four-wheel drive fitted too: on more slippery surfaces the Musso struggles for traction in its normal rear-wheel drive configuration, causing the traction control to kick in and stunting progress. I think this is a tyre issue rather than a vehicle one, the Maxxis rubber seemingly not up to the task of tackling frosty mornings, so if you’re considering this vehicle then consider some more premium rubber at the same time.
The same problem highlights the drawbacks of the older technology used in the gearbox, too. It’s a torque-convertor design, which feels slow and dim-witted compared with more modern twin-clutch or automated manual transmissions. When the Musso spins its wheels, the traction control kicks in before releasing, and the gearbox thinks you’ve suddenly hit the accelerator pedal. This causes it to ‘kick down’ and hold in a lower gear, revving the engine far more than you otherwise would. It’s a clunky experience.
Switching the four-wheel drive on cures this because there’s simply more traction before intervention is required. It’s just that you shouldn’t run in this mode for extended periods on the road because you’ll quickly start to wear out some of the transmission components, so you’ll end up switching it on and off as you traverse areas of different grip levels.
Update 4: Continued comfort considerations
The KGM Musso and I have been better friends recently. I’ve been really impressed by how fuel economy has improved, with an empty truck now capable of 35 miles per gallon of diesel. Not bad for a big vehicle…
However, there’s a caveat here: I’ve also noticed that the Musso isn’t set up to be empty. I’ve complained before about the suspension’s choppy ride, but the recent revelation is that it’s miles better when loaded with kit.
A trip to Donington Park highlighted this perfectly. I’d loaded my entire race kit into the load bed (impressive in its own right given there’s no canopy cover – I’ve got a lot of stuff!) and immediately noticed the ride settle down. Add in four adults and hitch a trailer on the back towing 1.5 tonnes, and you actually experience KGM comfort at its best.
It’s with this in mind that we highlight a compromise with the Musso’s configuration. In order to do the things it can do – towing 3.5 tonnes braked, off-roading, and carrying heavy loads (of up to a tonne) – it needs to be very firmly sprung. This means its unloaded manners aren’t the best, but a bit of weight sorts things right out.
In my experience the absolute worst scenario is an empty truck towing an empty trailer. This causes vibrations at some speeds that are worryingly violent, and at one point having delivered my race car somewhere near Silverstone I had to pull over and check that I didn’t have a puncture. It’s that bad.
Another irritation is the fuel filler, or more accurately, the lack of internal drain. It’s all too easy to dribble a bit of diesel, or indeed AdBlue (as I found out last week it needed refilling after 4,000 miles), and because there’s no drain, it dribbles down the side of the truck. This is purely aesthetically displeasing but it’s funny how now I’ve noticed, almost every Musso I see has the tell-tale mark under the filler.
But anyway, the hotter weather has made me thankful I’m driving such a highly specified machine. Features like ventilated front seats sound like a luxury, but when the mercury is nudging 25+ degrees centigrade, all of a sudden you’re seriously thankful.
I’m told that the back seats aren’t that great, however: my dad complained after a day driving to Donington and back that he had a few aches and pains.
Ace the Golden Retriever doesn’t seem to mind, though. He’s perfectly happy sitting back there, and loves the fact that he can see out of either side and the front, while remaining safely tethered in place.
In slightly more annoying news, I’ve managed to inflict some damage (above) on the Musso recently, and I’ve got absolutely no idea how or when this occurred. The reflector on the rear bumper appears to have taken a major stone chip, but given I’m not much of a fan of driving around at speed in reverse, and the Musso has rear parking sensors, I’m at a loss as to what’s happened here. I’ve certainly not noticed anything obvious. Maybe somebody knocked their trolley into it in a car park? I suppose I’ll never find out, which makes it all the more irritating.
Since it doesn’t affect the way it drives, I’m going to wait until I have another reason to visit a dealership in order to address it.
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