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…
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