KGM Musso: Value-packed ute offers more than just low pricing

Australians’ love affair with utes means there are now over 20 to choose from in this market. While many stick with the big sellers such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, there are now more options in the sub-$60,000 segment if you’re on a tighter budget. The KGM Musso, which starts at under $40,000 drive away, is one of those to consider…

Formerly under the now-retired SsangYong name, the KGM Musso recently the best under $50K category of the Wheels Best Dual-Cab Ute awards for 2025. Is there more to the Musso than just its excellent value for money?

Price and equipment:

KGM Australia is offering the Musso in three specifications: entry-level ELX, mid-spec Adventure and top-spec Ultimate, with each also available as an XLV that adds extra length for $1500 more. We tested the top-spec Ultimate XLV for this review, which is priced at $43,500 drive away, or $41,500 for ABN holders.

2025 KGM Musso pricing (drive away):

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KGM Musso Ultimate standard equipment:

• 18-inch alloy wheels with a full-size spare
• Dusk-sensing HID headlights with front and rear daytime running lights (DRL)
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Assisted tailgate
• Heated and auto-folding mirrors
• Heated leather steering wheel
• Keyless entry with push button start
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Manual air-conditioning
• 12.3-inch digital driver’s display
• 12.3-inch touchscreen
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Six-speaker sound system
• 2x USB-C ports
• Cruise control
• Eco, sport and winter driving modes

Musso Ultimate safety features:

• 6x airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with forward collision warning
• Lane departure warning
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert
• Safe exit warning
• Driver attention monitoring
• Lane change collision warning
• Auto high beam
• Front and rear parking sensors
• 360-degree camera
• Tyre pressure monitoring

The KGM Musso is yet to be crash tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP and is therefore unrated for safety.

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Musso Ultimate options:

• XLV package with extra length and 20Nm more torque: $1500
• Luxury Package with dual-zone automatic climate control, sunroof, leather upholstery, an electric driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment and heated rear outboard seats: $3000
• Metallic paint: $700

Interior, practicality and tray

The interior of the Musso is attractive and well finished with quality that’s above a lot of its competition. While there aren’t soft touch materials everywhere, it still has a soft touch dashboard lower trim, and it’s screwed together quite well. It feels more like an SUV than a ute, though it could feature more storage.

Centre of the cabin is a new 12.3-inch touchscreen with features such as wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and AM/FM radio. It’s a very easy system to use and screen is also high resolution for the segment but it would be good to see features such as DAB+ digital radio, satellite navigation and wireless smartphone mirroring added.

The digital driver’s display also measures 12.3-inches and looks good, though is also limited for functionality with just a few menu layouts to choose from and no map integration.

The Musso is not a small vehicle but it is easy to see out of thanks to big windows and large mirrors, and its front seats are quite comfortable. The synthetic leather trim on our Ultimate test car is comfortable and hard-wearing, while it even features heated and ventilated front seats – plus, choosing the optional Luxury Package adds electric adjustment for the driver and real leather trim.

The rear of the Musso XLV is spacious and two tall adults will be quite comfortable thanks to ample seat bolstering, a central armrest with cup holders, map and door pockets and air vents. The optional Luxury Package even adds heated outboard seats, though still no rear USB ports for device charging. Three top-tether points and two ISOFIX points also feature for child seats. Unfortunately, all Musso models still use a lap sash rear centre belt.

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The Musso’s tray is generous and also has four tie down points. But if you need more space, the XLV adds a 300mm longer tub for an extra 251 litres of capacity (1600mm long and 1262L in total), as well as a 110mm-longer wheelbase for extra interior space. The whole Musso range also features an assisted tailgate to make it easier to operate, and it feels quite light as a result, and a full-size spare wheel lives underneath.

Performance and fuel efficiency

The KGM Musso range uses a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that’s mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and a part-time four-wheel drive system with high and low range. It makes 133kW of power and 400Nm of torque, with the XLV adding 20Nm more torque to account for its extra weight.

KGM claims combined fuel consumption of 8.6L/100km (9.0L/100km for XLV) and CO2 emissions of 226g/km (XLV: 236g/km). All Mussos feature a 75-litre fuel tank and in our testing, we beat KGM’s claim with an impressive 8.5L/100km result.

On the road

Based on the same body-on-frame platform as the seven-seat Rexton SUV, the Musso drives well for the ute segment. While it’s not as dynamic as the Ford Ranger, it’s still comfortable and pleasant to drive, in part due to a coil spring rear suspension set-up, which is still quite rare in the ute segment. The ride quality can be a touch sharp at times, but it’s still comfortable.

While the engine’s outputs could be beefed up to match the Rexton (148kW/441Nm versus 133kW/420Nm in the Musso XLV), the Musso’s secret weapon is just how quiet it is. The sound deadening used is fantastic and only under full acceleration is the engine really heard – it is far quieter than rivals like the Triton, BT-50 and D-Max.

The six-speed automatic is not the fastest-shifting transmission on the market, but it does its job well with no fuss, providing clean and intuitive shifting, though we’d like to see the eight-speed unit from the Rexton added to the Musso for closer gear ratios.

While we didn’t test the Musso for its off-road capability, we’ve seen quite positive reports of its driving experience off road. While it doesn’t feature off-road driving modes like some other utes, hill descent control and high- and low-range gearing is standard, as is an auto-locking rear differential.

The safety systems used in the Musso Ultimate are effective, especially the lane departure warning, auto high beam and high-resolution 360-degree camera. However, we’d like to see features such as lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control added to the Musso’s feature list like in South Korea, as well as a proper middle rear seatbelt.

Service and warranty

The KGM Musso is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance. Its service intervals are once-yearly/every 15,000km and a five-year/75,000km service cost is $2298 ($459 per service), though there are also “mandatory service items” that will add further cost (KGM doesn’t quote those on its website).

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Verdict: Should I buy a KGM Musso Ultimate XLV?

While it could be more powerful and offer more safety features such as adaptive cruise control and a proper rear middle seatbelt, the KGM Musso is definitely a product that you shouldn’t overlook. Its chief drawcard is its amazing value proposition – that you can get a top-spec dual cab 4×4 diesel automatic ute for comfortable under $50,000 drive away is amazing in 2025. Even with the XLV and Luxury Packages, the Musso is priced comfortably under equivalent models such as the Mitsubishi Triton GSR and Mazda BT-50 GT.

But unlike some rivals, the Musso is actually relatively refined and mostly pleasant to drive. Its cabin is good quality, its warranty is long, it’s quite practical and offers solid payload and towing capability. On the checklist for a well-rounded dual-cab ute, the KGM Musso ticks an awful lot of boxes and is well worth consideration if you’re in the hunt for one.

Musso Ultimate XLV rivals

GWM Cannon

LDV T60

JAC T9

Specs