SsangYong Musso 2019: Details of Oz-bound ute revealed

The international specification details of SsangYong’s Australia-bound Musso pickup have been revealed - including a mammoth seven-year warranty in the UK.

SsangYong will return to the Australian market toward the end of 2018, with the Musso forming the first wave of a three-strong product offensive. And the details just revealed in the UK paint a fairly rosy picture of the Australia-bound pickup.

Sharing the same body-on-frame architecture as the brand’s Rexton SUV, the Musso’s basic numbers all appear to stack up, with a 1000kg payload and a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity. The Musso’s tray is 1300mm long and 1570mm wide and 570mm deep - enough, then, to hold a standard Aussie pallet (1165mm by 1165mm).

But the number that could really set the Musso apart is actually much, much smaller.

It’s the number seven. As in, the Musso is being offered in the UK with a seven-year, 150,000-mile warranty. If that same ownership package was to be offered in Australia, it would far exceed the five-year warranty offered by brands like Ford and Holden (though those arrive with unlimited-kilometre coverage), and positively dwarf the three-year package offered by Toyota.

The Musso is powered by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel good for 133kW at 4000rpm and 400Nm at 1400rpm, paired with a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox and sent to all four wheels via a standard part-time 4WD system. That’s less power than the V6-powered VW Amarok and Mercedes X-Class, of course, but they’re healthy numbers nonetheless.

In the UK, the five-seat, crew-cab Musso is offered in three regular trim levels (Ex, Rebel and Saracen), as well as a limited-run launch edition called Rhino. Regardless of spend, SsangYong is promising six airbags, alloy wheels and (on all but the cheapest cars) an 8.0- or 9.2-inch screen that’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-equipped. Cruise control, central locking and and air-con also appear on the standard features list, while top-spec models add Nappa leather seats, a heated steering wheel, and heated and cooled front seats.

Specification and price details are yet to be confirmed for Australia. In fact, SsangYong has revealed little outside of a plan to launch later this year. So, as always, watch this space.

Would a seven-year warranty get you into a SsangYong? Tell us in the comments below.