SsangYong upgrades Rexton and Musso

SSANGYONG, now known as KG Mobility (KGM) in other markets, has repriced, respecified, updated and reconfigured its Musso one-tonne ute and Rexton large SUV line-ups, with price rises of up to $2910 and $3010 respectively plus the addition of new mid-tier Adventure trim levels.

Both models arrive in dealerships this month with drive-away pricing and, along with revised dashboards housing bigger touchscreens, feature chassis tweaks aimed at addressing ride quality issues that have been one of very few flies in the ointment of these otherwise critically acclaimed vehicles.

Rexton seven-seat large SUVs are available in ELX, Adventure and Ultimate grades, respectively priced from $50,000 (up $2010), $54,000 (new) and $58,000 (up $3010) drive-away.

The revised Ultimate is also $1415 costlier than the outgoing Rexton Black Edition flagship, with its cosmetic features now wrapped into a Sport Pack option priced at $2000.

Following the same ELX, Adventure and Ultimate range structure as the Rexton, the Musso utes are priced from $40,000 (up $2210), $42,500 (new) and $45,000 (up $2910) drive-away respectively.

The Musso remains available in long-wheelbase XLV guise for an extra $1500 across all three variants which brings a longer load bed, longer wheelbase and increase in torque and there is also a $3000 Luxury Pack available.

Rexton competitors include the LDV D90 diesel AWD from $52,095 drive-away, the Mahindra Scorpio from $44,990 drive-away, the Mitsubishi Pajero GLX Sport from $49,990 plus on-road costs, and even the Toyota Fortuner GX from $53,775 + ORC.

Musso competitors include the LDV T60 Max Pro from $41,042 drive-away, the GWM Cannon from $43,490 drive-away and the Mitsubishi Triton dual-cab GLX from $44,690 + ORC.

The Rexton and Musso are the only South Korean-made models among these vehicles, with the others coming out of China, India and Thailand.

For MY24, the Rexton has a new dash layout and high-mounted 12.3-inch touchscreen media unit with connectivity via two USB-C ports located in the centre console.

A dual-zone climate control hub across the range is restyled with full touchscreen design.

The mid-level Adventure model is SsangYong’s response to requests from dealers and customers who wanted access to features such as a power tailgate, heated steering wheel, speed-sensitive power steering and tyre pressure monitoring without going for the full-fruit Ultimate.

NVH levels are said to be reduced across the ladder chassis Rexton range through the adoption of new lower body mounts that give a “more rounded” feel from secondary ride inputs.

A new colour is added to the palette including Graphite that joins six other body colours: Grand White, Pearl White, Atlantic Blue, Marble Grey, Graphite, and Space Black.

Upholstery is a premium woven fabric (ELX), leather look (Adventure), or premium leather (Ultimate).

No changes have been made to the powertrain that remains a 149kW/441Nm 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and eight-speed automatic transmission with and paddle shifters.

The current model’s range-wide and extensive ADAS suite remains, as does the selectable four-wheel-drive system with 4H and 4L along with an automatic locking rear differential.

All Rextons retain their 3500kg braked towing capacity and roll on 18-inch alloys unless the Sport Pack is specified.

Standard kit in the base ELX includes: 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch touchscreen audio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leather steering wheel with height and reach adjustment, dual-zone climate control, front auto up/down power windows, electric park brake, LED dusk-sensing headlights, daytime running lights, front fog lights and rear combination lights, heated and power adjustable door mirrors in body colour and with LED indicators, reverse camera and front and rear parking sensors.

The Rexton Adventure adds power tailgate, leather-look seats with power adjustment, heated front- and second-row outer seats, ventilated front seats, speed-sensitive power steering, heated steering wheel, tyre pressure monitoring system, walk-up welcome system and touch-sensing front door locks with walk-away auto-door locking.

Flagship Rexton Ultimates add a powered sunroof, premium quilted leather seats, 360° camera, third-row AC controls, rear auto up/down power windows, ambient interior lighting, illuminated front door scuff plates and privacy glass.

The Sport Pack includes shadow treatment to select body hardware, 20-inch alloys and black roof rails.

Moving to the dual cab 4x4 Musso ute we find similar upgrades as the Rexton as they are essentially the same under the skin apart from engine output which is turned down to 133kW and 400Nm in Musso (420Nm Musso XLV long bed) and six-speed auto instead of eight. The manual transmission has been dropped.

The Musso's interior is revised along similar lines to the Rexton with detail differences.

SsangYong says the model brings even greater value to the Australian market and retains its signature quiet and smooth SUV-like ride thanks in part to the coil spring suspension.

Mirroring the Rexton, mid-spec Adventure model joins the line up sitting above ELX offering several premium features usually seen in higher-spec models.

The Adventure also ushers in an “imposing” front design further enhanced with four-fold LED fog lights positioned vertically in the lower bumper edges. All Musso models now feature a soft opening and easy close tailgate.

SsangYong says Musso’s ride comfort has been improved with increased isolation from sharp road inputs thanks in part to the new lower chassis mounts as fitted to the new Rexton.

Musso Ultimate and Luxury Pack variants bring touch-sensing front door locks with a walk-up welcome system that also unfolds the exterior mirrors and illuminates puddle lamps on driver approach. The reverse happens as the driver walks away.

A new green body colour becomes available joining the existing six colours: Grand White, Pearl White, Amazonian Green, Marble Grey, Space Black, and Indian Red.

Other equipment details are like the Rexton across the three Musso models except for 17-inch alloy wheels on the base model, 18-inch from there up. The coil spring equipped Musso has a payload of 790kg increasing to 1010kg with XLV pack’s rear leaf springs.

The Musso Ultimate with Luxury Pack adds dual-zone automatic climate control, powered sunroof, premium leather seats, powered front seats, powered drivers lumbar support, heated rear outer seats.

SsangYong Australia told GoAuto that it will continue to operate under the SsangYong brand locally for the foreseeable future with no plans to rebrand at this stage.

2024 SsangYong Musso pricing*:

2024 SsangYong Rexton pricing*:

*National drive-away price.