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You know if you want to buy a pickup truck in Nepal you are spoiled for choices. You can start from Tata Xenon or a Mahindra Scorpio Pickup and go all the way up to the Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger Raptor... or even higher towards the Jeep Gladiator.
Nepalese people absolutely love their pick-ups, and why wouldn't they? They are tough, rugged, and powerful workhorses that can go anywhere and do just about anything. And on top of that, the new-age pickup trucks have shed their labor-oriented skin to enter the modern era. These new trucks now look super swanky. Stylish on the outside and fitted with all the creature comforts on the inside, the new age pick-ups are able to do all the dirty work they're renowned for while keeping you safe, cozy and comfortable.
One new entry to the pickup market is the SsangYong Musso Grand. Which, fun fact, is the only Korean pick-up truck we have in the market. Today, we drive it and see if this Korean pick-up truck has what it takes to pose a threat to the Japanese and American market leaders, the inexpensive Indian workhorses, and also the quickly rising Chinese rookies.
Exterior
The SsangYong Musso Grand, as the name suggests, looks grand. Pickups look large, that’s a given, but this one looks larger. Dimensionally, the Musso Grand comes in at 5405mm long, 1950mm wide, and, 1855 mm tall with a 3210 mm wheelbase. In terms of sheer footprint, it closely ties with the Ford Ranger Raptor, second only to the Jeep Gladiator.
The front of the Musso Grand has been heavily revised, compared to the previous model. The Musso Grand forgoes unnecessary drama and straight up gets a massive front grille that looks quite imposing. The grille is comprised of thick horizontal bars that add further heft to the fascia. Rather than a sharp cut, the front of the Musso Grand is tapered towards the nose that hides its weight and should deal better with moving air. You get chunky HID headlamps up front and complementing those are a set of quad-LED fog lamps under each unit. The no-nonsense front is then rounded off with a large air dam at the bottom.
Where you truly begin to comprehend the sheer size of the Musso Grand is when you look at its profile. The Musso Grand is longer than most trucks on the market, and the extra length here is credited to a long bed. The cargo bed of the Musso Grand is almost the size of the bed you get on a single cab truck. Thanks to this, the Musso Grand looks more utilitarian than its rivals. The profile gets strong shoulder lines, functional roof rails and large windows. The Musso Grand sits on decently sized 235/70 rubber with handsome-looking 17-inch alloy wheels. The same decency continues to the rear.
The Musso Grand gets a well-designed rear with a simple rear combination lamp and tailgate. The Musso Grand drives home its utilitarian purpose by keeping the design non-dramatic.
Interiors and Features
With an all-black interior, the Musso Grand definitely doesn’t feel utilitarian here, it is plush and comfortable. Let's start with the seats; they come with loads of adjustment and the cushioning is just right. Finding a perfect driving spot and getting comfortable on long drives shouldn't be an issue. The rear bench seats 3 passengers with ease and is just as comfortable. The large windshield and large windows do an excellent job of letting the light in, thus, making the cabin feel spacious.
The quality of materials is also decent. There's soft-touch finishing on the top half of the dashboard, the door pads and the armrests. The mid-tier of the dash gets a faux carbon fiber trim and lots of perforated black faux leather treatment as well. Apart from that, there's a dark grey accent around the AC vents and chrome garnish dotted here and there.
Overall, the interior of the Musso Grand successfully manages to give that plush vibe associated with all modern pickup trucks. Infotainment on the Musso Grand is a bit of a letdown, to an otherwise satisfactory offering. You get a touchscreen unit that is bright and vivid, however, operationally it was problematic. It also felt extremely basic to use.
Coming to the storage spaces inside the cabin, you get large bottle holders in each door, two cup holders, one large glovebox and an adequately sized storage bin right under the front armrest. If all of that isn't enough, you have a large cargo bed that is relatively flat. With the rear wheel arches grooving up just a little, this cargo bed is the most practical for hauling things around.
Performance
Speaking of hauling, let's talk about the engine. The Musso Grand is powered by a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission that makes 178 hp and 400 Nm of torque. The Musso Grand lumbers around and gains speed in a leisurely manner. Maneuvering the Musso Grand around the city is difficult because of its size. Nevertheless, you will get a hang of it soon enough and navigating even moderately heavy traffic should not be too problematic.
Parking, on the other hand, is a nightmare. The reverse camera on our test drive unit is worse than what we've seen on a sub 30 lakh car. It’s poor in resolution, dim, glitches and freezes frequently. In this day and age where cars have basically become gadgets on wheels, this felt like too big of a compromise.
The upside, however, is Musso Grand's refinement. The diesel engine is already silent to start with, and the cabin is so well insulated that it almost feels electric while on the road. Highway driving is another plus. The Musso Grand picks up speed with ease and sits with command and heft on the road.
Another plus point for the Musso Grand is the suspension. It comes with double wishbones and five-link coil springs which translates to a cushy and plush ride. The bumps are handled with ease and rear passengers aren't thrown about inside the cabin when you hit uneven roads. Braking duties are taken care of by discs on all four wheels.
As you might have expected, the Musso Grand also comes with a 4WD system with a low range. Additionally, the large tyres and a 225mm ground clearance means that you should be just fine while hitting any off-road trails.
Verdict
The SsangYong Musso Grand finds itself in a skirmish between segment leaders, rising upstarts, and entry-level alternatives. It carries a price tag of Rs. 85 lakh where, if you add more money, you can get one of the segment leaders or pay less to get one of the rising upstarts. This is why the Ssangyong Musso Grand really needs to hold its own if it wants to make a name for itself. Luckily, on several fronts, it does exactly that.
It’s a great pick-up truck with excellent levels of refinement. It drives confidently and keeps the occupants comfortable regardless of the road conditions. We recommend you take the SsangYong Musso Grand out for a spin before you make your pickup truck purchase. We think you'd be delighted.
