SsangYong to offer off-road extras

With the paint barely dry on its first batch of models in Australia, the South Korean maker says it has almost finished homologating lift kits and other accessories for its two headline four-wheel-drive models.

The Musso arrives as the only South Korean dual-cab ute on the market in Australia, beating established and successful compatriots Kia and Hyundai to the booming segment.

Both the Rexton and Musso offer off-road performance in the form of a low range transfer case and automatic E-lock rear differential, similar to the setup found in the Land Rover Discovery. The short-wheelbase Musso on sale now already offers one of the greatest departure angles in the segment at 23 degrees.

But increasing off-road prowess further, SsangYong says it will introduce a range of accessories in the coming months.

Speaking with Drive at the brand’s Australian resurrection – in the market for the first time as a factory-backed operation – SsangYong Australia managing director Tim Smith said that the full range of gear will be available from dealerships as early as February 2019. But he dismissed the car as being a true ‘pumped-up ute’ unless it had the engine to go with it.

“It’s probably not on our cars to do a pumped-up ute locally or push for anything just yet, because deploying a short- and long-wheelbase ute is enough.

“In saying that, we are always open to looking at stuff that will enhance the product and the brand. While nothing is on the radar things can change pretty quickly, but there’s no 3.2-litre V6 diesel engines available - it’s just the engine we’ve got [for now].

That engine is a 2.2-litre turbo diesel producing 133kW and 400Nm. A 3.2-litre petrol V6 and 2.9-litre five-cylinder diesel were available in the previous generation Musso, built under license from Mercedes-Benz.

But even without an increase in performance, Smith confirmed that a range of accessories will be available soon.

“In saying that we’ve got a comprehensive suite of accessories we are working on - there will be lift kits, a whole bunch of aftermarket and accessories that you know we can enhance a more serious four-by-four.

Smith added that the accessories will be dealer fit and covered by its seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

“Yes [it will be dealer fit]. There will be accessories, all homologated, so yeah, we’re working on a bunch of stuff.

“We’ve got over a dozen items for Musso and Rexton, the first of which is available immediately is the tow bar. Then the rest will be released between January and February and a little bit of March and another dozen or so items.”