The KGM Musso has a tough fight as the herd of cut-price Chinese utes continues to grow in Australia, but the upcoming new-generation dual-cab is set to give it some major ammunition.
KGM has confirmed the new Musso is expected to arrive Down Under in October 2026. Pricing and specifications have yet to be announced.
However, the Korean brand’s new-generation ute has appeared in Australian Government certification filings, revealing it’ll receive no extra power despite a fresh exterior.
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Per the approval documents, KGM will continue to offer two different body lengths. The short-wheelbase Musso will be offered in Advance and Ultimate trims, while the long-wheelbase Musso will be available in base, ELX, Advance and Ultimate grades.
As before, the Musso will be offered here exclusively with diesel power and an automatic transmission.
The new-generation ute is again powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, mated with a six-speed automatic transmission and part-time four-wheel drive.
While the Korean-market Musso is listed as producing 149kW of power and 441Nm of torque, the Australian approval documents list peak power at 133kW – the same as the outgoing model.
No torque figure is listed, though the current Australian-market Musso produces between 400Nm and 420Nm of torque, depending on the variant.
According to the government approval documents, braked towing capacity will remain 3500kg, while payload figures will range from 903kg for SWB variants to 1123kg for LWB versions. There’s a choice of 17-, 18- or 20-inch wheels.
Given the Korean-market Musso continues to offer a choice of leaf-spring or five-link coil-spring rear suspension – the former better suited to load-hauling, the latter more focused on comfort – we expect the Australian-market model to do the same.
But it seems Australia will miss out on the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine offered in Korea, along with rear-wheel drive and manual options – all of which lack the 3500kg braked towing capacity which has become an expectation in this segment in Australia.
The new Musso measures 5150mm long, 1950mm wide and 1840mm tall on a 3100mm wheelbase in SWB guise, growing to 5460mm long on a 3210mm wheelbase in LWB guise.
The new-generation ute uses an upgraded version of the existing model’s platform, and appears to share its doors and cabin structure. However, KGM has made it look fresh with tougher, chunkier styling both front and rear.
There are chunky black plastic wheel-arches, while down back there’s a step integrated into the rear bumper à la the Ford Ranger.
The interior hasn’t changed anywhere near as dramatically as the exterior, though the Musso finally enters the 21st century with a lap/sash centre rear seatbelt.
Safety features include front, front-side and curtain airbags, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot assist, driver monitoring, lane-keep assist, lane-centring, rear cross-traffic assist, safe exit warning, and a surround-view camera with a transparent chassis view.
There are dual 12.3-inch screens inside, while available luxury features include a sunroof, ambient lighting, heated and ventilated front seats, and heated outboard rear seats.
Musso sales have declined so far this year in Australia, and at a greater rate than the wider ute segment.
KGM Australia has delivered 615 examples to the end of May, down 30.3 per cent on the same period last year despite the introduction of the unrelated, unibody Musso EV. Sales of all-wheel drive examples of this model are bundled into monthly VFACTS reports alongside the diesel-powered Musso range.
The existing Musso is managing to keep ahead of recently launched Chinese rivals like the Foton Tunland (532), JAC T9 (402), and LDV Terron 9 (531), but has fallen behind the MG U9 (796) and the only other diesel-powered Korean ute available in Australia, the Kia Tasman (2094).
