2021 SsangYong Musso facelift leaked

The SsangYong Musso is getting a tougher, more truck-like look.

While an updated version of the related SsangYong Rexton SUV has been leaked wearing a Lincoln-esque front end dripping in chrome, the updated Musso wears a bluffer face.

As these photos shared on Autospy.net reveal, the grille has grown to almost Lexus proportions and is dominated by four chunky horizontal slats.

It’s flanked by vertical daytime running lights.

Above the grille sits a badge reading Khan, the name used in Korea in place of XLV for the long-wheelbase Musso.

In Korea, the Musso is known as the Rexton Sports, following SsangYong tradition in affixing the Sports suffix to the ute version of an SUV.

For example, the Musso’s predecessors were known as the Actyon Sports and Musso Sports.

Here, the Musso and Musso XLV names are used, the latter denoting the longer wheelbase version that’s available with a leaf-sprung rear end.

The Musso is unusual in the Australian ute market in offering a multi-link rear suspension. This decreases payload but is intended to give the SsangYong a more comfortable ride.

The GWM Ute offers a multi-link rear suspension in its home market of China but it’s only available with leaf springs here, much like the rest of the segment.

Last year, SsangYong sold 1084 Musso utes. That put it above 4×4 utes such as the even cheaper Great Wall Steed 4×4 (565) and much pricier Jeep Gladiator (573).

The Musso fell short of the LDV T60, of which 5581 units were sold. The T60 has come to dominate this more price-conscious part of the 4×4 ute market, with its sales approaching established rivals like the Mazda BT-50 and Volkswagen Amarok.

Introduced late in 2018 with the XLV following the next year, the combined Musso range was, along with the T60, one of the few 4×4 ute ranges to grow its sales in 2020 over the prior year.

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