Ssangyong Musso 4WD.

The Musso four wheel drive is made by Ssangyong, a large South Korean conglomerate. Musso 4WD's are being sold through Mercedes Benz and the first examples reached Australian dealers in August 1996 although it has been in production for other markets since 1993. Ssangyong and Mercedes forged close ties in 1991.

Pictured is a petrol, automatic model. The interior has the look and feel of an upmarket car with a dash of wood-grain here and there. Leather trim is an option. Power windows, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, central locking and split-fold rear seat are fitted. Two inward facing seats can be installed in the rear.

Motive power comes from a choice of Mercedes Benz engines - a 6 cylinder petrol, as found in the E320 E-class sedan, or a 5 cylinder diesel. The petrol motor puts out a healthy 161kW but the diesel a leisurely 70kW; now if it had a turbo.... Five speed manual and four speed automatic gearboxes are offered. Petrol models come with full-time four wheel drive, the centre diff' giving a 35:65 torque split and incorporating a viscous coupling. The diesel uses a more traditional part-time four wheel drive system.

Front suspension (left) is independent by double wishbones and torsion bars. The front differential is mounted on the left and it is quite squeezy in there. The Musso does not have the overall ground clearance of more "serious" four wheel drives. Rear suspension (right) uses coil springs and links to control the live axle. The brake balance between front and rear is load sensitive, and the top diesel and all petrol models feature ABS. The fuel tank is located in the safer position, ahead of the rear axle.

The Musso is not a pretty car. The base vehicle, interestingly a diesel, comes in at a touch over $40K - just where there is a lot of competition from Jackaroo, Cherokee, Discovery, Pajero and Prado. The top models are well equipped. It seems more like a 4WD for town than for the rough stuff but three Mussos were among the 121 vehicles to complete the 1995/1996 Granada - Dakar Rally: a petrol (V8) placing 8th overall, a diesel winning its class, and a production specification 3.2L model coming in 66th overall. The latter result is the most relevant to the average buyer.

• Specifications
• Musso, Korando 4WD, Ssangyong and Mercedes Benz pages
• The competition: IGM Holden Jackaroo, Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota Prado