In a market with big players, the SsangYong Musso will pickup a lot of admirers

A FEW years ago I was visiting the town where I grew up, when I bumped into a girl I went to school with.

She looked amazing.

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Nothing unusual about that. But what took me aback was how much she had changed.

Last time I’d seen her, her head was crowned by a frenzy of pink hair.

Her face was streaked in black make-up, and she had the uninviting edge of someone who had not been hugged by her folks.

But there she was, looking like she’d come straight from a Victoria’s Secret audition.

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The ugly duckling phenomenon even extends to cars. Remember when Kia and Hyundai were a joke?

Now they are headed by Peter Schreyer, the designer of the Audi TT, and Albert Biermann, arguably the world’s best performance engineer.

I’m putting a marker down here — in ten years’ time SsangYong will be considered a good car brand.

And after attending the launch of its new pickup — the Musso — it’s clear the Korean brand is heading in the right direction.

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Traditionally, a SsangYong review would have some strands of faint praise, a few lines about how build quality isn’t up to scratch, and a lukewarm conclusion along the lines of “at least it’s cheap”.

But in a market where most of the big players offer a pickup, the Musso more than holds its head up.

It has class-leading space in the back of the five-seat cab, and is the only pickup offering a heated steering wheel.

It boasts the deepest load bed in the class, which can swallow just over a tonne, and it can tow 3.5 tonnes.

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And apart from the Nissan Navara, the Musso is the only pickup to have coiled springs on the rear.

The 179bhp 2.2 litre diesel engine — the only one on offer — is no-nonsense and pleasingly torquey. Granted, it’s not got the wallop of the VW Amarok’s V6, but that sucker starts at £30K.

Over rough ground it’s as handy as a mountain goat, with Hill Descent Control, low and high gearing locks, and selectable AWD. But do pay the extra £1,500 for the auto ’box — you’ll thank me for it.

The interior is streets ahead of the last model, with a 9.2 inch colour screen, DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and oodles of safety tech.

The Musso isn’t perfect. Compared to things like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, steering feels flabby.

And the rear springs I mentioned can get chattery over bumpy ground — although SsangYong says they will probably be softened in the fullness of time.

But — and this has to be the biggest sell of all — not only does is start at a knock down price of £19,995, but SsangYong is giving the Musso a seven-year warranty.

SsangYong has plenty of new product coming through in the next few years, and if it’s all as good as the Musso, this time in ten years the ugly duckling will be a swan.

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Sporty Jag is so XE

JAGUAR won’t mind me writing this, but the old X-Type was a bit of a lemon.

Thankfully, Jag’s most recent owners (Indian giant Tata) agreed, which is why it backed the decision to take its time on the new XE — a rival to the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4.

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The result in 2015 was a completely overhauled premium saloon, boasting a space-age aluminium chassis, Jag’s latest interior tech, a new line of engines and some seriously sharp styling.

It proved an instant hit, but the mid-sized Jag lacked a six-cylinder engine option to rival the V6 bruisers offered by Audi and BMW.

So it pinched the supercharged unit from the F-Type and the rest, as they say, is history.

But there’s bad news — even though the utterly entertaining XE S has only just arrived, it will soon disappear.

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The vocal 3.0-litre V6 that produces an impressive 380hp and 450Nm of torque will be phased out at the end of this year and replaced by a 300hp version of the 2.0-litre, twin-turbocharged unit from Jag’s Ingenium range.

That means it’s time to say goodbye to a 0-62mph sprint of under five seconds and the brilliant way this model flits between all-out brawler and relaxing cruiser.

Granted, it’s no BMW M3 rival, but the XE S feels like it straddles the worlds of comfort and performance like little else on offer in the market.

The eight-speed automatic transmission is snappy and the thin metal paddles located behind the steering wheel feel great in the hand.

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Steering isn’t razor sharp but it’s not devoid of any feel either, while the chassis and suspension set-up feel perfectly suited to some back-road hooligan antics, particularly when flicked into ‘Dynamic’ mode.

It looks great too, with enormous, intricate alloy wheels filling the arches, and a more aggressive body kit complimenting the swooping lines and taut silhouette of the standard XE.

My time with the Jaguar XE S was short but sweet and it turns out there are some pretty tempting used bargains to be snapped up.

Get looking and bag yourself some good old fashioned Jag power.

Leon Poultney

Reader's car of the week

THE Bentley Continental is arguably the best car the boys in Crewe currently make, and this one sent in by Dave Firmin, from Shrewsbury, is extra special.

The Onyx kit certainly makes it stand out from the crowd.

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Dave says: “This is my 2017 Bentley Continental Onyx GTX 700. Over my lifetime I’ve owned 44 cars, but this one is definitely top.”

If you want to see your pride and joy here send me a picture and brief description to [email protected]

Bikes are a Mutt-have

THERE’S a trend among custom builders to turn low powered Japanese bikes from the 70s and 80s into something that looks as British as a bulldog riding a BSA.

Reliability, simple design and easy access to parts make them an obvious choice for anyone looking to knock together their own café racer or scrambler.

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Now Mutt motorcycles has taken the demand for the retro-cool custom look to a more logical place.

Instead of hunting around eBay for beat up old bangers, they buy brand new made-in-China Suzuki GN 125 and GN 250s and ship them to their workshop in Birmingham.

There, Mutt engineers take the basic shell and add all of the important parts – tyres, brakes, bespoke seat, hand-painted tank, lights, Renthal bars and spoked wheels.

They also make them Euro 4 compliant and add a digital gear indicator – useful for new riders.

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I’ve never had so many “nice bike” shout-outs while reviewing a bike. Little wonder then that Mutt have sold their little thumpers to everyone, including Professor Green.

And while learning to ride for the movie Venom, Tom Hardy had Mutt build a custom all black 125cc, which later became their popular Fat Sabbath model.

I tested out the RS-13 125cc. Despite only housing an air-cooled single cylinder, the frame has the look of a much bigger bike.

Boasting narrower handlebars for an upright riding position, it’s perfect for nipping through city traffic.

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The deep tread tyres are a bit bonkers for on-road riding, but they help with the overall big-bike look that you won't find anywhere else.

The exhaust growls with a ridiculously satisfying low tone despite the engine size and the lightweight frame made it easy to throw around while squeezing past cars at the lights.

While no learner (besides Tom Hardy) has any right to look this cool, the RS-13 would make for the ultimate first bike.

And despite its good looks, it’d still be less of a target for thieves than a moped.

For experienced riders the RS-13 is a great option for a city commute and shorter trips.

When it comes to low powered bikes whose bark is bigger than their bite, Mutt is top dog.

The RS-13 is from £3,495 OTR.

See .

Jacob Lewis