KGM Musso EV: A Rhinoceros, Not a Cheetah

KG Mobility arrived at the Musso EV after a long corporate reinvention. The company traces its roots to Ha Dong-Hwan Motor, founded in 1954. It became SsangYong in 1986, later moved through the spheres of influence of Daewoo, SAIC and Mahindra, entered court receivership in December 2020 and came under KG Group control in 2022. On 22 March 2023, the company confirmed its name change to KG Mobility, linking its next phase to electrification and new mobility technology.

The Musso EV followed a familiar path to market: concept first, domestic launch next, Europe after that. By spring 2024, KGM had revealed the vehicle's direction with the O100 concept. In February 2025, the company opened pre-orders in Korea, then officially launched the production version in early March. During the same year, the model began reaching its first European markets. In Germany, the Musso EV was described as an aggressively priced electric pickup.

In the lineup, the Musso EV sits clearly alongside the Torres EVX rather than beneath the classic diesel Musso. The Torres EVX uses a 73.4 kWh battery and a 152.2 kW electric motor. The Musso EV takes the same technical starting point, stretches the wheelbase to 3,150 mm, increases battery capacity to 80.6 kWh and, in European all-wheel-drive form, offers a range of 379 km. KGM did not build a new electric workhorse from scratch. Instead, it stretched its electric SUV platform to create a more car-like alternative.

That is why the Musso EV positions itself in Europe more as a lifestyle pickup. In 4WD specification, it is rated for up to 500 kg of payload and a 1.8-tonne braked trailer. The classic diesel Musso, by contrast, is rated to tow up to 3.5 tonnes and carry more than a tonne. The figures also vary significantly by market. In the UK, for example, KGM quotes up to 690 kg of payload and up to a 2.3-tonne trailer for the commercial vehicle version. That means the Musso EV should always be judged by the homologation for the specific market, not just by the model name.

For the brand, the Musso EV serves two roles at once. On one hand, it shows that KGM can create an electric product with a new identity and a distinct visual character after the SsangYong era. On the other, it targets a very specific European niche: buyers who want a pickup for its looks, higher seating position and practicality, but prefer the calmer road manners of a monocoque body to the stiffness of a ladder-frame chassis. The model name supports that image too. KGM itself translates Musso as rhinoceros, and it would be hard to find a more fitting metaphor for the truck's square, robust and deliberately demonstrative character.

At the front, the Musso EV closely follows the Torres EVX, but the profile becomes long and utilitarian thanks to the bed and the heavily extended platform. The headlights, bonnet and part of the glasshouse come from the Torres, so from the front it looks like an electric SUV, while from the side it becomes something more distinct.

The Torres EVX wheelbase of 2.68 metres grows to 3.15 metres in the Musso EV, while overall length stretches to 5.16 metres. This is a packaging decision above all, allowing KGM to retain a five-seat double cab and add a genuinely usable cargo bed. That is what lifts the Musso EV beyond a regular SUV and places it, at least in Europe, into a niche for buyers who want a pickup without traditional workhorse architecture.

The details underline the look: a sculpted bonnet, a distinctive LED daytime running light signature and a black grille give it an electric yet robust face. Equipment lists mention 17-inch wheels with 245/60 R17 tyres, black roof rails and full-LED lighting. Those relatively small wheels may seem unusual on a pickup at first glance, but on second look they feel oddly reassuring.

The bed's practicality is deliberately moderate but well thought through. It is 1,345 mm long, 1,515 mm wide and 510 mm deep. There are eight tie-down points and a wide tailgate opening. The tailgate can support up to 150 kg, while steps integrated into the rear bumper and behind the wheelarches make access easier in real use. It works well for hobby gear, tools and smaller loads, but it does not try to play the role of a full-size construction-site pickup.

The numbers also say something about its off-road ability. Ground clearance is 181 mm, while the approach and departure angles are 20.2 and 24.3 degrees respectively. Those figures suit gravel roads, slippery slipways and light off-road use, but they do not suggest a master of rocky trails or deep ruts.

Inside, the Musso EV makes a deliberate genre shift. While the exterior leans into pickup toughness, the cabin moves almost directly into Torres EVX territory. The front seats and cockpit are essentially carried over from the Torres, and the materials and finish feel more SUV than traditional pickup. In any case, the interior follows passenger-car logic far more than commercial-vehicle logic.

The centrepiece is what KGM calls a panoramic screen architecture. A single visual glass panel spans the dashboard, housing a 12.3-inch instrument display and a 12.3-inch central touchscreen. Around it runs a broad horizontal dashboard with a straight, calm design rather than a utilitarian one. The floating centre console, slim ambient light strip across the dashboard and door panels, and the overall impression all point to a modern electric SUV.

The material choices support the same strategy. KGM offers black, brown and grey two-tone interiors and, depending on market and trim, cloth, TPU-covered or genuine leather seats. There is another layer too: warm copper-brown trim on the dashboard, contrast stitching and ambient lighting lift the impression beyond that of a basic tool. At the same time, KGM makes liberal use of piano black surfaces, which give the cabin a more modern look but collect fingerprints just as eagerly.

That is the key message of the Musso EV interior. KGM did not design the cabin to avoid any sense of luxury. It designed it to create the feeling of a crossover between a family SUV and a lifestyle pickup. The brand is trying to show that an electric pickup in Europe can feel usable every day, visually tidy and even surprisingly refined for its price class.

The front seats do not feel like obligatory furniture. They are clearly intended as a passenger-car comfort package, with heating, ventilation and electric adjustment, in many markets with driver lumbar support. Nappa leather is also offered as an option.

More important still is the rear row. KGM gave it sliding and reclining functions, a 60:40 split and up to 32 degrees of seatback recline. That level of attention to the second row is far from typical in the European pickup world. The Musso EV does not treat the rear bench as a token seat for occasional site passengers. It treats it as a proper seating area that helps make the double cab credible as a family vehicle.

Small but thoughtful extras also improve day-to-day usability. In some markets, KGM offers a Passenger Seat Walk-In Device, allowing a rear passenger to move the front passenger seat for more comfort, and a Rear Seat Sleep function, which mutes the rear speakers when passengers in the back are resting or want quiet. The battery's placement under the seats does raise the front seating position higher than usual, which is one of the few places where the compromise of the electric platform is directly noticeable.

The equipment list consistently supports the passenger-car theme. Higher trims include automatic climate control, a heat pump, a heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, USB chargers front and rear, and 38-colour ambient lighting. Ventilated front seats and a 360-degree camera are also available, along with a material feel that aims above the price point, even if the piano black trim remains a challenge.

The multimedia centre is the wide twin-screen panel. KGM describes it as a setup with two 12.3-inch displays for the digital instrument cluster and central screen. Standard equipment includes DAB+, Bluetooth, TomTom navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a 360-degree parking camera. Also on board are a six-speaker audio system, USB connections, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

In practice, however, the system's screen-heavy layout can work against it. Reaching a desired function sometimes means stepping through several menus, especially when the driver wants to silence intrusive driver-assistance warnings. KGM's own interface can be slow to respond at times and feels more complicated than a commercial-vehicle buyer might expect, which encourages use of smartphone mirroring instead. There is a small contradiction here too: wireless phone charging is fitted, but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto still require a cable. So the Musso EV's multimedia looks modern, but its operating logic is still a step more rugged than the cabin atmosphere suggests.

You notice the usability from the moment you climb in. The cabin sits high, as expected in a pickup, but grab handles on every door except the driver's make access easier. Once inside, the flat floor helps create a sense of space. There is no centre tunnel in the rear, which makes the middle seat less of a punishment and leaves more room for feet.

Storage includes a glovebox, a central compartment with wireless charging pad, wide door bins with bottle holders, cupholders front and rear, and a large open storage area beneath the floating centre console. That lower shelf is one of the most practical features in the cabin. It can hold a handbag, small backpack, work gloves or charging accessories without everything sliding around under braking, thanks to its anti-slip surface. There are also dedicated phone pockets in the backs of the front seats and USB-C ports front and rear. At the front there is one charging port and one data-and-charging port, while the rear gets two charging ports. In other words, the Musso EV offers not just screen-led modernity but also solid everyday charging and storage capacity for four or five occupants.

One EV convenience feature is missing, though. The Musso EV has no frunk, so charging cables tend to live behind the rear seats or elsewhere in the cabin. That does not ruin everyday usability, but it shows clearly that the Musso EV's practicality has been thought through mainly inside the passenger compartment, not across every extra convenience associated with EVs.

The Musso EV's most important dynamic trait comes from its architecture. Its monocoque body, multi-link rear suspension and self-levelling rear dampers move it well away from the world of traditional leaf-sprung pickups. It prioritises ride comfort, calmer control and everyday usability over maximum towing ability or the feel of a rugged work machine.

In dynamic terms, the Musso EV is entirely adequate. The front-wheel-drive 2WD version uses a 152.2 kW motor, and that is enough in everyday traffic, even if the body style and mass do not deliver any real sense of sportiness. Unladen, it moves along normally, but with a load or trailer the power reserve runs out quickly. In Sport mode, hard throttle can bring a hint of front-wheel slip, while Eco mode deliberately softens responses to avoid traction issues.

The suspension and steering give the Musso EV an interesting, if not flawless, character for the segment. The steering is light and offers enough feedback, while the body structure and multi-link rear axle make it feel noticeably more car-like in corners and around town. On poor roads, though, the suspension can feel uneven at times. Even with an empty bed, its size and mass never disappear, and there is still plenty of room for fine-tuning.

The braking logic follows the same compromise. Regeneration can be adjusted across several levels, but the Musso EV does not offer one-pedal driving. It still expects the driver to use the conventional brake pedal to come to a stop. That makes the transition from an internal combustion vehicle easier, but leaves the EV experience feeling slightly incomplete. Comfort remains high in town and noise levels stay low, but as speed rises, road and wind noise become more noticeable, and the assistance systems can be too eager to remind you they are there.

KGM built this as a 400-volt EV, not an 800-volt fast-charging flagship. In Europe, it uses an 80.6 kWh LiFePO4, or LFP, battery pack with a nominal voltage of 371.2 volts and a 10.5 kW onboard charger. It is a BYD Blade-type battery.

The powertrain splits into two versions. The less powerful 2WD uses a single 152.2 kW, or 207 hp, electric motor with 339 Nm of torque. It does 0 to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds and reaches 162 km/h. The 4WD uses two motors, each rated at 152.2 kW and 339 Nm. KGM quotes a combined output of 304 kW, or 414 hp, torque of 2x339 Nm, a 0 to 100 km/h time of 7.98 seconds and a top speed of 177 km/h. That is a meaningful difference: the second motor adds not just traction, but a noticeably stronger character.

Range figures stand at up to 420 km WLTP combined for the 2WD and up to 379 km for the 4WD. In the urban cycle, the figures are 546 and 466 km respectively, while energy consumption is quoted at 23.0 kWh/100 km for the 2WD and 26.0 kWh/100 km for the 4WD. In the worst case, that 420 km WLTP promise may shrink to something closer to 300 km, and cold weather can significantly reduce both range and charging speed.

KGM says a full charge from zero to 100 percent takes about 10.2 to 10.3 hours on 11 kW three-phase AC charging. On a 100 kW DC charger, 10 to 80 percent takes 46 minutes, and on a 300 kW charger the same job takes 36 minutes.

There are several clear positives in the charging setup. KGM includes battery preconditioning, scheduled charging and the ability to set charging start and end times by day of the week, helping owners use cheaper overnight tariffs and improve winter fast charging. Battery preconditioning can be activated directly through the infotainment system.

That is also where the main drawback appears. Preconditioning has to be switched on manually before charging. On a long trip, that means the driver has to prepare consciously for a charging stop. The vehicle does not appear to act as the smartest route-based preconditioning system in this respect. Charging at up to 120 kW could also be better, so while the truck is entirely usable day to day, it is more middle-of-the-road than standout for frequent long-distance drivers.

V2L is a genuine feature here. The system can power Schuko-plug devices from the vehicle's battery pack, with a maximum output of 3.5 kW, and it automatically cuts off when battery charge drops to 20 percent. That makes the Musso EV a genuinely usable power source on a worksite, at a campsite or beside a trailer. At 3.5 kW, it can run lighting, chargers, smaller tools, a cool box or a laptop, but it is not a substitute for a welding station or an entire site container.

On safety, the Musso EV gives the impression that KGM wanted to do more than assemble the bare minimum. The factory brochure speaks of a rigid safety body and specifically notes that 78 percent of the body structure uses high-strength steel. Up to eight airbags are listed: driver and passenger airbags, front side airbags, front and rear curtain airbags and a centre airbag, with a driver's knee airbag added in higher trims. There is also an EV-specific layer: the high-voltage battery sits within a reinforced protective structure, the system monitors temperature, and in a crash the vehicle automatically disconnects the battery from the electrical circuit.

Most interesting is how far KGM went with active safety in base specification. Even the entry-level version includes autonomous emergency braking, or AEBS, front vehicle start alarm, or FVSA, intelligent speed assist, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, lane departure warning with lane-keeping support, hill start assist, active rollover protection, tyre-pressure monitoring, driver drowsiness detection, front and rear parking assistance and safe exit warning. It also gets eCall and ISOFIX mounts in the rear.

Here too, though, market-specific trim differences matter. In other words, the model's safety structure is strong, but when making a purchase decision it is worth checking the price list for your own market rather than relying only on general international information.

A large vehicle needs electronic help when manoeuvring, and KGM includes a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors as standard, with a 360-degree 3D camera system on higher trims. That means the Musso EV is not just trying to be safe in a crash, but also easier to place in narrow streets, car parks and trailer manoeuvres.

The problem starts where good hardware meets an over-eager user interface. The electronic assistance systems are too intrusive, and the attention warning in particular chimes too often and too sharply. Silencing them requires several steps through the menus. So the Musso EV's safety package scores highly for breadth and modernity, but loses points on calibration. The vehicle knows how to watch over the driver, but too often does so in a tone that becomes tiring before it becomes reassuring.

The Musso EV's strongest argument is that it does not play by the rules of a classic pickup. KGM did not build it as a new interpretation of a frame chassis, leaf springs and a diesel engine. That is exactly why it drives like an electric SUV, even when unladen.

European specification includes an 80.6 kWh LFP battery, a 371.2-volt system, up to 420 km of WLTP range in front-wheel-drive form and 379 km in all-wheel-drive form. The 4WD version uses two 152.2 kW motors for a combined 304 kW, or 414 hp. That means the Musso EV is not trying to be technological exotica. It is simply a sensibly sized and logically explained model.

The picture becomes more sober when it comes to charging. Eleven-kilowatt AC charging and DC charging at around the 120 kW level work well enough, but they are not exciting. Thirty-six minutes for 10 to 80 percent is acceptable, but 120 kW is no longer anything remarkable. So the Musso EV does not sell itself as a fast-charging champion. It presents itself as a vehicle with charging capability that is entirely usable, but clearly average.

Its practicality reveals the whole character of the model. Depending on market, the Musso EV can tow a braked trailer weighing 1.8 to 2.3 tonnes, and payload is also more modest than in a traditional work machine. The 4WD data quotes a 500 kg bed payload, while the commercial vehicle version allows up to 690 kg. That is entirely sufficient for hobby equipment, a small business or an active family, but in the world of 3.0 to 3.5-tonne trailers and payloads above a tonne, the Musso EV belongs to a different subcategory.

The same logic continues in the cabin. The seat design, the sliding and reclining rear row, the heating, ventilation, ambient lighting and the overall SUV-like finish make it very clear who the Musso EV is for. It is aimed at the driver who wants a pickup, but spends most of life in the rhythm of a family car, hobby vehicle or presentable company car. Even the V2L function, with up to 3.5 kW, supports the same idea: the Musso EV can serve as a mobile power source for tools, camping gear or external electrical equipment, but it does so through an adapter from the charging port.

The criticism clusters around three points. First, charging capability. Second, driver-assistance systems that are simply too eager. Third, an interface that remains too screen-centric, so even simple settings require diving into menus.

The final verdict is therefore fairly simple. The Musso EV is a square, robust and in its own way even deliberately clumsy rhinoceros, not an aerodynamic cheetah. Accept that starting point, and the design, cabin, technology, driving manners and everything else begin to come together as a logical and coherent whole.