KGM Musso EV pick-up review

Our opinion on the KGM Musso EV

While its payload can only really be described as mediocre by EV standards and lacking by general pick-up standards, elsewhere the KGM Musso EV is one of the most convincing electric pick-ups to date. It’s quiet, comfortable and decent enough to drive, comes well equipped and will even do 200-plus miles on a charge.

However, if there’s one area where this truck has potential to shake up the market, it’ll be its starting price. At around £42,500 including VAT, the Musso EV sits well below its rivals, such as the Maxus eTerron 9, which starts at nearly £55,000 before VAT, and the Isuzu D-Max BEV, which costs around £60,000 before VAT. Provided that KGM’s smaller presence in the UK compared with major pick-up players Ford and Toyota doesn’t hold it back, this could just be one of the brand’s most appealing models to date.

About the KGM Musso EV

The pick-up truck segment is arguably the one area of the market that’s been more resistant to electrification, but the market is slowly growing. British buyers in search of an electric truck have a small selection to choose from, including newcomers like the Maxus eTerron 9 or more established names like the Toyota Hilux BEV and Isuzu D-Max EV. 

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KGM’s entrant is the Musso EV. Although it shares the same name, this truck is actually unrelated to the capable but slightly agricultural diesel-powered KGM Musso. 

As with the KGM Actyon and the brand’s other SUVs, there are absolutely no badges or branding on the nose of this truck, and were it not for the ‘KGM’ lettering on the tailgate, you’d probably assume it had spawned from one of the myriad Chinese makers currently making inroads on the European market. 

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The Musso EV is powered by an 80.6kWh battery supplied by BYD, and KGM claims that this can return up to 249 miles on a single charge. This falls a tiny bit short of the Maxus eTerron 9’s WLTP combined range of 267 miles, but it’s well ahead of the Isuzu D-Max EV’s 163 miles, or 143 miles from the Toyota Hilux BEV. 

We ended our test drive with 48 per cent battery and 110 miles remaining, suggesting 200 miles should be easily achievable in daily use – potentially even more if you’re using the truck mainly around town and make good use of its regenerative braking, because that helps to put electricity back into the battery while you’re slowing down. 

Since double-cab pickups are now subject to emissions-based Benefit-in-Kind costs, rather than a flat commercial vehicle rate, the zero emissions of the Musso EV mean it will offer significant savings over the regular Musso (or any other diesel-powered truck, for that matter) and presently qualifies for a £2,500 plug-in van grant (PiVG) because it weighs less than 2,500kg, has no tailpipe emissions, and can go over 60 miles on electric alone. Plus, there is the potential of far lower fuel costs if you can top up using a specialised electricity tariff. 

There is a downside, though: the Musso EV cannot be classified as a commercial vehicle because its payload is less than one tonne.

The Musso EV’s peak charging speed of 300kW far surpasses what the Maxus or Isuzu is capable of, though, and will see you back on the road (with an 80 per cent charge) in just over half an hour. Utilise a typical 7.4kW home wallbox charger, and it’s likely to take around 13 hours to fully recharge a Musso EV.

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While the Musso EV’s load bed looks a reasonable shape and size at first glance, this truck’s payload is restricted to 690kg, which is even less than the 715kg the Hilux BEV can manage. Almost every petrol or diesel pick-up – as well as the Maxus and Isuzu EVs – can carry a tonne or more, leaving the KGM lagging on what should be its strongest selling point. The bed of the Musso EV measures 1,515mm wide, 1345mm length and 510mm in height, so it can take on a Euro pallet.

One of the reasons for the Musso EV’s lower payload is that KGM has foregone the sturdier leaf spring rear-suspension arrangement found on nearly every other pick-up truck sold in the UK in favour of a multi-link layout – hence the Musso EV’s agreeable ride comfort, which we’ll come back to later on. It also has standard rear self-levelling suspension for better control of heavy loads. 

The Musso EV also won’t be able to challenge those aforementioned rivals for towing capacity. With a braked trailer capacity of 2,300kg, the Musso EV falls short of the 3,500kg rating both the eTerron 9 and D-Max BEV manage. The KGM can still haul around a lot more than a Hilux BEV, which can only handle 1,600kg. 

You can only get the Musso EV in a double-cab bodystyle, and while that means you can’t have a really long bed like an extended cab pick-up, it does mean the KGM is more useful for those who also need to use it as a family car.

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Despite its relatively low price compared to its competitors, the KGM Musso EV does come with a host of driver-assistance features as standard. While these are intended to help make driving easier and safer, we found that they plagued what would otherwise be an agreeable experience. 

On a relatively wide piece of open A-road, you’ll find the steering wheel tugging left and right as the Musso EV unwittingly repels itself from the white line – bouncing around without rhyme or reason. It’s incredibly disconcerting, although thankfully, this form of lane-keep assist can be turned off quickly via a button on the wheel. As far as we could tell, the over-sensitive attention monitor and loud speed-limit warnings can only be deactivated via the central screen.

While we don’t have a lot of data on what the ownership experience of a KGM car or pick-up will be, at least the company is confident enough in its vehicles to offer a long seven-year/90,000-mile manufacturer’s warranty. That’s longer than the standard Toyota (before the service-activated extended warranty is applied) and Maxus warranty packages. 

What’s more, the Musso EV has a similar 10-year or 1,000,000km (621,000-mile) battery warranty as the Toyota Hilux BEV. That’s more impressive than the 8-year or 150,000-mile package provided for the Maxus eTerron 9, or the 8-year or 100,000-mile policy for the Isuzu D-Max BEV.

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Provided you’ve switched off the pestering safety chimes, the Musso EV transforms into a quiet, comfortable and relatively sprightly truck. The two electric motors produce 204bhp and 339Nm of instant torque, and this means it picks up keenly (0-62mph takes eight seconds), while the deep tyre sidewalls mean there’s little road noise to disturb the sound of silence. Only once you approach the national speed limit does wind noise start to become an issue, but if you plan to use the vehicle mostly around town or on rural roads, it should be fine.

We tried the Musso EV unladen, which meant the rear end tended to bounce over undulations at times. Yet the sophisticated feel of the chassis means the truck rarely feels unwieldy, with the cushioned damping preventing sharp shocks from reaching the cabin.

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The Musso EV certainly isn’t a bad looking vehicle. It follows a very similar design language to the KGM Torres EVX SUV with chunky styling, plenty of cladding and neat details such as decorative grab handles on the bonnet and steps at the rear. It’s a similar story inside, where this truck feels suitably premium for a vehicle of its kind; you’ll find scratchy plastics if you go searching, but there’s Nappa leather on the electrically-operated heated and ventilated seats, and copper-coloured trim beneath the twin-screen infotainment displays.

KGM’s kit list extends far beyond what you might ordinarily expect to be included on a pick-up truck such as this, too. In addition to those lavishly equipped front seats, there are heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel, as well as dual-zone climate control and Vehicle to Load (V2L) tech that can charge laptops or power tools. 

Another thing this model has in common with the Torres EVX is a set of twin 12.3-inch screens on the dashboard. While we haven’t exactly been impressed with KGM’s latest infotainment software - we found it clunky and a bit confusing to use during testing - the Musso EV does at least come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. Outside, you get 17-inch alloy wheels, side steps and LED headlights.

There’s only a single specification of KGM Musso EV on sale (at least for now) so the choice is an easy one. You can pick from one of five colour choices beyond the standard Grand White for a reasonable £750.

KGM Musso EV alternatives

As we’ve already mentioned, the electric pick-up market is a slim one, but there are still a few options to pick from: the Maxus eTerron 9, Isuzu D-Max EV, and Toyota Hilux BEV. 

Of course, there are also a number of traditional diesel-powered models such as the KGM Musso, Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max and GWM Poer 300. Alternatively, if you prefer the idea of hybrid power, there’s also the Ford Ranger PHEV to consider.