Mitsubishi Triton v SsangYong Musso comparison review

It depends what you prioritise. 

If you value a lot of interior space and a more upmarket experience, you really ought to buy the SsangYong. If cargo space and hard-wearing cabin materials matter more to you, the Mitsubishi is the go.

The cabin space of the Musso could be the best in the class, with lots of width, plenty of second-row space for adults, and a really upmarket feel to the cabin thanks to leather, a sunroof and a number of creature comforts unseen elsewhere in the segment. But it’s not all rosy - there’s a lap only centre rear seatbelt, which is deplorable by today’s standards.

The Triton is more compact inside, with a narrower, smaller space for second row occupants, but it’s still fine for adults back there provided you’re not driving for hours on end.

Both models have the requisite cup-holders front and rear, bottle holders in the doors and map pockets on the seat backs, as well as fold-down centre arm-rests in the back seat with cup-holders hidden away. The Musso has rear-seat air vents, but the Mitsubishi doesn’t (though it does have Arctic air-conditioning!).

In terms of dimensions, there is a vast difference between these two. And those differences are noticeable in the tub areas, too.

The Mitsubishi is long and narrow, measuring 5305mm from nose to tail (on a 3000mm wheelbase), 1815mm wide and 1780mm tall. The tub dimensions of the Triton are 1520mm long, 1470mm wide (1085mm between wheel arches) and 475mm deep. There are six tie down points in the tub.

The Musso is squat, spanning 5095mm long (3100mm wheelbase), 1950mm wide and 1840mm tall. Its tray dimensions are stumpy, too - at 1300mm long, 1570mm wide (1175mm between the wheel arches) and 570mm deep. It mightn’t be as capacious overall, but it has a lower load-in height, and in this spec comes with a tub-liner to protect the tray and six tie down points. Again, the XLV model will be a better fit for many customers, with a 1600mm tray length bound to put some long-loaders’ minds at ease. 

We’re calling this section a dead heat.

What’s powering these utes? Both have turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines, and there’s not a whole lot in it in terms of engine specs.

The Musso runs a 2.2-litre engine, while the Triton has a 2.4-litre, and the pair are identical for power outputs, while the Triton has a slight torque advantage.

The official outputs for the Triton GLX+ are 133kW of power at 3500rpm, and 430Nm of torque at 2500rpm. 

The outputs for the Musso Ultimate are 133kW of power at 4000rpm, and 400Nm of torque from 1400-2800rpm. 

As tested, both models have a six-speed automatic transmission (you can get a manual gearbox if you want one, but you’ll have to go for the base model Musso), and both have selectable four-wheel drive in the specs we have here.

These two are hardly corner carvers, but there are some stark dynamic differences between them.

The Triton feels a more work-ready, rough-and-tumble truck, with heavier steering that can be a little bit numb at lower speeds, and a ride that is quite firm when the tray is unladen.

With weight in the back the suspension copes a fair bit better, offering up less jostle over bumpy sections and a more compliant ride, too. The steering is barely affected by additional weight.

The Triton’s engine is strong in all situations. Acceleration from a standstill does take a tick, as there’s a bit of low-rev lag to contend with, but the grunt on offer is good.

It is a bit louder than the Musso - road, wind and tyre noise are all more noticeable, and the engine noise can be annoying if you’re doing a lot of slow speed crawling. The engine offers up quite a lot of vibration at idle, too.

But that said, the powertrain is smart - the six-speed auto holds gears smartly when there’s weight on board, and it doesn’t prioritise grabbing a higher gear to save fuel over general drivability in normal, unladen motoring, too. 

We measured the amount of sag at the rear and lift at the front that these utes experienced with the 510kg weight load in the tubs, and the figures confirmed what the pictures suggested. The Musso’s front end lifted by about one per cent, but its tail dropped by 10 per cent, while the Triton’s nose rose by less than one per cent, and its rear drooped by just five per cent.

The Triton felt better with the weight on board, but the SsangYong sure didn’t. 

The Musso is let down by its 20-inch wheels and low-profile tyres, which create an unsettled and fidgety ride whether you’ve got a load in the tray or not. The suspension actually does a decent job of keeping things under control in most situations, though it can feel a bit wobbly because there isn’t the inherent stiffness you get from leaf spring rear suspension.

SsangYong will apparently be introducing an Australian suspension tune for the Musso and Musso XLV at some point, and I personally can’t wait to see if the leaf spring model has a better level of compliance and control. 

The Musso is armed with four-wheel discs.

There was an effect on the Musso’s steering, which became even lighter at the nose than usual - and it’s generally easy to turn but still nicely accurate at lower speeds, while at higher pace it can be a little hard to judge, particularly on centre.

Its engine offers a slightly more usable power band, with a thick vane of torque available from lower revs than the Triton. But the six-speed automatic transmission is eager to upshift, and that can mean that the powertrain is constantly trying to decide what gear it wants to be in - particularly when there’s a load in the tub. 

One thing that was better by some margin in the Musso was its braking - it has four-wheel discs, where the Triton persists with drums, and there was a discernible improvement with and without the weight on board in the Musso. 

The Triton feels like a work-ready, rough-and-tumble truck.

There was no chance to do a towing review for these utes - the Ssangyong wasn’t fitted with a towbar. But according to their manufacturers, both offer the class standard 3.5 tonne braked towing capacity (750kg unbraked). 

And while they are four-wheel drives, our aim was to see what these utes were like around town first and foremost. Check out our site for more detailed individual reviews - including 4WD off road review components - on each of them.

SsangYong owns its competitors when it comes to ownership.

No other ute in the segment (at the time of writing) offers the same level of ownership promise the Korean brand does.

It has a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, a seven-year capped price servicing plan with intervals every 12 months/15,000km, and the same period of cover for roadside assist.

The capped cost per service is set at $375 per visit, before consumables. The company offers unrivalled clarity about the potential additional costs you may encounter, too. 

The Mitsubishi Triton 2019 range was launched with a seven year/150,000km warranty plan, but it only has three years of capped price servicing with roadside assist for up to four years. The maintenance intervals are also every 12 months/15,000km, with the costs pegged at $299 for the first three visits - but what happens after that…?