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vehicle. Forward visibility is improved by<br />
the separation between the A-pillars and<br />
the mirrors, but the hard plastics littered<br />
throughout the cabin make the Ssangyong<br />
feel a generation old.<br />
There is no native sat-nav or digital<br />
radio but it is pretty easy to switch to<br />
smartphone mirroring and the Bluetooth<br />
connects quickly. The GWM’s infotainment<br />
takes a while to launch after jumping into<br />
the car and its switchgear feels cheap to<br />
the touch. What is slightly disconcerting is<br />
that some messages are still displayed in<br />
Chinese and others are misspelled, such as<br />
the system “scaning” for a device.<br />
Both vehicles offer a seven-year/<br />
unlimited-kilometre warranty, though the<br />
Ssangyong’s even covers commercial<br />
uses, which is impressive confidence in the<br />
product. GWM offers a five-year/100,000km<br />
roadside assistance program, available<br />
24/7 nationwide, though Ssangyong bests<br />
that with a seven-year deal. It also has an<br />
advantage with its capped-price servicing<br />
program, which equates to $375 every 12<br />
months/15,000km, whereas GWM has yet<br />
to establish such a program and servicing<br />
is required every 12 months/10,000km.<br />
HANDLING AND OFF-ROAD<br />
PERFORMANCE<br />
We did intend to tow test these two,<br />
but the GWM arrived without a tow bar,<br />
so it was a short-lived idea. Nevertheless,<br />
with our Turbo Taxi hooked up, the Musso<br />
is not particularly happy, with a vocal<br />
engine that struggles with the weight,<br />
doughy brakes and soft suspension. The<br />
biggest issue, however, was a general<br />
lack of rigidity; on rougher roads, the<br />
body jiggles substantially like it is trying<br />
to separate from the chassis and adding<br />
weight to the back does not improve<br />
matters.<br />
Unladen, the Musso feels a little better,<br />
but only up to a certain (relatively low)<br />
point. Unexpectedly sharp steering conveys<br />
a sense of sportiness and the powertrain<br />
feels spritely enough once on the move,<br />
but there is precious little communication<br />
through the steering wheel and the soft<br />
suspension leads to excessive body roll<br />
and generally skittish, nervous handling.<br />
It is superior to the GWM, though. There<br />
has to be a price to pay for the Ute’s<br />
cage-rattlingly low price and it is found in<br />
the driving experience. For starters, why<br />
is it so sluggish? On the road the engine<br />
feels lazy and off-the-pace, with tardy<br />
You can drive away<br />
in either of these<br />
for around $40,000,<br />
including on-roads<br />
acceleration and laggy throttle response.<br />
The steering is light and responsive, until<br />
a quick change of direction is required, at<br />
which point the power assistance fails to<br />
keep up and the wheel feels like it is stuck<br />
in concrete. On rougher roads, there is<br />
excessive and queasy body shake as well<br />
as plenty of wind and tyre roar.<br />
Its fortunes do not improve off-road,<br />
either. The overcomplicated gear lever was<br />
a particular annoyance in the rough stuff<br />
where quick shifts from drive to reverse<br />
and back are required. There are positives,<br />
though: the traction control system is<br />
reasonable and hill descent control worked<br />
well, especially in conjunction with the rear<br />
locking diff, but the constant clunks and<br />
bangs from the rear end in tight cornering<br />
are a cause for concern.<br />
Nevertheless, it acquits itself better than<br />
the Ssangyong, which struggles off-road,<br />
primarily due to a lack of ground clearance.<br />
It bottoms out constantly, the automatic rear<br />
diff lock is not as practical as a manually<br />
selectable one, low-range gearing is not<br />
ideal and throttle response isn’t particularly<br />
smooth, either.<br />
Above: The GWM Ute is a step forward from previous<br />
offerings, but still lacking in ride, refinement,<br />
performance and dynamics<br />
Opposite below: The Ssangyong Musso performs better<br />
on-road than the GWM Ute but struggles off-road with a<br />
lack of ground clearance<br />
THE VERDICT<br />
1st<br />
SSANGYONG MUSSO<br />
ULTIMATE XLV<br />
Likes: heaps of space; solid if unspectacular<br />
performance; strong equipment list<br />
Dislikes: body rigidity; small payload;<br />
struggles off-road<br />
Score: 6/10<br />
2nd<br />
GWM UTE CANNON-L<br />
Likes: clever dual-cab touches; looks good<br />
inside and out; value<br />
Dislikes: underwhelming powertrain,<br />
dynamics, ride; lacks interior polish<br />
Score: 5.5/10<br />
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU July 2021 <strong>ATN</strong> 81
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