The Daewoo Musso was the Daewoo-badged version of the SsangYong Musso, a mid-size SUV developed with Daimler-Benz and styled by the British designer Ken Greenley. Daewoo took the car over in 1999, changed the grille to suit its own styling and built it until the second half of 2002.
Daewoo Musso at a glance
| Original model | SsangYong Musso |
|---|---|
| Daewoo production | 1999–2002 |
| Class | mid-size SUV, five seats, seven with the folding trunk seat |
| Development | a joint project with Daimler-Benz |
| Designer | Ken Greenley |
| Petrol engines | 2.3, 2.8 and 3.2-litre Mercedes-Benz units |
| Diesel engines | 2.3 and 2.9-litre, naturally aspirated or turbo intercooled from 1997 |
| Facelift | 1998 |
| Award | Auto Design Award, Birmingham, 1994 and 1996 |
| Also built as | TagAZ Road Partner in Russia, 2008–2011 |
History of the Daewoo Musso
A SsangYong built with Mercedes
The Musso was the result of collaboration between SsangYong and Daimler-Benz, and its body was styled by the British designer Ken Greenley. It was first produced in 1993 and could be ordered with a 2.3-litre Mercedes-Benz M111 four-cylinder petrol engine, 2.8 and 3.2-litre M104 straight-sixes, or 2.3 and 2.9-litre diesels on the Mercedes OM601 and OM602 designs, naturally aspirated or with a turbo and intercooler from 1997. It won the Auto Design Award at the Birmingham motor show in 1994 and 1996 and took the 4WD class of the Rallye des Pharaons in October 1994. A facelifted version appeared in 1998, and a pickup derivative, the Musso Sports, followed in 2002.
The Daewoo years
The Musso had been produced for the British market by SsangYong from 1995 until 1999, when Daewoo Motors took over. The car was then rebranded the Daewoo Musso and kept most of Greenley’s body, with one notable change: a new front grille more in line with Daewoo’s styling. The Daewoo Musso was also sold in Germany. Production for Daewoo ended in the latter half of 2002, two years before Daewoo itself was taken over by General Motors.
The same car elsewhere
SsangYong kept building the Musso under its own name until 2005, and the SUV was also assembled in Iran by Morattab Khodro from 2003 and sold in Vietnam by Mekong Auto from 1997 to 2005. From 2008 to 2011 the Russian plant at Taganrog produced it as the TagAZ Road Partner, facelifted in 2009. The Musso name returned in 2018 on a completely new SsangYong pickup.
Design and features
- Mercedes engineering: petrol and diesel engines built under licence from Daimler-Benz.
- Ken Greenley body: the design won awards at Birmingham in 1994 and 1996.
- Off-road ability: a class win in the 1994 Rallye des Pharaons.
- Daewoo grille: the most visible change when Daewoo took the car over.
Daewoo Musso versions
- Petrol cars: 2.3 four-cylinder and 2.8 or 3.2-litre straight-six engines.
- Diesel cars: 2.3 and 2.9-litre units, turbo intercooled from 1997.
- Facelift (1998): the updated body sold in the Daewoo years.
- Musso Sports (2002): the double-cab pickup version.
The Musso shared its chassis with the Korando and its engines with the Rexton. More cars are in the Daewoo collection.
Sources
- SsangYong Musso, English Wikipedia: engines, design, Daewoo production
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