Ssangyong Musso vs BMW i Series

What's the difference?

The SsangYong Musso XLV Ultimate is an affordable workhorse that has good comfort, features and drives well. It suited my little family and our gear just fine this week with its space. If you need the practicality of a ute and are on a budget, you get a lot for your money here.

The BMW iX3 is a rarity in the market, a premium-feeling electric model that's not a whole lot dearer than petrol alternatives.

For those happy to trade some of the Tesla Model 3 and Kia EV6 GT's all-paw performance for a luxurious cabin, slick drive and badge cachet, the iX3 M Sport is a very attractive package. Until Audi's Q4 and Q6 e-tron arrive, the iX3 remains basically peerless in this part of the market.

No wonder, then, that BMW is Australia's third most popular electric car brand after Tesla and BYD. The vehicles capture everything the brand promises at a price that looks good on paper and better in the real world.

The Musso looks the part of a 4x4 dual cab ute. It’s big even without the XLV pack at 5095mm in length. And with it, that jumps up to 5395mm. Enough to well and truly fill out a car space.

To put it in perspective, it's longer than the Kia Carnival, so I'd check to see if it will fit in your garage!

The finish isn’t the best, with wide spaces between door jams and the tray (I can fit my hand in that one) and a painted foam-like joinery in the tailgate which is already showing a lot of wear and tear for a brand-new workhorse. Stuff like this could make it look worn quickly.

Once you move into the cabin, it becomes obvious where a lot of the facelift has been focused.

The black leather upholstery, headliner and accents all make it feel premium in the cabin.

The dashboard has been redesigned to be more horizontally-themed and to sit lower than the previous dash. It showcases the new upgraded tech screens, large integrated air vents and digital climate control panel.

The cabin looks way more expensive than the price tag might suggest and it's most welcome.

Now that we've seen the new X3, the current model is already dated. Not that it was a cutting-edge design at launch but there is precious little offensive about this mid-size SUV.

Fussy wheel designs, strange closed in grilles and clashing blue accents aside the iX3 M Sport remains a plenty handsome option as you approach.

Inside the cabin's shapes feel positively conservative next to BMW's latest efforts like the X2 and 7 Series but, in a way, this is no bad thing.

It's also nice that you can tailor this car's appearance to your liking without spending extra, the combination here rocks a nice blue paint with tasteful brown upholstery for a classy look.

You can have Oyster white leather or simple black and the paint colour palette is refined without being restrictive.

The cabin of the XLV Ultimate is big on space and all occupants enjoy fantastic head- and legroom.

Individual storage is good for a ute with the front enjoying two cupholders, a good-sized middle console and glove box plus a drink bottle holder in each door.

Rear occupants get map pockets, a fold-down armrest with two cupholders and storage bins in each door.

Amenities on the whole are good with the heated and ventilated front seats that feature lumbar support. But the upgrade to electric control for the fronts and heat function for the rear outboard positions clinch the luxury factor Both rows are well-cushioned and comfortable for long journeys.

Charging options are limited to the front with two USB-C ports, which is an upgrade from the old USB-A ports, and two 12-volt sockets.

But one of them is an old-school cigarette lighter which I haven’t seen in years! Now that was a teachable moment when I was a kid.

It's a shame there are no charging options in the rear as it could be inconvenient if you travel a lot and your kidlets have devices.

Fitting a child seat in the rear row is a little awkward due to the backrest folding down in one piece and it misses out on any clever hacks like some other utes have, like the zippered accessed points to the top-tether anchor points found on the HiLux and D-Max or the 60/40 split-fold on the Cannon.

Because of this, you'll want to fit your child seats at the same time and probably want it to be a 'set and forget' scenario.

On to the upgraded technology – the touchscreen of the multimedia system is responsive but the info is limited to the radio and a small settings menu.

Think of it as more of a mirror-screening device for the wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s easy to connect to the CarPlay and the graphics are nice and bright. 

The instrument cluster is semi-customisable but it’s here you can access/customise more information like the safety features, which I appreciate.

Our test vehicle has that XLV Pack fitted which adds 300mm to the tray length and boosts the overall capacity by 251L.

The max payload is 880kg, which should be sufficient for a lot of weekend pursuits.

You get a full-sized spare wheel and with our optioned tonneau accessory, you don’t have to worry about your gear getting wet, either. 

The tailgate is large and feels very light to operate, thanks to the assist function but this ute lacks any sort of step to access the tray, which won’t be an issue for you giants out there but for me it was a bit of comedy to climb in to the back to retrieve stuff.

The BMW X3 was developed with family buyers in mind and that has paid dividends because it has an extremely practical cabin with lots of thoughtful storage.

Each of the four doors has a bottle holder and generously-sized pocked for extra storage. There are two cup-holders in the centre with a wireless charging pad, secure spot for the key fob and USB port in easy reach. You can slide a roller cover down to hide valuables.

Key driving controls are smartly grouped together around the iX3's unconventional gear selector. Here, you'll find the start/stop button along with hard switches for drive mode selection, stability control and exterior cameras.

Right next door is where the rotary 'iDrive' controller lives with yet more physical shortcut buttons. Including the extra option to easily interact with the multimedia system on the move is a refreshing delight that you don't see in so many touchscreen-heavy EVs. There's also a physical stack for HVAC and seat heating controls.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen is responsive and bright with BMW's slightly older system having a more conventional appearance than the latest software in the iX2. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wireless and still work flawlessly.

If there are some negatives, they would be some build-quality niggles. On the whole the materials are high quality and the car is well screwed together but the indicator stalks feel decidedly flimsy compared to BMWs of old and I noticed a rattle from the parcel shelf on the road.

The eight-way power adjust seats with tilt and under-leg extension are classic BMW, being sporty enough to hold you in but with enough padding to stay comfy. Though we will knock this car down for lacking power lumbar adjust.

Those in the back will be plenty comfortable even if they're taller than 180cm with ample head, leg and toe-room. There doesn't appear to be a major compromise to the floor height despite BMW stacking 10 lithium-ion modules beneath.

Vision out is excellent with an expansive glasshouse and full-length sunroof.

Amenities include two USB-C charge points, a third climate zone, fold-out armrest with pop-up cup holders and generous storage in the doors.

Fitting child seats should be pretty simple with doors that open wide, two sets of ISOFIX ports (that you can't lose the covers of) and three prominent top tether anchors in the recline-adjustable backrest.

The boot is large with 510L of space at a minimum that expands to 1560L if you fold the 40/20/40 split backrest flat. There's a sense of solidity in that process, too, with sturdy levers and components.

So sturdy that the retractable luggage cover is quite difficult to remove, especially for shorter owners. Other niceties include a single shopping bag hook, LED lighting and 12-volt socket in the back.

No BMW X3 comes with a spare tyre so that should come as no surprise. The iX3 instead has a tyre repair kit. There is underfloor storage in the iX3, though, which is the perfect place to store both charging cables — Mode 2 and 3 — that are included.

The iX3 M Sport may be expensive compared to a rear-drive Tesla Model Y but next to premium-badged rivals, it cuts rather attractive shapes at BMW's $89,100 before on-road costs asking price.

Outside, there are 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, no-cost choice of six metallic paints (Phytonic blue is what you see here), illuminated door sills and a power tailgate.

The impressive list continues inside with 'Vernasca' leather-appointed seats available in three colours and 'Sensatec' artificial leather on the dash and high-traffic touchpoints.

The front seats are heated and power adjustable and the ambient lighting is customisable. The iX3 also has tri-zone climate control, tyre pressure monitoring, free-of-charge open poor wood trim, adaptive dampers, a heat pump and even a full-length opening sunroof.

Paying the best part of $12,000 extra for the M Sport Pro doesn't change the single 210kW motor, 74kWh (usable) lithium-ion NCM battery and 461km of WLTP driving range. 

Instead, you get bigger 20-inch alloy wheels, black grille surrounds, acoustic glass with tinted rear windows, lumbar adjust, gesture control, head-up display and a Harman Kardon sound system.

There are also BMW's 'Iconic Sounds' in the Pro and the more expensive model includes five years from Chargefox public charging.

Mercedes-Benz no longer sells the EQC so the iX3's natural three-pointed star rival becomes the EQE300 SUV, which retails at $134,900. Audi's Q6 e-tron is not yet here so cross-shoppers will need to look at the smaller Q4 from $88,300.

The iX3's only direct premium rival is the Genesis GV70 Electrified, starting from $125,858 in the sole Performance AWD guise.

Even higher trims of mainstream rivals such as the Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD ($79,590) and Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD ($79,990, all prices before on-road costs) sit in close proximity to the BMW.

The upgrade hasn’t seen any changes to the Musso's powertrain and it is still powered by a 2.2-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with a maximum power output of 133kW and 420Nm of torque (400Nm without the XLV Pack).

It’s got plenty of grunt and despite having only a six-speed auto transmission, the gear changes are mostly smooth.

Adventure enthusiasts should be happy because the Musso is a proper part-time 4x4 with low- and high-range, which is easy as pie to change over to when the need arises.

In this case there isn't much under the bonnet except for electric gubbins. The single electric motor – that uses no rare earth materials – resides at the back and generates 210kW/400Nm.

Those outputs are fairly close to a petrol X3 30i, though of course this model is rear-drive only.

Thanks to the rapid response of electric motors, the iX3 M Sport can sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds (claimed).

BMW has chosen to give the iX3 a long-travel progressive throttle pedal that makes grunt easy to meter out. However, the regenerative braking could do with a little more refinement.

There are two settings, 'D' — just like letting off the throttle in a combustion car — and 'B' which is quite strong. The blending between regenerative and physical caliper-on-rotor braking is vague, though, which can make low-speed moves a bit jerky.

Despite its size, the Musso's official combined cycle fuel economy figure is only 9.0L/100km.

My real-world average came in at 10.2L/100km after a good mix of open-road and urban driving. Not too surprising, but that's without any loads. Expect it to be thirstier if you plan on towing.

Based on the combined fuel figure and 75L fuel tank, you should be able to get a driving range in excess of 800km.

The iX3 M Sport's WLTP rating is a respectable but not groundbreaking 461km on the combined cycle. The reality is a little bleaker, our test car displaying 316km on its digital instruments at 100 per cent charge.

Going against what you might expect for an electric car, the iX3 was not very efficient in town, we initially saw 24kWh/100km on the read-out which is quite high.

It is better suited to a longer, steady-state run. Our regular 200km country and suburban test loop dropped the consumption to 18kWh/100km for a real-world driving range of 411km.

When it's time to bring the charge levels back up the iX3 will take on AC electricity at 11kW, for flat to full in seven and a half hours.

Public fast-charging caps out at 150kW (DC) though averages to 104kW over a 10-80 per cent session. This should take 21 minutes, says BMW.

We only observed a maximum of 101kW on a DC charger though the pylon did not appear to be performing at full energy with other vehicles having similar issues.

The Musso has won me over with how it drives. The update has seen the suspension retuned and it’s well-cushioned without feeling spongy.

The ride comfort is very good but you occasionally get some shudders through the frame when gear changes happen on a steep hill. The cabin sounds refined with how quiet it is, even at higher speeds and you’ll enjoy that on longer trips. 

Hitting the open-road isn’t an issue with power being delivered smoothly when you accelerate. Despite being a tall car, the Musso handles cornering much better than I thought it would without heaps of roll. 

You don’t feel any of the weight of the car when you steer, though, and that’s a bit too light for my liking. But it gives the Musso more of a car-like feel rather than a ute/truck feel which some people might enjoy.

Massive windows mean the Musso has crazy-good visibility for a ute and I feel confident about checking the blind-spot because of it. That's great for such a big vehicle.

Despite being almost 5.5m long, the Musso isn't too difficult to park because of the 360-degree view camera system, and front and rear parking sensors, a must have on large cars like this. The camera system is a smidge low quality for the image, though.

Despite no saucy straight-six, V8 or twin-cam four-cylinder there is an inherent 'BMW-ness' in the iX3 M Sport. The way it steers, accelerates and rides all match the brand's DNA.

It is not a plush SUV, with some firmness to the suspension even in Comfort mode on the adaptive dampers — this may have something to do with BMW's 40PSI front and 45PSI rear tyre pressure recommendations — but without ever being crashy.

Build up a little more speed, beyond 60km/h for example, and the body settles nicely with a solid, assured stance.

There's no evidence of suspension noise and road noise is very well insulated as well, even without the up-spec M Sport Pro's acoustically insulated glass. 

The steering is light in Comfort mode which makes it ideal for urban driving. It also has three turns lock-to-lock which is a lot for a sporty-ish BMW, however that is largely down to the improved steering angle. Without an engine or AWD system, the iX3 has a great turning circle of just 12.1 metres.

Moving things up a notch into Sport adds extra weight to the steering which helps judge the grip on good roads, which is pretty decent from the 245/45R19 Yokohama Advan Sport V107 tyres.

When you approach the limit, the iX3 is very secure but significant mid-corner bumps can unsettle the car, bringing its 2180kg tare weight (a 325kg penalty over the xDrive20i) sharply into focus. Pull it back a touch, though, and the iX3 M Sport is plenty rewarding on a country road.

Mostly, the iX3 is a refreshingly natural electric car out on the road. You could put anyone in the driver's seat and they'd be smooth just like in a combustion car.

The BMW X3 was awarded a five-star ANCAP rating in November 2017 which expired last December as part of ANCAP's push to stay more relevant.

Electric, petrol and diesel models carried the five-star score but, strangely, the 30e plug-in hybrid model did not.

The iX3 has seven airbags (dual frontal, side chest, side head-protecting curtain and driver knee airbags are standard), autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist.

BMW has one of the better programmed adaptive cruise and lane-trace assist systems. The lane-trace assist worked well on test without being too intrusive.

The on-going costs are great on the Musso, with it coming with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is above average for this class. 

It also comes with a seven year/105,000km servicing program where services average $375, which is competitive for the class. 

Servicing intervals are average at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

The iX3 M Sport is now covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty in Australia.

Servicing is due on a conditional basis with the multimedia system prompting the owner when to visit a dealer.

BMW offers serviced packages for electric vehicles that last six years/unlimited kilometres, with the iX3's pack costing a reasonable $2325 over that time.