When I was handed the keys to the KGM Musso EV, I had two immediate thoughts: this thing is huge, and I’m wildly underqualified for it.
For the last few years I’ve been driving a 2014 Volkswagen Polo. Before that, a Holden Astra that had already lived a full life before I was old enough to get my Ls. Sliding into an electric ute—wide bonnet, high seating position, chunky proportions—brought back the same nerves I felt the first time I merged onto a main road.
Australia’s obsession with big utes and SUVs isn’t exactly news. Utes and SUVs dominate the sales charts, and in 2024 three utes made it into the top five new-vehicle bestsellers, led by the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. At the same time, EV sales keep climbing: battery-electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in the three months to September, according to the Australian Automobile Association.
So when KGM rolls out the Musso EV and pitches it as the cheapest fully electric ute on the local market, it feels like a moment worth paying attention to—especially for buyers who want a ute, but don’t love the fuel bill or the emissions.
The big question: is a “lifestyle” electric ute enough to tempt Australia’s ute loyalists? And in a country where charging access still varies wildly, is it even practical?
Meet the Musso EV: a “lifestyle” electric ute
KGM (the South Korean brand formerly known for SsangYong) doesn’t lean too hard on environmental messaging in its marketing. Instead, it sells the Musso EV as a blend of SUV comfort and ute utility—more polished than a workhorse, more rugged than a city crossover.
On the inside, it’s a jump from my Polo in every way that matters in 2025: wireless phone charging, push-button start, and a 360-degree camera that feels like cheating in tight parking spots.
The Musso EV comes in two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. I’m driving the green AWD model.
Price and competition
KGM’s pricing is what makes the Musso EV interesting. The 2WD starts at $60,000 drive-away, positioning it below other fully electric utes currently available in Australia, such as:
- Tembo Tusker (often cited from around $74,000, depending on spec and on-road costs)
- LDV eT60 (commonly listed from $92,990)
- Ford F-150 Lightning (often cited from around $169,900, with pricing that can vary given how it’s offered locally)
“Affordable” is always relative. But in Australia’s EV ute niche, $60K drive-away is a meaningful line in the sand.
Range claims
KGM also makes a practical promise: you can go a fair distance before you need to think about charging.
- AWD range: 380km (WLTP)
- 2WD range: 420km (WLTP)
Those are the kinds of numbers that work for typical suburban and metro driving—less so if you’re heading long distances into areas where charging coverage thins out.
Who is this ute for?
Professor Hussein Dia, Swinburne University’s professor of future urban mobility, calls the Musso EV the first genuinely affordable electric ute for Australia—and says its pricing is likely to attract “mainstream buyers rather than early adopters.”
But there’s a catch.
If your ute is a tool first and a lifestyle accessory second—towing, heavy loads, rough sites—you may not be convinced it’s built for the hardest jobs. KGM’s own framing leans “purpose-built for lifestyle,” and its marketing makes the ute feel more like a gear-hauler than a hardcore tradie rig: bikes, golf clubs, weekend missions.
Nathan Moore, a behavioural scientist at UTS, adds another layer: people often buy utes and SUVs not only for what they do, but for what they represent—ruggedness, capability, a certain off-road identity. And for some buyers, EVs still don’t “feel” rugged, regardless of what the spec sheet says.
The ultimate suburban stress test
To keep the “lifestyle ute” concept honest, I gave the Musso EV the most brutally realistic Sydney test imaginable:
- a Bunnings car park
- a Red Rooster drive-through
- Westfield chaos
- and a few laps around Parramatta Park
It handled the stop-start rhythm well. I didn’t need to charge it before returning the keys—but I wanted to see how easy charging would be if I did.
Charging: fine at home, shaky in the wild
Most EV owners charge primarily at home (and some at work), which is great if you have off-street parking or employer chargers. But public chargers are still essential for apartment dwellers, renters, and anyone doing long-distance travel.
Dia’s own work on “charging deserts” highlights the problem: long regional routes can require careful planning, and some rural areas still have minimal coverage.
Even in suburban Sydney, charging turned into a mini scavenger hunt. Using the NSW government’s EV charging map, I drove to three listed stations in western Sydney:
- one was occupied and restricted to patrons
- one didn’t appear to exist (at least, not where the map suggested)
- and the third was also occupied
That’s not a deal-breaker for everyone—but it’s exactly the sort of friction that makes buyers hesitate.
What ute drivers think
In a Bunnings car park, I asked a handful of ute drivers what they made of the Musso EV idea.
The pattern was consistent:
- Some liked the concept but wanted the tech to “prove itself” over time.
- Others worried about range and charging, especially for work travel.
- One voiced a safety concern that EVs are too quiet.
- A few said they’d consider it only for city work—shorter trips, predictable routes, no remote towing.
Only one driver was fully sold: for hauling gear around town without off-roading, an electric ute sounded “perfect.”
Are electric utes the answer?
Electric utes clearly help on emissions. But they don’t automatically solve Australia’s growing safety debate around vehicle size.
Road fatalities hit around 1,300 deaths in 2024, a 12-year high, and experts have warned that “car bloat” runs directly against efforts to improve road safety outcomes.
The Musso EV is still a big vehicle. Its dimensions are roughly:
- 5,160mm long
- 1,920mm wide
- 1,750mm high
That’s only a step down from the Ranger and HiLux category it hopes to join.
And that’s the paradox. Behind the wheel, I felt safer being higher up. Back in my Polo afterward, I felt relieved—especially in shopping centre car parks where height bars suddenly become your problem again.
The Musso EV makes a credible argument that an electric ute can be mainstream, not exotic. But whether it becomes a genuine shift in Australia’s ute culture may depend less on the ute itself—and more on whether charging infrastructure catches up to the way Australians actually drive.