If there’s one segment the Chinese automakers have yet to truly penetrate, that would be pickup trucks. Yes, they’ve been offered for decades, but it seems to be a difficult market to crack. That said, there have been promising models, the most recent being the BYD Shark 6 DM-O.
Now, MG wants a crack at it too with its latest load lugger. Dubbed the U9, it has just made its world premiere at the Melbourne Motor Show. It appears to be a more serious effort, especially compared to the last MG-badged pickup.
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We have to specify that it’s MG-badged and not a full-on MG model. As the British-Chinese brand is under the SAIC conglomerate, the U9 is actually a Maxus at heart. Not a bad thing, given that the G50 Plus MPV, originally a Maxus, is selling rather well.
Back to the U9, its original Maxus version is the Star X. The pickup is also badged as an LDV over in Australia as the Terron 9. In terms of dimensions, it’s at the larger end of the scale at 5,500mm long, 1,997mm wide, 1,860mm tall, with a wheelbase of 3,300mm wheelbase. That makes it slightly larger than the already sizable Ford Ranger. This pickup’s ground clearance is then rated at 220mm.
Under the hood, the MG U9 uses a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine. It’s good for 220hp and 520Nm of torque, so it’s one of the punchier models in its segment. It then shifts with an eight-speed automatic, while two and four-wheel drive configurations are available. No manual transmission is offered.
Full specifications have yet to be revealed, so we’ll have to wait a little longer for that.
