MG is all-set to unveil its first ever pickup truck

MANILA: From sporting roadsters to rebadged Rovers and then all-kinds kind of cars and crossovers, MG has come a long way after 90 years of its existence in the automobile space. What something that MG hasn't done yet is, build a pickup truck. However, the drought is soon to end as the British automobile manufacturer is all set to bring out its first-ever pickup truck very soon.

Going by the image preview, the pickup truck by MG will be called Extender and lock horns with the likes of Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, and Mitsubishi Strada. The MG Extender will be launched in Thailand in the latter part of the current month, i.e., July 2019. Speaking more of the MG Extender, the pickup truck is going to be a rebadged Maxus T60, which is not a surprise keeping in mind MG's history. With that said, the Maxus T60 is a pickup truck with more than decent specifications and features.

Launched around two years ago, the Maxus T60 comes housing a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine that produces163 PS of maximum power and a peak torque of 375. There is another engine option available, which is a twin-turbocharged avatar of the same 2.0-litre powerhouse. Power figures here read a maximum power of 218 PS and 480 Nm of peak torque. While rear-wheel-drive is standard across the range, both the powertrains also offer a four-wheel-drive option is also available.

What else that we can comprehend from the image is that all of the rear bumper and taillights of the MG Extender are identical to the Maxus T60. The only visible difference here is the tailgate, which is a flat unit on the MG Extender as compared to one on Maxus T60 that features a "Maxus" stamping. We also expect MG to put its grille at the front and provide the pickup truck with a differentiating appearance.

Pickup trucks and Filipinos get along very well, don't they? Hence, we won't mind having another option in the market. However, with Maxus already selling its vehicle in the Philippines, we might see a Maxus T60 making its way here than the MG Extender.

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