The truck of the once British brand was radically transformed externally, but the interior of the reform was almost not affected. The technique is also the same.


In the MG range, a frame pickup truck appeared in 2019, the model was not developed from scratch - it is a clone of the "Chinese" Maxus T70, which, in turn, is an upgraded version of the Maxus T60. Recall that both brands belong to the SAIC concern (by the way, Maxus originated from the British LDV, and that was once owned by the GAZ Group). The first market for the MG truck was Thailand, where it is called the Extender, buyers are offered locally assembled cars. Thais did not like the model of the once British brand, but in this country they love pickups (in 2020, they accounted for 46.1% of total sales). So, last year, the Extender sold only 5,387 copies, while, for example, the Nissan Navara gained 13,523 owners, the result of the Mitsubishi Triton (aka L200) – 25,704 pieces, Toyota Hilux – 129,893 units, well, the leader of the entire Thai market is the Isuzu D-Max – 160,328 units.

And against this background, the Thai MG division decided to upgrade the truck. A full presentation is scheduled for March 22, but the model has already been shown to local media, among them was MagCarZine, which published a photo. It is curious that in China such a pickup truck debuted only a few days ago, and in its historical homeland it is positioned as a separate model – the Maxus T90. In China, the "nineties", apparently, will be sold simultaneously with the T70, but in Thailand it is a restyling, and the pre-reform version has already disappeared from the local MG website.

So, externally, the Extender completely repeated the Maxus T90 (not counting the emblems), they didn't even bother with the radiator grille, although the pre-reform MG pickup had its own. Well, if you compare with the previous truck, then the changes are, of course, striking: in addition to the massive chrome horizontal bars, the models also got a two–story head optics (running lights are located on top, below are the main headlight blocks and fog lights - all this stuff is on LEDs), new front bumper, hood and lights, plus more aft additional glowing sections are flaunted.

As before, in Thailand, the pickup will be available with a one-and-a-half or double cab. But in China, according to preliminary data, the Maxus T90 has no "simple" version. So far, the dimensions of only the restyled MG Extender Double Cab have been disclosed, and they have not changed in this variant: length is 5365 mm, width is 1900 mm, height is 1850 mm, wheelbase is 3155 mm, claimed ground clearance is 216 mm.

The interior of the "Chinese" Maxus T90 MG pickup did not copy this time, the Extender remained the same inside at all, only the color scheme was replaced – now black and brown (before there was a black finish). The "Nineties" also received a completely new interior: it has a different front panel, the central deflectors of the airflow have moved lower, a virtual "tidy" has appeared, combined with the touchscreen of the multimedia system, and an unfixed joystick of the "automaton".

The MG Extender engine was also not affected by the reforms – in Thailand, the model is equipped with a turbodiesel 2.0 with a capacity of 161 hp, which is paired with six–speed "mechanics" or "automatic", the drive is rear or full. The pickup has a spar frame and an uncut rear axle on springs. Meanwhile, the Maxus T90 in China has a 2.0 biturbed diesel engine producing 218 hp, it is combined with an eight-speed "automatic".

Under the MG brand, the truck is still sold in some countries of the Middle East, but there it bears the T60 index. Most likely, "their" version will also be updated soon.

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