MG Extender facelift revealed in Thailand – rebadged Maxus T60 pick-up refreshed with radical new nose

Showing how seriously it is taking Thailand, MG released the Extender exclusively for the market back in 2019, entering the lucrative one-tonne pick-up truck segment. Just two years later, the company is giving it a significant facelift, adding a radical new front fascia that was revealed by Headlight Magazine.

For the uninitiated, the Extender is based on the Maxus T60, both of which are under the SAIC umbrella. However, the new face helps the MG set itself apart, bringing it more in line with the increasingly extroverted designs of competing models. Sitting literally front and centre is a massive hexagonal chrome grille with large horizontal slats, with the MG badge mounted on top.

The Extender also joins the split headlight trend, sporting slim indicator/daytime running light assemblies up top and vertical main lamps underneath. Fewer changes can be found at the rear, save for a new full-width tailgate appliqué that visually extends the taillights, although the lamps themselves remain unchanged. Overall, it looks much more aggressive compared to its predecessor, which was almost identical to the T60.

Not many changes on the inside, just new brown leather upholstery with faux carbon fibre trim. As before, the Extender can be had with a ten-inch infotainment touchscreen and the i-Smart voice control system, which understands Thai and can be used control the air-conditioning, audio, phone calls and navigation. There’s also an MG Link smartphone app to control various functions remotely, as well as online music streaming.

Despite the name, the MG isn’t a range-extended electric vehicle, but a conventionally-powered pick-up. Unlike the T60 sold here, the Extender doesn’t get the VM Motori 2.8 litre turbodiesel; instead, it features a smaller 2.0 litre mill from the mildly-upgraded T70 in China. Developed in conjunction with General Motors, it makes 161 PS at 4,000 rpm and 375 Nm of torque between 1,500 and 2,400 rpm. Buyers can choose between six-speed automatic and manual gearboxes, as well as either two- or all-wheel drive.

The facelifted Extender will be launched on March 22 at the Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS), offered in the same two body styles – double cab and Giant Cab (i.e. extended cab) with suicide doors.

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