Kia Tasman 2025: first official look, first official details of South Korea’s first ute

The Kia Tasman has been published officially at final, with a mettlesome salvage and diversified class-main claims heralding the South Korean automobile maker’s first-ever challenger to the likes of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux.

Kia’s debut pickup is due on sale in mid-2025 and enters Australia’s vastly current ute segment as one in all the superb, with a 5.41-metre dimension that extends it beyond key competitors. It’s additionally wider and taller than most opponents.

Three body kinds comprise dual-cab, single-cab and cab-chassis, and a trio of neat grades comprise Baseline entry-diploma model, mid-fluctuate X-Line, and the fluctuate-topping X-Professional.

Australian Tasmans will be offered with stunning a single drivetrain – a four-cylinder turbo-diesel, eight-tempo auto, and both two-wheel power (unhappy model) or part-time all-wheel power.

Right here’s Chasing Vehicles’ recordsdata to your entire first key reliable particulars in regards to the Kia Tasman.

Click on on the hyperlinks beneath to jump straight to your entire significant areas

• Originate
• Dimensions
• Chassis
• Drivetrain
• Off-Roading
• Tray
• The Cabin
• Pricing

Originate

The Tasman’s styling is one in all the key talking beneficial properties as Kia can’t be accused of being a surprised violet with its interpretation of a dual-cab ute.

Or in the company’s possess words: “The Kia salvage crew deliberately shunned the acquainted plan language that has dominated the decide-up genre for a long time.

This new technique to aesthetics strips away the needless to inaugurate with a fundamental, appropriate plan that highlights the automobile’s sense of solid energy by easy but purposeful aspects, with out relying on the oversized styling that has reach to dominate the pickup segment.”

The headlights and LED signature lighting fixtures incorporated into the front fender and wheelarch is especially progressive. The darkish plastic wheelarch ‘eyebrows’ have a tendency to be the most polarising side of the Tasman’s salvage.

C-fashioned LED tail-lights are housed in a plastic part that hyperlinks visually to the wheelarch covers.

The tail-lights are saved to the side to accommodate the tailgate that’s stamped proudly with ‘KIA TASMAN’.

9 exterior color choices encompass two palette novices for Kia: Tan Beige and Denim Blue.

Dimensions

The Tasman is 5410mm lengthy to stretch beyond a Ranger by 40mm and stunning in need of an Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster by 30mm. Width is 1930mm (now not including mirrors), height varies from 1870mm (Baseline) to 1920mm (X-Professional, including roof rack).

Coincidentally, the Tasman’s 3270mm wheelbase is similar to that of the Ranger’s.

Chassis

The Tasman aspects a segment-used body-on-body platform, with a double-wishbone suspension up front and traditional leaf-sprung and solid-axle procedure-up at the rear.

Variable-frequency dampers and hydraulic rebound regulate are designed to wait on the ute’s body regulate, comfort, and refinement on diversified surfaces.

Kia is claiming class-main on-avenue refinement for the Tasman. The corporate says the Tasman incorporates intensive sound-deadening materials, further wind-sealing strips, and noise-extractor abilities.

Drivetrain

All Aussie Tasmans will be powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, mated to an eight-tempo auto – without a manual procedure to be offered at this stage.

The engine is a enhance of the acquainted ‘R-sequence’ 2.2L stumbled on in the likes of the Kia Carnival.

A energy output of 154kW matches the Ranger’s twin-turbo diesel 2.0-litre and is a runt bit above the 150kW offered by the Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton diesel fours.

Maximum torque is rated at 441Nm, which is higher than the 400Nm delivered by a KGM SsangYong Musso however in any other case falls in need of the 500Nm Ranger and Hilux, besides to the Triton’s 470Nm.

Kia quotes 10.4 seconds for the Tasman’s 0-100km/h scurry, with a major tempo of 185km/h.

There are three power modes for 4wd fashions – Eco, Neat and Sport – and extra off-avenue modes (see Off-Roading part).

The entry Baseline is rear-wheel power; the 4wd Baseline, X-Line and X-Professional fashions characteristic switchable four-wheel power by technique of a centre console swap.

Australia is skipping a 207kW/421Nm 2.5-litre petrol engine available in other markets, which is paired to both the same eight-tempo auto or a six-tempo manual and has a quoted 0-100km/h of 8.5 seconds.

A 3500kg braked towing skill matches the true available in the class.

Kia Australia has beforehand suggested Chasing Vehicles that further drivetrain alternate recommendations would be added at some point soon, owing to the intensive model lives of sunshine-commercial vehicles.

Off-Roading

Ground clearance is most generous for the most off-avenue-centered variant, the X-Professional that has a ride height of 252mm. The 2WD Baseline is next superb with 231mm, while other fashions are 224mm.

Kia has but to earn draw, rampover or departure angles for the Tasman.

Four-wheel-power Tasmans enable switching between two-wheel-power Excessive, four-wheel-power auto, four-wheel-power Excessive, and four-wheel-power Low.

They additionally encompass Terrain modes comprising Snow/Mud/Sand(Desolate tract)/Rock.

The flagship X-Professional provides a rear electronic locking diff and wears 17-plod all-terrain tyres as similar old. Baseline comes with both 17- or 18-plod popular tyres; the X-Line is accessible with 18-plod alloy wheels wrapped in both similar old or all-terrain rubber.

X-Professional has a low-tempo cruise regulate system dubbed X-Trip as another fluctuate distinctive.

All fashions possess downhill braking support and an 800mm wading depth (at 7km/h), matching Ford’s Ranger, as an example.

A Ground See Video display uses the Tasman’s forward-going by camera to relay terrain recordsdata to the driver by technique of the central touchscreen. Kia doesn’t specify if the characteristic is similar old or non-obligatory, however ask it to in all likelihood characteristic as similar old on the head-grade X-Professional.

Tray: Dimensions, Payload, Facets, and Accessories

The Tasman’s load bed measures 1512mm lengthy, 540mm deep, and 1572mm wide – with 1186mm between the wheelhouses. Kia claims the tray gives a segment-benchmark 1173 litres (VDA).

Before the worldwide dispute presentation, Chasing Vehicles understands the Tasman’s tray can fit an Aussie pallet (1165 x 1165mm) however is gazing for affirmation whether the specification can accommodate a Euro-dimension pallet (1200 x 800mm) fancy the Ranger, Amarok and Triton.

Payload is rated as excessive as 1195kg for the 2WD Tasman, though is restful above the magic tonne tag for 4wd variations (1017kg).

Nook steps provide convenient earn admission to to the bath, with other practicality alternate recommendations including 240V energy outlet, bed dividers, a sliding cargo flooring, and even a mini desk for placing coffee cups or transportable Bluetooth audio system.

The global Kia Tasman press launch referred to four tray configurations, though it’s now not certain at this stage what’s going to be available in Australia. What we enact know is that Kia Australia is rising a local tools fluctuate for the ute.

The Cabin

The Tasman’s interior follows the pattern for modern utes, mixing one of the significant rugged aesthetics of a workhorse with modern, automobile-style cabin tech.

A relatively low poke – which bodes well for forward vision – is dominated by a trio of digital monitors incorporated actual into a panoramic diagram, a procedure-up borrowed from other Kias similar to the EV9 worthy electrical SUV.

These comprise a 12.3-plod driver dispute, a 5.0-plod heating/ventilation dispute, and a 12.3-plod infotainment touchscreen.

Kia Australia has but to ascertain whether this digital procedure-up is similar old all the draw in which by the fluctuate or restricted to higher-spec fashions similar to the X-Line and X-Professional. An eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio is out there as an possibility.

Bodily buttons exist on the poke for infotainment menu shortcuts and cabin temperature regulate, while quantity/off-on is amongst a few switches in the cabin to earn the thumb-scroller treatment. The scrollers and cabin-temp buttons characteristic knurled plastic.

The wide centre console is a piece of practicality art, with its headline characteristic a console bin lid that folds towards the poke to salvage a working desk for laptops.

Originate sections encompass worthy, dual cupholders and charging trays for 2 smartphones.

Kia claims the Tasman brings superb-in-class headroom, shoulder room, and rear legroom. The rear bench aids comfort with seatback recline (22-30 levels), while the seat unhappy lifts to dispute a 33-litre storage dwelling.

Consumers can decide from five interior colours, with X-Line and X-Professional fashions additionally offering two-tone alternate recommendations.

Pricing

A global launch is too early for native pricing. Search recordsdata from Kia Australia to utter this vital recordsdata closer to the Tasman’s launch in 2025.