The new Kia Tasman ‘ute’ will arrive in Australia next year. What’s it all about?
Here in the U.S., our midsize truck lineup has been more or less established for the past couple decades. With the exception of the Ford Ranger’s return in 2019 (and a new-generation truck this year), it’s mainly just been Toyota, GM, Nissan and Honda locked in the fight for buyers. Now, Kia is looking to bring its own pickup called the Tasman into the fray…at least in the Australian market.
The automaker released two stills Wednesday giving another view of what the truck will look like, after it published the first set of photos back in April. It’s planning to unveil a couple videos as well between July and October. In its statement, Kia says it’s conducted “1,777 specific tests over 18,000-plus rounds of evaluation” in Australia, before the Tasman actually launches down under.
It certainly looks different, with black fenders extruding from the rest of the body and integrating with the vertically oriented headlights. It also has a completely upright front end with only a slightly protruding bumper, and a fairly boxy side profile. Like the Honda Ridgeline over here, Kia evidently only plans to offer the Tasman as a crew cab ute, though the rear doors do look quite a bit shorter than the front for a “double cab” sort of aesthetic.
Both the South Korean and Australian launches of this truck will reportedly feature the same engine: a 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel. That’s a strong hint (if you really needed one) that this truck is not bound for the U.S. While it’s certainly the case that heavy-duty trucks still offer diesel options across the board, that is no longer the case in the midsize truck segment. It’s hardly true in the half-ton segment, either, with the only 1500-level truck still offering an oil burner being the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Rumors abound that a gas powertrain will also be on offer at some point. If that happens and Kia is willing to take on the Toyota Tacoma’s market dominance, not to mention the established competition, we may yet see the Tasman parked next to Sorentos, Tellurides and Sportages on American dealer lots.
What do you think of it so far? Would you take the plunge?
