Sketch of the Kia Tasman pickup design based on the Mohave SUV chassis – Photo: SRX Design
In mid-August, senior management at Kia Australia confirmed to Drive that the brand’s all-new mid-size pickup model would be fully launched in 2024. Company leadership’s tentative preferred name for the company. The new pickup line is the Kia Tasman.
However, this is just a tentative name, not 100% official greenlighted yet.
The design of the Kia Tasman is currently unknown. The car’s focus is on strong and durable performance, which means the exterior frame will be very different from the Hyundai Santa Cruz, another pickup model from the same group, which is urban-oriented.
In previous test versions, the Kia Tasman used a square floating frame taken from the Kia Mohave SUV. However, beneath this chassis is a newly developed chassis of unknown parameters.
The test version of the Kia Tasman will appear at the end of 2022 – Photo: Drive
The Kia Tasman project has been launched by Hyundai – Kia since 2020. Hyundai will also add a pickup line to the global lineup in the future, but the company is still hesitating between globalizing the Santa Cruz (currently available in North America) and developing a new pickup like the Kia.
According to information shared by Kia Australia with dealers in this country, the Kia pickup will have the same payload and towing capacity as the best-selling pickup model. This means that the payload of the vehicle promises to drop to 1,000 kg, with a maximum carrying capacity of 3,500 kg.
The powertrain that the Kia Tasman is said to use is a diesel, not gasoline or electric. The best candidates for this position are the turbocharged 2.2L 4-cylinder version of the Kia Sorento/Hyundai Santa Fe or the turbocharged 3.0L I-6 version of the Genesis GV80. It is not clear whether there is a pure electric version of the car or not.
The Kia Tasman’s production schedule will begin in the first half of 2025, which means the opening time will also fall in the same period. This name line would compete with the then-latest generation Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara.
If the Toyota Hilux comes out in 2025 as per current rumours, the Kia Tasman will also have to be very wary of this rival.
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