Kia Tasman Is The First Pickup Truck from the South Korean Brand
Despite its oddity, the Kia pickup truck has the driving capabilities to handle a variety of surfaces.
After a series of teasers, the Tasman has finally arrived in the markets. This Ford Ranger competitor will be offered in South Korea, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. As expected from a mid-size pickup truck, this powerful truck comes in multiple flavours.
As the teaser images strongly hint, the truck looks a bit strange, but in a good way. At the rear of the car, a giant logo is on the tailgate, and the side view is the most interesting angle, with the body cladding resembling a moustache.
Kia will sell the Tasman in single, double, and streamlined body styles that business owners can customise.
On the front, the Tasman also stands out with its unconventional fascia, pushing the vertical headlights to the sides. There is also another large KIA logo and a bulging hood to make the truck look more rugged. Overall, it’s not the Telluride truck some assumed it would be, which goes for what’s underneath the polarising body. It’s a body-on-frame truck instead of using a unibody like the Maverick or Ridgeline.
Inside, it’s not as rugged as its exterior suggests. It has a car-like interior with a three-screen layout. There’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster connected to a 5-inch display in the middle and a 12.3-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system. Despite the screen space, Kia hasn’t ditched traditional switches, with a few buttons and dials still available to access the most commonly used functions.
The centre console features a panel with the pickup’s dimensions: 212 inches long, 75 inches wide, and 75 inches tall. They didn’t mention the wheelbase, but the Tasman measures 128.7 inches between the axles.
The new truck will be available with a differential lock button and a low-range mode switch, a six-speed manual transmission, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and two— and four-wheel-drive configurations.
The Tasman has a double-wishbone front suspension and a solid leaf-sprung rear axle. It is claimed to be able to cross water up to 31.5 inches deep at speeds of 8kmph, and as a safety measure, there are waterproof connectors for certain interior parts. All-terrain tyres are available with 17- and 18-inch wheels, plus multiple drive modes to handle a variety of surfaces: desert, mud, snow, and rock.
Kia claims that the second-row rear seats have the best headroom, shoulder room, and legroom in the class. The rear seats recline between 22 and 30 degrees and can be raised to store valuables you don’t want to stow in the trunk in two hidden bins. Elsewhere, the Tasman has dual wireless charging pads, a Harman Kardon sound system, a fold-out console table, and grab handles in the front pillars.
Kia will offer 13 accessories, including locking bead-style wheels and side steps. You can configure The illuminated bed in the back with a canopy featuring butterfly doors, a sliding lid, or a roll bar. A roof rack compatible with a rooftop tent is also available.
The company believes that Saudi Arabia will be one of the leading markets for the truck, so it is premiering its world at the Jeddah International Motor Show.
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