Venturing into the highly popular mid-size pickup truck segment, Kia Tasman offers a choice between a 2.5L Petrol and a 2.2L Diesel engines
Kia is a well-known international brand hailing from South Korea and is renowned for its sensible and exciting vehicles in ICE and EV powertrains. While hatchbacks, crossovers, SUVs and minivans are their “Forte” (pun intended), Kia has been experimenting with pickup truck segment.
The first-ever Kia Pickup truck was just unveiled at Jeddah International Motor Show and is intended to sell in markets like the Middle East, South Korea, Australia and Africa. Probability of it launching in North America, Europe and ASEAN nations is highly unlikely. It rivals mid-size pickup trucks like Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, BYD Shark, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger and others.
Kia Pickup Truck
After testing it and teasing it for a long time, Kia has finally taken the wraps off its new Tasman Pickup truck. Trucks like Chevy El Camino and Tesla Cybertruck tried to reinvent pickup truck silhouette. Kia Tasman sticks to standard pickup silhouette but aims to redefine the pickup truck design language.
Design of Kia Tasman can be termed as “hard to digest” or unfathomable, at best. Kia’s unusual design exercises usually click, but that’s not the case with Tasman. Design is too busy for many and the company is offering a bunch of accessories for buyers to make their vehicle unique and more appealing than stock truck.
Kia Tasman is offered in both single-cab and dual-cab layout with load carrying capacity ranging between 1,017 kg to 1,195 kg. The load bay is illuminated and has a max capacity of 1,173L and comes with power outlet, mini table and sliding cargo floor. The maximum towing capacity of Kia Tasman is 3,500 kg. Ground clearance ranges between 224 mm and 252 mm.
The first ever Kia pickup truck is underpinned by a tough ladder-frame chassis. It is suspended on double wishbone suspension setup at the front and leaf springs with shock absorbers at the rear. Tasman also gets fancy frequency selective damper control and hydraulic rebound stop technology to offer comfort or functionality whenever needed.
Interiors, Specs and Features
Unlike exteriors, interiors are far more subtle and fathomable. Being a pickup truck, which is considered a workhorse, Kia Tasman tries to incorporate a few intelligent elements too. The wide dashboard is dominated by twin 12.3-inch displays, one touchscreen for infotainment and other for instrumentation. Similar screens are seen in Kia Carnival too.
There’s a smart 5-inch display that cycles between climate controls and music controls. Speaking of, Tasman offers an 8-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system. There is a folding table in centre console and 33L storage below rear seats. Rear bench can be folded too, to increase practicality.
Powertrains wise, Kia Tasman gets two options. There is a 2.5L petrol engine with up to 277 bhp and 421 Nm and a 2.2L diesel engine with 207 bhp and 441 Nm. A 6-speed manual and 8-speed automatic gearbox options are available. Except for base model, all variants get 4WD as standard with Sand, Mud, Rock and Snow Terrain Modes.
