Kia won't summit Everest: Why the Tasman SUV is not coming to challenge the Ford Everest, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Isuzu MU-X

Dreams of a ute-based SUV to rival the Ford Everest appear over, with the Tasman to remain a ute, and a ute only, for the foreseeable future.

To know for sure, we asked the man who’d know — and who would likely be designing it — Kia’s VP of Next Exterior Design, John Buckingham.

Kia’s Next Exterior Design team deals in the brand’s future product portfolio, including the Tasman, but Mr Buckingham says the Tasman SUV is not a go project.

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“We are not exploring that at the moment,” he said. “So we haven't got anything on our drawing boards.

“I really like what the Tasman has and, just from my point of view, it has a huge amount of potential as a visual statement. But that's all we have at the moment.”

Fairly unequivocal, then.

But while nothing is on the cards at the moment, the door isn’t entirely closed on an SUV project somewhere down the line, with Mr Buckingham suggesting we would all have to wait and see what comes of the Tasman.

2025 Kia Tasman

“That's what we're doing now. We are setting our stall. This is the aesthetic, this is the approach (we) want to take. And that's what I mean by this journey. So we have to see what comes of it really,” he says.

Kia in Australia has made the desire for a true Ford Everest, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Isuzu MU-X rival clear, saying hands will be up for the model the moment one becomes available.

“We've got our hands up. If it was decided globally to develop and [Kia] asked, we would love to bring one in,” says Kia Australia’s product chief, Roland Rivero.