Kia EV2 Reviews

Kia Australia appears to have confirmed the future direction of its Tasman ute, conceding a plug-in hybrid powertrain was "on the radar" as the brand prepares to officially launch the diesel variant of its first-ever ute.Kia Australia chief Damien Meredith was quick to point out that no timelines were currently in place, and the focus was squarely on the launch of the diesel-powered Tasman, which has so far accrued close to 2000 orders."I think it's on the radar, but let's get the 2.2-litre diesel up and firing, and then we can talk about other engine options," he said.His comments follow similar suggestions from Kia Australia General Manager of Product Planning, Roland Rivero, who recently told CarsGuide the Kia Tasman platform had been future-proofed.“It’s a modular platform and it can accommodate numerous powertrains,” he told CarsGuide, when asked about the possibility of a plug-in hybrid.“Tasman will have a long life as most light commercial vehicles will, and we’ll do what we need to do from a market perspective.Plug-in hybrid petrol powertrains have emerged as the saviour of the ute segment, at least in terms of capability, as pressure on the continued sale of diesel engines mount.The Ford Ranger PHEV, for example, maintains its 3.5-tonne towing capacity, while the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha both promise off-road capability.Toyota, too, has confirmed it is working on a plug-in hybrid solution as the future of the HiLux."If we can get to a situation where a PHEV has the capability of doing 200-plus kilometres on BEV alone — so in other words, if I've got a HiLux I can just go around town, I can run that on BEV and be carbon-neutral pretty well, providing I'm using renewable energy to do it," Toyota Australia's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley, told CarsGuide last year.“Now the issue is of course can it tow? Can it take a heavy load? Well, to be able to flick a switch and say, well, for those moments where I'm going out off-road or for those moments where I need to tow a heavy load, I've got the convenience of going to a normal hybrid engine and I can get 500 or 600 kilometres and it's convenient, then I see a role for PHEV in that space."Asked directly whether Toyota is working on a 200km-range PHEV, Mr Hanley told us: “Of course we are. And so that to us would represent two things. It's practical (and) it can do things that the customer wants it to do.”

Kia has just made a surprise confirmation that its new Tasman ute is currently being evaluated by police forces around Australia, and that had us thinking: what police vehicles are out there that aren’t the usual suspects?That's right, we're not talking police versions of the Kia Sorento, nor the Hyundai Tucson, or the Volkswagen Passat and Tiguan. We mean the left-of-field police cars. The ones you really might not have known were out there on the roads.So, with a little bit of help from Australian Police Vehicles Facebook group, here are our top five favourite police cars you might not have seen coming. Hyundai’s big eight-seater SUV is doing some undercover work for Victoria Police. This one spotted recently by Issacc Brown from IB Emergency Photography in the regional Victorian town of Sale happens to be the Calligraphy Black Ink edition of the Palisade. Exclusive to the Calligraphy Black Ink edition are 20-inch black glossy alloy wheels, tough looking dark-tinted radiator grille and black suede seats inside. The Palisade comes with two drivetrains and all-wheel drive which is powered by a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder turbo diesel or a front-wheel drive variant which uses a 3.8-litre V6 petrol. Oooh! NSW Police has got themselves a Chevrolet Suburban RST and this one spotted and snapped by Clinton J Down Photography is serving with the Tactical Operations Unit TOU. The RST grade means the large SUV comes with a 5.3-litre petrol V8, air suspension, 22-inch alloy wheels and luxurious interior features.The TOU role is “the safe resolution of high risk situations without loss of life, injury to persons or damage to property.”While this unmarked SUV is doing its best not to be noticed it’s hard not to miss something so enormous and rare on our roads.The Northern Territory Police are using an unmarked Ford F-150 as seen here snapped by an anonymous poster to the Australian Police Vehicles Facebook.While this full-sized American pickup truck is so large it almost blocks out the sun, it’s looking pretty inconspicuous as a police vehicle. The giveaways that this F-150 is serving on the force are the tiny LED emergency lights integrated subtly into the grille. You’d never know… well, almost.From what we can see this looks like the XLT grade which comes with a 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine and part-time four-wheel drive.Here’s one Kia kept quiet - Tasmania’s police has a Carnival people mover on its force as seen here in a photo taken by Taliesan Sharman.We’re big fans of the Carnival at CarsGuide with it not only being practical but great to drive making it the perfect big family car. This one seen here looks like just another suburban family hauler especially with the roof box and awning, but on closer inspection you’ll see emergency LED lights integrated into the grille and radio aerials.  There have been some tough looking police vehicles, but not many can claim to being as tough as a Police Rescue Squad Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series as snapped here by Fleet Street Photography.This is a 2019 70 Series, which sports a 4.5-litre diesel V8 and was only available with a five-speed manual gear box. While more uncomfortable to pilot than a camel, if you did happen to have got yourself into an accident somewhere incredibly remote the chances of one of these vehicles making it to you and getting you out of there is 100 per cent.

The Sportage is Kia's best-selling model in Australia, where it battles heavyweights like the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid in our biggest and most hotly contested segment. In other words, this mid-life update is crucial. So Kia has added more hybrid options, a new look, and new tech and safety in an effort to win over buyers. But is that enough? We put it to the test to find out.

Kia has confirmed to CarsGuide its Tasman ute is currently being evaluated by police forces around Australia.

Kia has detailed its PV5 electric van in Korea ahead of its international debut.

The 2025 Kia EV5 GT-Line has a lot going for it in the fully electric mid-size SUV segment, but it has one key flaw that some buyers might not be able to see past.

The Kia Tasman appears off to a running start in Australia, with the new diesel dual-cab accruing enough orders to see it finish ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Mazda BT-50 and BYD Shark 6 – and alongside the Isuzu D-Max – in its first month of deliveries.

It’s EOFY time again!

The long-awaited Kia Tasman ute will finally land in customer hands in July of this year, arriving locally with a single 2.2-litre diesel engine option.

Kia Australia has detailed the pricing and specifications for its updated 2026 Sportage mid-size SUV ahead of imminent customer deliveries.