Kia Tasman vs Lotus Emeya

What's the difference?

Kia expects its all-new Tasman to be a key player in Australia’s highly competitive ute segment. And to its credit, the Korean manufacturer has created its contender from scratch, rather than taking the easier platform-sharing route favoured by some rivals.

However, judging by feedback from numerous locals during our test, the jury is out on whether Aussies will warm 'en masse' to its bold styling and confronting appearance, which tends to distract from the capable vehicle beneath.

So, given our tradie focus, we recently spent a week in the lowest-priced entry point for Tasman dual-cab ute ownership, to see how it measures up as a tool-of-trade for tradies, farmers or fleets wanting a back-to-basics workhorse.

The third film in a trilogy is often the hardest to get right - Return of the Jedi is not as acclaimed as The Empire Strikes Back.The Godfather III is nowhere near as revered as its predecessors.

Which I mention because we’ve come to the end of our Lotus trilogy, as regular readers may have noticed in recent weeks we have tested the Emira and Eletre.

This time we’re driving the Emeya, the third and final member of the brand’s new line-up (at least for now) that manages to combine elements of both its stablemates.

The Emeya is Lotus’ direct rival to the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan, an electric sports sedan that takes elements of the Emira’s dynamics and pairs it with the Eletre’s powertrain and style.

So let’s find out how this final installment of the Lotus trilogy has a happy ending or not…