Kia Tasman News

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.

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 has defended its passenger-car-sourced 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine as the correct powertrain for its incoming Tasman ute

Has Kia just revealed its hybrid hero that will take on the Ford Ranger Raptor? The brand has just revealed the thumping WKNDR concept at the Seoul Motor Show, which would also happen to be the perfect vehicle to house the heavily rumoured 2.5-litre turbo-hybrid powertrain expected to make its debut in the Tasman.

Kia Australia has some sway when it comes to the Tasman, with our know-how having a big effect on the ute globally.The brand's local Chief Ride and Handling Engineer, Graeme Gambold, explained how the brand was aware of the monumental task it faced in making something competitive for Australia.“One of the big challenges for us, for this vehicle, is because of this market’s dominance. When we were doing the initial discussions with Korea, we were saying, you know, you’re entering into the Olympic Games of utes coming to Australia, so it’s got to be very good and that means a very wide user demographic. We have fully laden operators and we’ve got people who are looking for unladen urban SUV-style ride dynamics.” he said.“So the whole dynamic package and ride and feeling package has been tuned around trying to optimise the balance point in those conflicting requirements. We think we’ve got it in a very good place.”The Tasman gets an Australian-specific tune, complete with standard frequency-selective shock absorbers and hydraulic rebound stoppers, as well as “optimised” bushings in the lower front control arms and rear leaf springs.In addition, the brand said Australian input was significant when it came to the shift mapping for the eight-speed traditional torque converter automatic transmission, and the software features for towing.In a rapidly changing dual-cab landscape though, with hybrids already having an impact via BYD’s Shark 6 and the long-awaited Ford Ranger PHEV, does Kia Australia think it’s put its best foot forward when it comes to powertrain, especially in an increasingly tight emissions environment thanks to Australia’s new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES)?The brand’s Australian General Manager of Product Planning, Roland Rivero thinks so: “I think for our first foray into the ute category we’ve chosen the right one” he said of the Tasman’s sole 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine, sourced from the brand’s passenger car range.“Other markets have got the 2.5-litre turbo petrol, not great for us when it comes to an NVES perspective. It’s got a little more power but down on torque so I think we’ve got the right one for our market and obviously we can monitor it and move forward with what needs to be done under NVES.”“We need to get the fundamentals right, and over 80 per cent of this category is four cylinder diesel,” he said.Rivero said “In this category the diverseness of usage is unparalleled. At the end of the day you know, others will experiment and obviously try new things out, which is great, it’s good to have that healthy competition, but you can’t deny that there are going to be customers which still have a very definitive need by way of towing capacity, payload, off-road capability and a locking rear diff, for example.”Kia also has bold sales predictions for the Tasman to help justify the cost of production for a ground-up ute in the years leading up to its launch. According to information revealed by the brand at a recent Investor Day, it intends to sell 80,000 Tasmans globally, with the local division aiming to do 20,000 units of the ute annually.As the Australian division’s Chief Operating Officer Dennis Piccoli said, the Tasman will need to make up a significant portion of Australian ute sales if it is to hit its targets. Something the team is confident it will be able to do despite challenges, like the ute market plateauing out in the first months of 2025 after some years of reasonable growth.“The market might be back a little at the moment and it’s moved forward a bit in the last couple of years — Ford with Ranger has been very active. The market at the end of the day is probably well into now. In terms of where we’re going to sell cars, the reality is that we think that our market share will probably equate to eight, nine, ten per cent and we’ll be pulling a couple of percentage points off the major players," said Piccoli.When pushed as to whether this means HiLuxes or GWM Cannons, Piccoli added: “The market is going to become very, very fragmented, that’s pretty obvious with the number of products coming through, so we’re happy to take a couple of cars off everybody.”While the brand added it had up to 2000 firm orders in the bag already, it didn’t have enough information yet to determine from where those orders were coming in terms of buyers trading in rival products.“Once the dealers start selling, we’ll get that information on what those trades are,” added Kia Australia CEO, Damien Meredith.Order books for the Tasman are open now, although first customer deliveries aren’t expected until late June or early July.

Kia details unique features of its top-spec X-Pro Tasman, as it takes aim at high-spec private ute buyers.

If any publicity is good publicity, Kia Australia must be rapt with the public’s response to the Tasman ute.

Kia Australia has some big expectations for its incoming Tasman ute. Most notable is the brand's aim of off-loading 20,000 units in its first full year, the equivalent to one quarter of the Tasman’s projected global sales.To do so in a shrinking ute market, it will need to lure Australian buyers away from traditional staples in Ford, Toyota and Isuzu while fighting off an increasing cohort of budget Chinese rivals such as BYD, GWM and JAC.Achieving that will be no easy feat and require the Tasman come competitively on the basics: grunt, payload, towing, tech, and arguably most important of all, price.So, does it? We’ve put the Tasman's top-grade head-to-head against some of Australia’s most popular ute models in an on-paper comparison designed to give you the best run-down on the all-new model before we've even taken it for a test drive.Starting with ground clearance, at 252mm, the Tasman exceeds its rivals by a minimum of 12mm. You could argue it's a relatively paltry difference, but 4WD enthusiasts would argue every millimetre counts when you're traversing rough terrain.Approach and departure angles is another area where the Tasman shines. At 32.2-degree approach and 26.2-degree departure, the Tasman shapes up as a symphony of well thought out proportions, something that will, once again, make it appealing to the four-wheel driving class.As an additional note, Kia claims to have "best-in-class" tub volume at 1173 litres, which sounds unusual given it doesn't have the largest tub dimensions in this class. Rather, its tub width and length are smaller than the Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Toyota HiLux Rogue. Further enquiries with Kia found that its best-in-class claim is according to VDA specifications, a commonly used European cargo space measuring guide. Ford, meanwhile, claims a tub volume of 1233-litres on the Wildtrak (a whole 60 litres more), though it's unclear what measurement guide the figure is based on.If its raw torque and power you're after, prospective buyers may be a little disappointed with the Tasman's outputs – at least on paper.But don't let the figures trick you into thinking its not a capable ute. In fact, it leads all of its rivals on payload, while delivering benchmark 3500kg towing; something the new plug-in hybrid BYD Shark 6 (321kW/650Nm) couldn't conquer.Kia said the decision to offer a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, which falls 30kW/159Nm short of its most powerful rival (the V6 Ford Ranger Wildtrak), was based on the brand's decision to comply with Australia's New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES). The scheme penalises carmakers who exceed government-mandated carbon emissions limits.While Kia is yet to officially release homologated emissions data on the Tasman, its relatively strong fuel consumption of 7.6 litres/100km suggests it will duck under the targets many of its rivals will fall victim to.This is one area where the Tasman decisively leads the segment, particularly in terms of tech and comfort. It carries twin 12.3-inch screens for multimedia and the digital driver's display, with a 5.0-inch touch monitor for climate controls wedged in-between.There's wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, digital radio, wireless charging, quilted leather upholstery and intuitive features like a large folding-table mounted to the centre console.Kia claims the Tasman has "class-leading" headroom, shoulder room and second row legroom, which makes sense given it is the longest vehicle in its class. The Tasman also comes with an additional 33 litres of under seat storage.The Ranger Wildtrak's interior set-up comes the closest, with a 10.1-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen and an 8.0-inch digital driver's display. It carries wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, too, as well as wireless charging and digital radio. Under seat storage is offered on the Wildtrak, however, Ford chooses not to quote a litre figure.The D-Max X-Terrain carries a smaller 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with an 8.0-inch digital driver's display. It misses out on wireless charging, though.The HiLux Rogue is well off the pace, providing only an 8.0-inch colour touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, no wireless charging pad and fewer clever storage spaces. Toyota is, however, set to upgrade this configuration next year when the new HiLux arrives.* All prices calculated before on-road costsPricing was one area where the Tasman was expected to spank the established competition, though its entry price of $42,990 before on-roads for the two-wheel drive S grade exceeds all its rivals by at least $6110.That likely comes down to higher production costs (the Tasman is built in South Korea, while its rivals are built in Thailand) and a more generous offering of standard features.By no means, however, is the Tasman exuberantly expensive, as evidenced by the X-Pro's mere $150 premium over the Wildtrak – a popular variant of Australia's most popular ute. But the success of budget Chinese brands, such as BYD, Chery, GWM and MG, in Australia has shown buyers are increasingly willing to prioritise value above all else, which could hurt the Tasman's sales prospects.Despite the conjecture online about the Kia Tasman's design, which does take a little getting used to, the Tasman is, by all means, a compelling package.It delivers and, in fact, exceeds the competition on several fundamentals, from ground clearance and approach/departure angles to payload, fuel efficiency, interior comfort and tech.That said, two key factors may not necessarily work in its favour - design and price. In a world where buyers are becoming increasingly cost-conscious, there may be a tendency to opt for more conventionally-styled budget rivals.As always, though, only time will tell whether the Tasman can live up to its maker's expectations.

Kia’s recent pricing announcement for its Tasman ute has caused the internet to explode, with many enthusiasts and prospective buyers weighing in on the debate about whether or not the newcomer costs too much.

We already know Australians love a dual-cab ute. The likes of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are constantly battling for the top rung on the new-car sales ladder.So when Kia announced it would launch new ute Down Under, the news was met with a mix of excitement and curiosity.From the outside, it seemed like the global carmaking giant was building the Tasman ute with Australia solely in mind, but of course other markets like the Middle East, South Africa, South America and parts of Asia will do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to sales volume.However, a snippet from the 2025 Kia CEO Investor Day gave away just how much pressure is on Australia when it comes to the Tasman’s sales success.“The brand’s first pickup truck, the Tasman, will launch in Korea, Australia and emerging markets, with an annual sales target of 80,000 units and a six percent market share.”That doesn’t sound like a lot globally, but consider this: Kia Australia is aiming to sell about 20,000 Kia Tasmans annually.Australia is a ute-mad market, but it’s also one of the smallest developed new-car markets and one of the most competitive in the world.Kia Australia taking on the responsibility of a quarter of the Tasman’s global sales is an incredible undertaking, especially for a new, unestablished model. Not to mention one that’s surrounded in some divisive discourse regarding its design.To put the ‘Australia vs the world’ sales split into perspective, let’s look at the nation’s favourite utes, the Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger.The HiLux, one of history’s most enduring workhorses, sells in extremely healthy numbers here. Last year Toyota shifted more than 53,000, the year before it was more than 61,000.Globally, Toyota sells somewhere in the vicinity of half a million HiLux units, making Australia’s sales only a tenth of the world’s total.The Ranger is a similar story, with a little more than 60,000 sold annually in the last couple of years. Globally it still sells in the hundreds of thousands - last year it approached 340,000.For Kia Australia, the Tasman is extremely important. This year the brand is looking to sell about 90,000 new cars, and 10,000 should be Tasmans if all goes to plan.If Kia starts approaching 100,000 sales in Australia soon, about a fifth should be Tasmans.But for Tasman, Australia is crucial. It’s hard to predict whether it will work out as the brand hopes, but Kia Australia says it has more than 20,000 expressions of interest.Kia Australia Chief Executive Damien Meredith told CarsGuide the launch of the Tasman’s and its first six months of sales are “a critical element for the back half of the year ”.The Australian ute market is already rather busy, and new rivals like the JAC T9 from China will put the pressure on. More are coming too, like the Foton Tunland and MG U9, which will likely come with competitive pricing and features.Kia Australia certainly won’t be taking the Tasman’s sales performance lightly, and nor should it.