Off-roader, family car. Can the Kia Tasman ute be both?

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Off-roader, family car. Can the Kia Tasman ute be both?

Published: 03 Apr. 2025, 08:30 Updated: 04 Apr. 2025, 15:36

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The Tasman is Kia’s first-ever pickup, specifically targeting customers in Australia and the Middle East. [SARAH CHEA]

[TEST DRIVE]

INJE COUNTY, Gangwon — Kia’s unveiling of the Tasman ute surprised many — and disappointed some — due to its unusual and unconventional styling cues.

The boundary-pushing design may have come to tackle the late-coming car’s arduous and greedy task: Challenging the longstanding two contenders, Ford’s Ranger and Toyota’s Hilux, in the pickup market.

Kia may have thought the only way to give it a try was to make Tasman do a double job, a rough off-roader that can turn into an everyday family car.

Tasman, Kia's first pickup truck targeting Australia and the Middle East. [KIA]

The Tasman is Kia’s first-ever pickup, targeting customers in Australia and the Middle East. Unfortunately, there's a slim chance that U.S. customers will be able to access the pickup.

The Korea JoongAng Daily on Monday drove the Tasman across Gangwon for six hours, crossing rough terrain like forest roads and under the water.

“Hideous. Awful. Ugly.” Facing the Tasman, this reporter could understand why the ute drew negative opinions from the public. Can’t defend it; the car is far from beautiful. It's bold and brutish, to say the least.

But seeing the ute in up close, it looks better than pictures. Rest assured, the wheel-arch fender flares, one of its most controversial talking points since its unveiling, could just be an optional extra.

Tasman is Kia’s first try, but the off-road details tell is never immature. Running on a 0.5-meter (3.3-foot) deep, the vehicle ran stably without any shakes or threatening moves for drivers. Tasman was designed to endure up to 0.8 meters of water at seven kilometers (3.5 miles) per hour.

An armrest storage box can also transform into a mini flat table. [SARAH CHEA]

The Tasman pickup offers 37 inches of legroom, more the rival Chevrolet Colorado's 35.8 inches and Ford Ranger's 34.6 inches. [SARAH CHEA]

Turning on the Terrain mode, the car itself detects the conditions of the road and self-controls the level of the accelerator. When the car was on the sand, the accelerator put up more resistance, helping to prevent risky situations due to slippery roads. On sand, it became quite more sensitive, allowing the car to move significantly more freely.

The X-Trek system is also a unique and helpful feature, especially for those who have to take the car up and down steep hills often. X-Trek is an off-road version of cruise control, where it adjusts the speed automatically without the need for human intervention.

“On up and downhills, accelerators are very dangerous, so controlling them is critical,” said a spokesperson for Kia. “The X-Trek system helps drivers to be free from that burden and prevent them to suddenly speed up and cause safety accidents.”

Tasman, Kia's first pickup truck targeting Australia and the Middle East. [SARAH CHEA]

Tasman, Kia's first pickup truck targeting Australia and the Middle East. [KIA]

But more impressive was the ute’s city driving ability — which was much better than one might expect from an off-roader.

The second-row seats were enough to fit adults. Kia said it reduced the thickness of seats to guarantee the space. It’s not that spacious, but the space is every bit as good as that of other midsize sedans or SUVs on the road.

Pickups usually are criticized for their cramped second-row seats due to the problem of securing a huge truck capacity. The Tasman pickup offers 37 inches of legroom, more than the rival Chevrolet Colorado's 35.8 inches and the Ford Ranger's 34.6 inches. Tasman did not miss on the payload capacity, as its maximum payload stays at 1,195 kilograms, with a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms.

“I put a lot of focus on the backseat comfort and usability, which can be seen with the storage possibilities. You can lift the backseat to store things. If you lift the bench, a bicycle can be stored there,” Karim Habib, global head of design at Kia, told the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Jeddah International Motor Show on Oct. 29, where the pickup made its global debut.

“We cared about the angle of the rear seats, where it offers the biggest legroom in the back in the segment.”

Tasman, Kia's first pickup truck targeting Australia and the Middle East. [SARAH CHEA]

The rear of the Tasman [SARAH CHEA]

An armrest storage box can also transform into a miniature table. It’s small, but a completely flat table. This reporter succeeded in writing on paper on the table without any difficulty. The seat back pockets are topped with zippers, perhaps a delicate touch considering it is an off-roader.

But first and foremost, the Tasman ute was comfortable to ride in, which is maybe the toughest task for a pickup. Due to their huge size, suspensions and tires, pickups normally translate to firmer driving, inevitably making passengers feel more road irregularities. This generally prevents people with children from considering one for their family car.

Tasman dug into that point and developed the car to provide a smoother ride with soft handling, just like riding a regular passenger car. It occasionally jolted when facing speed bumps, but other than that, driving was very stable and effortless.

“Tasman is the best car for those who eyed for pickup but hesitated to purchase considering children,” said Lee Hye-young, vice president of Kia's marketing team for the domestic market.

Tasman, Kia's first pickup truck targeting Australia and the Middle East. [KIA]

Kia launched the Tasman as a 2.5-liter gasoline-powered, turbocharged engine option in Korea, and more than 4,000 orders have been made in just a month.

The Australian market will have a 2.2-liter diesel engine version, while the Middle East and African markets will get both engine options.

“A U.S. launch is not [being] considered at the moment due to the 25 percent chicken tax on commercial vehicles,” Kia CEO Song Ho-sung told the Korea JoongAng Daily at the global debut.

Kia aims to sell 100,000 Tasman pickups in 2025, grabbing 5 percent of the global market outside of the United States.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]