Who would have thought a dual-cab ute from a mainstream Korean model can be probably the most talked-about new car of the yr.
The 2025 Kia Tasman is the corporate’s first correct try at a dual-cab ute, aiming to capitalise on the ever-enduring of pickups within the Australian market and different components of the world.
It’s additionally filling a key hole in Kia’s lineup, given what’s actually stopping it from attaining High 3 standing on the Australian gross sales charts is the dearth of a industrial utility to duke it out with the likes of Toyota, Ford and Mazda.
However come July that’s all about to alter, and Korea made positive it acquired folks speaking with the design. Find it irresistible or hate it, you possibly can’t accuse the Tasman of being a copycat tackle any of the name-brand utes like some Chinese language competitors.
Additional, Kia’s strategy has been a give attention to consolation and flexibility, highlighted by its very SUV-like cabin and localisation of the experience and dealing with setup to tailor it to various Australian tastes.
Forward of the total production-spec market launch within the new monetary yr, Kia Australia invited us to attempt a handful of pre-production prototypes – of various levels, thoughts you – in flagship X-Professional specification to get an early style on some closed off-road programs earlier than the ultimate spec lands in native sellers.
Is Kia’s polarising dual-cab up for the mammoth job of competing with Australia’s favorite autos? Learn on to seek out out.
How does the Kia Tasman evaluate?
View an in depth breakdown of the Kia Tasman towards equally sized autos.
Kia
Tasman
How a lot does the Kia Tasman price?
The Kia Tasman vary will open from $42,990 earlier than on-road prices when the dual-cab vary launches in July, with the flagship X-Professional on take a look at in pre-production kind to begin from $74,990 plus on-road prices.
| Mannequin | Worth earlier than on-road prices |
|---|---|
| 2025 Kia Tasman S 4×2 dual-cab pickup | $42,990 |
| 2025 Kia Tasman S 4×4 dual-cab pickup | $49,990 |
| 2025 Kia Tasman SX 4×4 dual-cab pickup | $54,490 |
| 2025 Kia Tasman SX+ 4×4 dual-cab pickup | $62,390 |
| 2025 Kia Tasman X-Line 4×4 dual-cab pickup | $67,990 |
| 2025 Kia Tasman X-Professional 4×4 dual-cab pickup | $74,990 |
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What’s the Kia Tasman like on the within?
Should you thought the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok have been SUV-like inside, the Tasman feels positively luxurious.
Whereas the brown inside of a number of the pre-production vehicles sadly gained’t be making it to the launch vary – please hold forth within the feedback if you would like it right here – the inside of the Tasman distinguishes itself from different Kia fashions when it comes to total design although retains quite a lot of parts that we all know and love from the model’s passenger autos.
There’s a shocking quantity of soft-touch supplies littered all through, properly contrasted with the brown parts of the Korean-market colourway. A extra demure blackish-grey cabin was additionally current, and whereas it’s nowhere close to as visually stimulating, our feedback across the craftsmanship and really feel stay.
X-Professional fashions will get a cool quilted leather-based trim full with electrical entrance seat adjustment and reminiscence features for the driving force, heating and air flow for the entrance pews in addition to heated outer rear seats, along with a sunroof. Actually, you can be in a boxy Kia SUV for those who didn’t know what it regarded like from the skin.
Kia’s related automobile Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) additionally options, with conjoined 12.3-inch widescreens incorporating the digital driver’s cluster and touchscreen infotainment shows. Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto options throughout the vary, with the SX and up including native satellite tv for pc navigation.
All Tasmans will characteristic the Kia Join suite of net-based providers too, together with distant features managed through a smartphone utility, in addition to related navigation for appropriate programs.
The upright fascia and straight strains of the cabin give an actual impression of width and area, and there are cool stitching and trim particulars combined in. The mesh-effect vent therapy additionally appears to be like fairly cool.
Storage is sweet too, with a twin charging tray for smartphones in addition to huge cubbies dotted all through. Tradies and households shouldn’t have a lot hassle stowing their odds and ends.
One other factor to notice is the final feeling of high quality. This doesn’t really feel like a commercial-spec cabin, at the least on this grade, and all of the touchpoints and switchgear feels stable.
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Abroad mannequin proven -
Abroad mannequin proven
We don’t have photographs of an Australian-spec rear seat, however there’s good area in there for adults even for those who squeeze three throughout. Naturally, we didn’t spend an entire lot of time again there to get a correct really feel.
There was no time to trial its tub or towing talents both, so we’ll have to attend till the total manufacturing launch for that. See the beneath desk for key specs.
| Dimensions | Kia Tasman |
|---|---|
| Size | 5410mm |
| Width | 1930mm |
| Top (incl. roof rack) | 1870mm – S, SX, SX+ 1890mm – X-Line 1920mm – X-Professional |
| Wheelbase | 3270mm |
| Floor clearance | 231mm – S 4×2 224mm – S, SX, SX+, X-Line 4×4 252mm – X-Professional 4×4 |
| Payload | 1013-1124kg* |
| Gross car mass | 3250kg |
| Gross mixture mass | 6200kg |
| Tub size | 1512mm |
| Tub width | 1572mm 1186mm – between arches |
| Tub depth | 540mm |
| Cargo capability | 1173L – VDA |
*Sub-1000kg payload out there to qualify for novated leases
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What’s below the bonnet?
At launch only one powertrain shall be supplied throughout the vary, a 2.2-litre four-cylinder single-turbo diesel.
| Specs | Kia Tasman |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.2L 4cyl turbo-diesel |
| Energy | 154kW |
| Torque | 440Nm |
| Transmission | 8-speed auto |
| Drive sort | 4-wheel drive |
| Weight | 2126-2237kg |
| Gasoline economic system (claimed) | TBC |
| Gasoline tank capability | TBC |
| Braked towing capability | 3500kg |
| Unbraked towing capability | 750kg |
As beforehand reported, native variations of the Tasman are homologated to older Euro 5 requirements according to Australian mandates, and subsequently don’t characteristic AdBlue injection.
Kia Australia says the Tasman will doubtless stay Euro 5-compliant till the Euro 6d emissions customary is remitted in Australia throughout the trade from round 2028 – and the Euro 6-compliant 2.2-litre diesel with AdBlue is already supplied in different abroad markets.
Additional, the two.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol out there in Korean fashions, which develops a wholesome 207kW/421Nm, is off the playing cards for the Australian market.
Hybrid and ‘electrified’ powertrains are “below research” in response to the native product workforce, although further element isn’t official simply but.
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
How does the Kia Tasman drive?
I’ll preface this once more with the actual fact we spent a restricted time driving the pre-production Tasman X-Professional on a few brief off-road programs on the Glenworth Valley location.
Over two days we got brief stints behind the wheel of an “X-Professional-ish” pre-production car on a few completely different off-road actions. Kia’s workforce stated this car was “round 90 per cent” production-spec.
The primary exercise was slightly impediment together with a water crossing, muddy trails and a few offset moguls. Our time within the driver’s seat was fairly fuss free, although some journalists struggled for traction out of muddy and watery dips after successive runs noticed the all-terrain tyres get slightly mud-plugged.
Kia has outfitted the Tasman with an on-demand four-wheel drive system with 4A mode, which implies the Tasman’s on-demand know-how will activate the rear axle when it detects slip.
Whereas this type of all-wheel drive system appears fairly widespread, quite a lot of dual-cab utes – particularly the four-cylinder ones – have selectable four-wheel drive with customary 2H (rear-wheel drive) mode for regular driving.
For the final path work over gravel and dust we stored the Tasman in its 4A mode, letting the system do the work. As soon as we acquired to the ruts and moguls, we pulled up and used the rotary selector dial to have interaction 4L – or 4-Low.
These obstacles gave us a chance to attempt the Floor View Monitor digital camera system that makes use of the {surround} and front-facing cameras to sew collectively a see-through chassis feed, with graphics and animations for the entrance wheels so you understand the place to put the car forward of an impediment.
Now this isn’t ground-breaking stuff, and has been out there in rival 4WDs for a while, however Kia’s digital camera high quality and digital graphics are actually crisp and simple to view on the transfer.
The off-road pages within the infotainment system are additionally helpful. You may get a real-time feed of a visualisation of your Tasman X-Professional with readouts for pitch and roll, torque distribution and wheel articulation. It animates the car in movement and steering angles, in addition to exhibiting oil stress, battery voltage, and tyre pressures.
In equity this primary train wasn’t designed to essentially take a look at the Tasman at its limits, but it surely was most likely as gnarly as most individuals heading up a camp path will doubtless go.
The combo of circumstances and surfaces additionally allowed us to get a really feel of how the Tasman handles off-road terrain with reference to traction, steering and noise intrusion.
From the get go I observed how insulated the Tasman’s cabin is. The four-cylinder diesel sounds fairly loud and rattly on the skin however is impressively suppressed within the cockpit.
Likewise, noise from the street floor is properly stored at bay and the final rigidity feels excellent too – you don’t get the scuttling noise from the separate cabin and tub like quite a lot of different utes expertise on the tough stuff.
The steering could be very mild however comparatively direct and communicative for this sort of car, although I discovered the pre-production automobile was slightly imprecise about centre which meant quite a lot of mini-corrections when driving on the off-road programs.
Kia Australia’s representatives informed me they’re making use of one other revision to the steering tune to make sure higher on-centre really feel, so it’ll be attention-grabbing to drive the ultimate manufacturing spec off-road.
On day two we tackled a reasonably rocky and rutted hillclimb, this time to raised show the 4WD system’s capabilities in addition to the X-Trek characteristic which is exclusive amongst the dual-cab ute section.
The X-Professional comes with an electronically-locking rear differential with in-cabin change, whereas the broader vary will get a reactive limited-slip rear differential.
We really didn’t use the diff lock characteristic within the X-Professional prototype, although in the course of the product presentation we have been proven visible representations of how the proactive rear torque cut up advantages in low-grip circumstances. Mainly, you get smoother and extra predictable progress by the use of higher traction and management.
The X-Trek operate distinctive to the X-Professional is just like the Crawl Mode you’ll discover in a Toyota LandCruiser. Consider it as a hill-ascent management (fairly than the widespread hill descent management) that permits the car to take care of a gentle velocity navigating uphill and rocky climbs with out driver enter through the throttle.
It takes a fast change into 4L after which urgent the labelled change, and off you go. You’ll be able to regulate the velocity in 5 levels, and significantly on rougher terrain avoids you approaching and off the throttle over rocks and bumps, sustaining constant throttle enter and velocity by way of obstacles which is preferable in these sorts of eventualities.
The Floor View Monitor additionally got here in helpful right here giving good ahead visibility over crests, given how upright and bluff the Tasman’s face and bonnet is, and there was better variance within the readouts to the off-road menus.
It could be lengthy however the Tasman solely scraped its bum on the sharpest of dips, partly helped by the X-Professional’s lofty 252mm working clearance and 26.2-degree departure angle. Kia quotes strategy and rampover angles of 32.2 and 25.8 levels, respectively.
For reference, a Ford Ranger Wildtrak Bi-Turbo quotes 234mm of unladen floor clearance, in addition to strategy, departure and rampover angles of 30/23/21 levels respectively.
If I used to be to say one essential gripe it was on the odd event the Tasman’s eight-speed auto would get caught between gears across the 12-15km/h mark, typically shifting up and letting revs drop too low after which shifting down.
In each situations this resulted in a lurching sensation with an excessive amount of throttle utility, which was annoying and could be unnerving for those who’re scaling a slipper and rocky climb. You’ll be able to take management through the paddles for those who want, although.
| Off-road dimensions | Kia Tasman X-Professional |
|---|---|
| Observe entrance and rear | – |
| Floor clearance | 252mm |
| Method angle | 32.2 levels |
| Departure angle | 26.2 levels |
| Ramp breakover angle | 25.8 levels |
| Wading depth | – |
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What do you get?
The X-Professional will sit atop a five-trim vary in Australia – learn our full worth and specs article right here.
Tasman S tools highlights:
- 17-inch black metal wheels
- LED headlights
- Daytime working lights
- Rear bumper steps
- Tailgate with ‘elevate help’
- Good key with push-button begin
- Fabric inside upholstery
- Twin-zone local weather management
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen
- Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 6-speaker sound system
- Beneath-seat second-row storage
- Mechanical rear differential lock (4×4)
Tasman SX provides:
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Energy-folding aspect mirrors
- Terrain Modes
- First-row security energy window
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
Tasman SX+ provides:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- LED fog lights
- Bedliner
- 240V tub outlet
- Fabric, leatherette upholstery
- Wi-fi smartphone charger
- Ambient temper lighting
- Second-row air vents
- 240V centre console outlet
Tasman X-Line provides:
- LED projector headlights
- Roof rails
- Rear wheel-arch flare storage system
- Not out there on Tan Beige and Clear White examples
- Synthetic leather-based upholstery
- Heated entrance seats
- 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
- Column shifter and shifter paddles
- Twin wi-fi smartphone charger
- Second-row armrest
- Privateness glass
- Distant smart-park help
Tasman X-Professional provides:
- 17-inch black alloy wheels
- Gasoline tank underbody safety
- Digital locking differential
- X-Trek Mode
- Terrain Modes
- Floor view monitor
- Off-road sprint data
- Steering path, steering angle, oil degree
- Heated steering wheel
- Ventilated first-row seats
- Heated second-row seats
- Harman Kardon premium audio
- Sunroof
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
Colors
The Tasman could be ordered in a selection of eight exterior paint colors relying on variant.
Commonplace: $NCO
- Clear White – incl. body-colour flares
Premium: $700
- Metal Gray
- Interstellar Grey
- Aurora Black Pearl
- Tan Beige – incl. body-colour flares
- Denim Blue
- Cityscape Inexperienced
- Runway Crimson
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
Is the Kia Tasman protected?
The Kia Tasman is as but unrated by ANCAP, although Kia Australia anticipates a ranking shall be introduced in August.
Kia has engineered two distinct entrance bumper designs for the Tasman, one being extra road-focused for the core vary and the opposite extra off-road pleasant for the X-Line and X-Professional fashions.
Because of this, Kia Australia is aiming for a five-star ANCAP security ranking from S by way of SX+ grades, with the X-Line and X-Professional set to be unrated regardless.
Commonplace security tools consists of:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise management
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Entrance and rear parking sensors
- Lane-centring help
- Lane-keep help
- Rear-view digital camera
- Trailer sway management
- Built-in trailer brake controller
SX and above add Kia’s Freeway Driving Help system and navigation-based adaptive cruise management.
The X-Line and above are outfitted with parking collision avoidance help, a surround-view digital camera and blind-spot cameras.
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
How a lot does the Kia Tasman price to run?
As the broader Kia Australia lineup, the Tasman shall be lined by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.
| Servicing and Guarantee | Kia Tasman |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | 7 years, limitless kilometres |
| Service intervals | TBC |
| Capped-price servicing | 7 years |
| Whole capped-price service price | TBC |
Finer particulars like servicing intervals and capped-price service pricing shall be introduced nearer to launch.
To see how the Kia Tasman strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
CarExpert’s Tackle the Kia Tasman
It’s early days, but it surely appears the Tasman has been topic to a really vigorous growth course of to make sure it’s as aggressive as it may be in Australia’s ever-popular dual-cab ute section.
First impressions of the X-Professional are stable, succesful specs and 4WD tools bolstered by an opulent, quiet cabin. Nonetheless, we have to attempt it on the black stuff and whereas towing to flesh out the way it compares with key rivals.
I’m additionally a fan of the appears to be like. Certain it’s not classically good-looking, however Kia’s dual-cab forges its personal path with its distinctive and imposing design, and there are some cool colors out there to offset the distinction cladding – I’d really desire the gray fenders on the Tan Beige paint, personally.
However this was only a palette cleanser and fast first style of Korea’s new dual-cab. I’ll need to withhold full impressions – together with on-road and towing evaluation – till the total manufacturing launch in July.
I’m anticipating huge issues, although…
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