Kia has confirmed the name of its upcoming ute, as the Kia Tasman. In other news, scientists confirm the sun is hot after discovering heat emanating from the giant fireball.
The Kia Tasman has been officially confirmed today as the name for its brand-new ute. Of course, no specs or juicy details accompany the announcement, which means we’re probably in for a long-winded, slow-release teaser drip-feed over the coming months. Kia Australia CEO, Damien Meredith, said:
“The team at Kia Australia has been working closely with the Research and Development team at headquarters to develop Tasman, a vehicle we believe will meet the needs of our unique market, so it’s very rewarding that it has been granted an Australian-inspired name befitting its personality.”
Although no firm details have been released, our insider source, who has witnessed the design development, confirms it will be a rugged dual-cab ute featuring a live-axle rear end and comprehensive four-wheel drive system. It’s also set to come packaged with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder and a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder.
As far as we know, the diesel will produce 157kW and 420Nm, which is more powerful than the class standards; around 150kW. However, that peak torque figure, if accurate, is down compared with the leading rivals. All of which develop around 500Nm.
A fully electric package is also on the way, and we’ve heard it’ll come with a battery capacity of up to 123kWh. This should help to maintain load capacity and range requirements that are common in this segment. With up to 410kW and 800Nm, it will be a quick electric ute as well, with 0-100km/h coming up in around 4.9 seconds in top spec. The range will be around 450km.
In terms of other specs, we’ve heard it’ll offer a 3500kg towing rating (potentially 3400kg for the EV), 1100kg of payload, and 800mm water wading capability. With an overall length of around 5.4m, it’ll be a big ute as well, which gives some indication of the cabin space and tub capacity.
The interior will showcase twin digital screens running across the dash, like what we’ve seen on the latest EV6, EV9, and Sorento, with a thick centre console providing some controls and heaps of storage. Some variants are also set to use a digital shifter ‘shift-by-wire’ button system to clear up more space.
As far as we know, prices in Australia will start from around $50,000 for the base model, and then up to $65,000 for a HiLux SR5-style variant, and then top out at around $77,000 for a Wildtrak X-style off-road variant. The electric Tasman is set to start from around $90,000.
