Kia officially names new ute Tasman
BY MATT BROGAN | 15th Apr 2024
KIA has confirmed the name of its highly anticipated ute will be Tasman, making it the first Kia product with a name analogous to Australia, further cementing, it says, its status as the Korean brand’s most Australian model yet.
Selected from a pool of names sourced from Kia’s global markets, ‘Tasman’ was initially proposed by Kia Australia and ultimately chosen for its connection to the Tasman Sea and Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman, the first European to discover the rugged landscapes of Tasmania.
Each of these elements lends itself to a spirit of enduring toughness, grit, and resilience, reflecting the rugged character and matching capabilities of the Kia Tasman, the company 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,” said Kia Australia chief executive officer Damien Meredith.
“We have strong ambitions for Tasman in our market, and the fact that its name has such distinct links to our region is evidence of Kia Australia’s instrumental role in its development and future success.”
Kia says the Tasman represents its bold first step into the ute market, the model designed with a range of work, trade, and leisure pursuits in mind. It is already taking expressions of interest in the model via its public website and says it expects the model to be released locally sometime in 2025.
It was recently reported that Kia would initially offer only four-cylinder turbo-diesel power in its forthcoming Tasman utility, The Korean Car Blog stating that the dual-cab model will launch with a four-cylinder turbocharged diesel unit, likely the carryover Hyundai/Kia 2.2-litre R Series unit found in offerings including the Kia Sorento.
Assuming that is the case, the body-on-frame Kia Tasman will offer 148kW of power and 440Nm of torque, ranking it beneath the likes of the Ford Ranger/Volkswagen Amarok (154kW/500Nm), Isuzu D-Max/Mazda BT-50 and Nissan Navara (140kW/450Nm), Mitsubishi Triton (150kW/470Nm), and Toyota HiLux (150kW/500Nm).
Kia has confirmed that a hybridised Tasman will follow in due course, though it is not known if the powertrain for this model will be the 1.6-litre petrol-electric unit found in the Sportage and Sorento, or something with a little more mumbo.
GoAuto has also reported that Kia may fast-track plans for a battery electric Tasman in light of Australia’s incoming New Vehicle Efficiency Standard that would penalise the brand for selling too many high-emitting diesel utes.
The Korean Car Blog does not mention any indication of a six-cylinder turbo-diesel rival to the likes of the Ford Ranger/Volkswagen Amarok, leaving the higher performing end of the dual-cab ute segment exclusively to the 3.0-litre powered pair.
Interestingly, Kia does have plug-and-play six-cylinder options including Euro 6 compliant oversquare 3.0-litre unit outputting 184kW and 549Nm. It also has access to a straight-six-six diesel from sister company Genesis, another 3.0-litre option producing a substantial 204kW/588Nm.
Kia is reportedly readying production of between 120,000 and 130,000 examples of the Tasman annually – with 10 per cent of those earmarked for Australia.
