We drive a new pick-up truck from...Kia

Korean firm's first pick-up is a great design, a decent to drive and an interesting next step in Kia’s evolution Forbidden fruit in the car industry comes in all shapes and sizes. The latest model denied to the UK is the Kia Tasman, the brand’s first-ever pick-up truck. While it’d be easy to ignore such a development given the Tasman is not only denied for UK buyers, but those in Europe and even the US, too, it is significant in showing how the brand is continuing to develop and enter new markets and model segments. Later this year, for example, Kia will launch its first-ever van, the PV5. In short, Kia is a brand willing and able to try new things and the Tasman is a fantastic piece of product design. If you look around the Tasman’s rivals - the likes of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara - you’d think there wasn’t much you can do to make an everyday pick-up visually interesting before you start making them performance machines like the Ford Ranger Raptor. Yet the Tasman would be the pick-up your eyes are drawn to lined up against its peers, looking stealthy in the black of our test car and like it means business. Of course, a pick-up is no good if it’s all show and no go but Kia has packed the spec sheet, too. Kia claims true go-anywhere ability, a claim we weren’t able to test, and best-in-class strength from an all-new body-on-frame pick-up platform developed for the Tasman. There is double-wishbone suspension up front, high mounted to better protect from corrosion and offer improved ground clearance. At the rear is a rigid axle with leaf springs. The Tasman has switchable high and low-speed four-wheel drive as well as an automatic four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive modes. An electric locking differential is in charge or torque distribution on uneven surfaces and there are several different terrain modes to suit the surfaces being driven on, including a dedicated ‘Desert’ mode for Middle East and Africa-spec Tasmans. Four-cylinder engine options include a 277bhp/311lb ft 2.5-litre petrol and a 207bhp/325lb ft 2.2-litre diesel depending on the market. An eight-speed automatic is offered on both engines and a six-speed manual is also available on the diesel. We tested the petrol and it had plenty of torque and a nice relaxed style. Other key parts of the powertrain and exhaust are also mounted high to help with the wading depth of 800mm. The respective approach, departure and ramp-over angles are 33.2, 26.2 and 25.8 degrees while the payload is 1151kg (including cabin loads) and towing capacity 3500kg. Kia claims the bed has a best-in-class capacity of 1212 litres. While we didn’t test the Tasman’s off-road credentials in this short taster drive we did drive it on the road. Kia is talking up SUV levels of ride comfort in the Tasman thanks to the likes of urethane bump stops and frequency-sensitive valves in the shock absorbers. While generally good and, with plenty of wheel travel in particular and more sophistication than most rivals, it can’t ever fully cheat the body-on-frame construction so to call it car-like is pushing things slightly. Otherwise it steers like a modern pick-up and handles like one, too, which means you have to respect its size and speed of response. Even so, it doesn’t require anywhere near as much adjustment from a car than in days past. One corner and you’ll have worked out that it’s nowhere near as intimidating to drive as you’d think. The best bit about the Tasman, which is initially offered in dual-cab form with a single cab to come, is the interior. Here you really could be in a top-end SUV. The material quality is superb, and while there are familiar parts from Kia’s road cars like the dual-screen display, there are plenty of Tasman-specific features that really give it its own character. These include sturdy grab handles in all the right places, some of the best interior door handles you’ll ever use (they feel very expensive but oh-so robust) and clever little usability touches like the Tasman’s dimension and key off road stats displayed on a graphic on the centre console. Great seat comfort, too. The only real concern would be getting it dirty and covered in sand. Kia is a company exuding confidence at the moment, and again it shows in the Tasman. It is not another me too pick-up truck, rather an interesting addition to the segment in its own right. Given it’s already being made in right-hand drive for Australia, it’s a shame that the Tasman won’t be offered here. Trim Kia Tasman X-ProPrice $74,990 AUD (£36,000) Engine 2497cc, four-cylinder, petrol, turbocharged Power 277bhp at 5800rpmTorque 311lb ft at 1700-4000rpmGearbox 8-spd automatic Kerb weight 2237kg0-62mph 8.5sec Top speed 115mphRivals Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux

Jun 16, 2025 - 16:10

Kia Tasman review 2025 01 front tracking

Korean firm's first pick-up is a great design, a decent to drive and an interesting next step in Kia’s evolution

Forbidden fruit in the car industry comes in all shapes and sizes. The latest model denied to the UK is the Kia Tasman, the brand’s first-ever pick-up truck.

While it’d be easy to ignore such a development given the Tasman is not only denied for UK buyers, but those in Europe and even the US, too, it is significant in showing how the brand is continuing to develop and enter new markets and model segments. Later this year, for example, Kia will launch its first-ever van, the PV5.

In short, Kia is a brand willing and able to try new things and the Tasman is a fantastic piece of product design. If you look around the Tasman’s rivals - the likes of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara - you’d think there wasn’t much you can do to make an everyday pick-up visually interesting before you start making them performance machines like the Ford Ranger Raptor.

Yet the Tasman would be the pick-up your eyes are drawn to lined up against its peers, looking stealthy in the black of our test car and like it means business.

Of course, a pick-up is no good if it’s all show and no go but Kia has packed the spec sheet, too. Kia claims true go-anywhere ability, a claim we weren’t able to test, and best-in-class strength from an all-new body-on-frame pick-up platform developed for the Tasman.

There is double-wishbone suspension up front, high mounted to better protect from corrosion and offer improved ground clearance. At the rear is a rigid axle with leaf springs.

The Tasman has switchable high and low-speed four-wheel drive as well as an automatic four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive modes. An electric locking differential is in charge or torque distribution on uneven surfaces and there are several different terrain modes to suit the surfaces being driven on, including a dedicated ‘Desert’ mode for Middle East and Africa-spec Tasmans.

Four-cylinder engine options include a 277bhp/311lb ft 2.5-litre petrol and a 207bhp/325lb ft 2.2-litre diesel depending on the market. An eight-speed automatic is offered on both engines and a six-speed manual is also available on the diesel. We tested the petrol and it had plenty of torque and a nice relaxed style.

Other key parts of the powertrain and exhaust are also mounted high to help with the wading depth of 800mm. The respective approach, departure and ramp-over angles are 33.2, 26.2 and 25.8 degrees while the payload is 1151kg (including cabin loads) and towing capacity 3500kg. Kia claims the bed has a best-in-class capacity of 1212 litres.

While we didn’t test the Tasman’s off-road credentials in this short taster drive we did drive it on the road. Kia is talking up SUV levels of ride comfort in the Tasman thanks to the likes of urethane bump stops and frequency-sensitive valves in the shock absorbers. While generally good and, with plenty of wheel travel in particular and more sophistication than most rivals, it can’t ever fully cheat the body-on-frame construction so to call it car-like is pushing things slightly.

Otherwise it steers like a modern pick-up and handles like one, too, which means you have to respect its size and speed of response. Even so, it doesn’t require anywhere near as much adjustment from a car than in days past. One corner and you’ll have worked out that it’s nowhere near as intimidating to drive as you’d think.

The best bit about the Tasman, which is initially offered in dual-cab form with a single cab to come, is the interior. Here you really could be in a top-end SUV. The material quality is superb, and while there are familiar parts from Kia’s road cars like the dual-screen display, there are plenty of Tasman-specific features that really give it its own character.

These include sturdy grab handles in all the right places, some of the best interior door handles you’ll ever use (they feel very expensive but oh-so robust) and clever little usability touches like the Tasman’s dimension and key off road stats displayed on a graphic on the centre console. Great seat comfort, too. The only real concern would be getting it dirty and covered in sand.

Kia is a company exuding confidence at the moment, and again it shows in the Tasman. It is not another me too pick-up truck, rather an interesting addition to the segment in its own right. Given it’s already being made in right-hand drive for Australia, it’s a shame that the Tasman won’t be offered here.

Trim Kia Tasman X-ProPrice $74,990 AUD (£36,000) Engine 2497cc, four-cylinder, petrol, turbocharged Power 277bhp at 5800rpmTorque 311lb ft at 1700-4000rpmGearbox 8-spd automatic Kerb weight 2237kg0-62mph 8.5sec Top speed 115mphRivals Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux