Kia Tasman pickup: new images

The Korean company is preparing its first production pickup truck, and the first official teasers were published earlier this week. Thanks to them, we have the opportunity to look at the details of the appearance of the upcoming new product.

Previously, rumors repeatedly appeared that a pickup truck would appear in the Kia model range, especially since sister Hyundai already has a similar car (and just recently received restyling). Now there is official confirmation in the form of photographs of a camouflaged prototype. By the way, the new product will have nothing in common with the Hyundai Santa Cruz model, because the first is a relatively light pickup truck with a monocoque body, while the second will be much larger and will have a frame structure.

Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup 1/3 Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup 2/3 Hyundai Santa Cruz 3/3 Pickup

The name of the new Kia pickup truck has also already been confirmed — it will be called Tasman in honor of Tasmania, an island near Australia. The pickup truck will receive a very original design that has virtually no overlap with other models of the company. It has a complex design front with several vertical bars of the radiator grille, vertical headlights, visually combined with black plastic trim over the wheel arches. Also noteworthy is the very low level of inclination of the windshield, the ascending window sill line and the stamping almost parallel to it at the bottom of the doors. There have been no images of the rear end yet, although one can hardly expect any special design revelations in this class of cars. We have depicted a variant with lights made in the style of the company's current models; the pickup truck shown in the renderings also has original wheels.

Render new Kia Tasman

As already mentioned, the Kia Tasman will have a frame structure, as befits large pickup trucks. There is no confirmed information on the engine range yet, but there is a possibility that it will receive a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder turbodiesel, known from some other Kia and Hyundai models, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. A more powerful version with a V6 engine may appear later.

Render of the new Kia Tasman

Sales of the new Kia pickup will begin next year. It will become a global model: it will be available in its home market in South Korea, as well as in Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, photo spies recently came across a restyled Kia Sportage crossover.