Kia finally reveals 2025 Tasman pickup truck
Available in 2.2 turbodiesel and 2.5 turbo petrol
After a lengthy teaser campaign, Kia has finally shown its first-ever pickup truck to the world.
Making its world premiere at this year's Jeddah International Motor Show is the 2025 Kia Tasman. Designed with work and leisure in mind, the Tasman was created from the ground up to embody Kia’s interpretation of what a pickup truck should be.
Featuring a boxy and upright body built on a body-on-frame platform, the Tasman measures 5410mm long, 1930mm wide, and 1920mm tall with a 3270mm wheelbase for the double cab model. Ground clearance can go as high as 252mm with the dual-cab X-Pro variant. The front suspension has a double wishbone setup while the rear gets solid axles on leaf springs.
The bold silhouette is Kia’s idea of projecting power, confidence, and capability on a pickup truck. The front gets a vertically oriented lighting setup on the headlights, while the hood trim and expansive grille frame feature the signature Kia Tiger Face.
Apart from its unique design, the other purposeful treatment done by Kia is found in the fenders, where they can be used as storage boxes. Meanwhile, the rear end features the proud Kia logo stamped on the tailgate and highlights its utilitarian character.
In terms of function, the Tasman has corner steps as a standard feature. As an option, customers can add a bed-mounted power outlet, and a sliding cargo floor to make loading and unloading more convenient.
The loading bed of the Tasman measures 1512mm long, 1572mm wide (1186mm between the wheel wells), and 540mm tall. According to Kia, the Tasman can carry a maximum payload of up to 1195 kg in 2WD mode and has a 3500kg rated towing capacity.
On the other hand, you’ll find that Kia threw every feature you could think of inside the Tasman pickup truck. It features a panoramic widescreen display on the dashboard that consists of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 5-inch climate panel, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment. There’s even an 8-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system available as an optional feature for good measure.
Other features inside include a large folding console table, dual wireless charging pads, and hidden storage bins concealed beneath the rear seats. Like other Kia products, the seats and most of the panels inside the Tasman were made from recycled material.
Kia offers the Tasman with two powertrain options – a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel, or a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder turbo petrol. The former makes 210 PS and 441 Nm of torque, while the latter puts out 281 PS and 421 Nm of pull. Both engines are paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels. Yes, the Tasman is all-wheel-drive and features various terrain modes to suit relevant markets.
The X-Pro variant gets an automatically engaging rear locking differential and an X-Trek mode, where the Tasman maintains a low-speed crawl off-road. There’s also a ground view monitor for better maneuvering on rough terrain. Lastly, Kia claims a maximum water wading depth of 800mm at a speed of 7 km/h on all Tasman variants.
When on the pavement, the Kia Tasman promises to return a quiet ride with plenty of sound-deadening materials, wind-sealing strips, and advanced noise extractors to keep the cabin vibration-free.
In terms of safety, the Tasman is fitted with Kia’s advanced driver assist systems such as lane keep assist, blind spot warning, and remote park assist.
While the world premiere was held at Jeddah, the Korean market will get the first dibs on the pickup truck by the first half of 2025 before pickup markets in Australia, Africa, and the Middle East get theirs.
