2026 Kia Retona is a hybrid Jimny slayer

With the Tasman now here and strongly rumoured to be spawning an SUV spin-off, the internet has been wondering what other 4x4 realms Kia might try to tap into. Going by these unofficial renders, it seems the Suzuki Jimny could one day be in the firing line.

This is what you get if you blend one of the most controversial-looking pick-up trucks on the market with the cult hero Suzuki Jimny to recreate one of Kia’s ugliest and underwhelming vehicles ever.

This 2026 Kia Retona has been mocked up by digital creator Theottle imagining what a fresh, Korean-born Jimny rival might look like if Kia decided to revive its forgettable compact 4x4 that was originally pitched as a rival for the Lada Niva, SsangYong Korando and third-gen Jimny.

It proved average in every way and garnered a reputation for being “abysmally” unreliable, but Kia has since turned things around and now has a great reputation for reliability backed by a strong aftersales program.

So is a new Retona likely? Not really, but it’s an intriguing proposition given the success of the Jimny, the long-rumoured emergence of a compact LandCruiser and the pending sales reception of the Tasman.

The artist fittingly used the current Jimny 3-Door as the canvas for their creation and then draped the key features of a Tasman over the top, contrasting fenders and all.

In an ideal world we’d like to imagine the reborn Retona features the Seltos’ 1.6-litre turbo-petrol (146kW/265Nm), eight-speed automatic transmission and a mechanical 4x4 system with low-range gearing, though the Niro’s 1.6-litre hybrid system would also be a decent fit and better appease NVES regulations.

Kia’s given no indication it plans to go after the Jimny, but with the Tasman now here and the related Tanami SUV looking increasingly likely, it’s plausible the ladder-frame platform and 4x4 hardware could be scaled down and applied to a smaller package.

It’s unlikely the production-spec Retona will look like the render – read a reskinned Jimny – given Kia’s current design direction, but colour us intrigued and eager to see some official activity from the brand.

Digital images: Theottle

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