2028 Kia Tasman WKNDR SUV looks boss

Kia has been alluding to a Tasman-based SUV for a few months now and while it’s still yet to be green-lit officially, we’ve already seen a couple of convincing mock-ups of what the Korean Everest rival might look like.

But things have been dialled up now with the release of a Tasman WKNDR-based wagon that takes an educated guess about what a pumped-up, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon-fighting Tasman SUV might look like.

Going by these renders from NYMammoth on Instagram, the short answer is still ugly, but it kind of works in a Tank 700/Rubicon sort of way, but more importantly, would provide us with a vehicle the people have been crying out for for years now: a sub-LandCruiser Raptor/Warrior-spec 4x4 family wagon.

Ford is on the right track with its Everest Tremor, but we’re still yet to see a true ute-based off-road halo SUV that can mix it with the hot Wrangler in the rough stuff.

All the ingredients are there: 32- or 33-inch rubber, masses of ground clearance, flared arches, replacement bumpers that deliver improved approach and departure angles, a heavy-duty skid plate and, in one instance, a hoopless bullbar fitted with spotlights and an integrated winch.

Odds are the Tasman WKNDR SUV would feature the staple 2.2-litre turbo-diesel mill as seen in the ute, but it would make more sense for it to sport the Hyundai Group’s new 2.5-litre turbo-petrol-electric hybrid system that outputs 246kW under the bonnet of the latest Hyundai Palisade.

The system is already earmarked for the Tasman at some stage, but we’re sure Hyundai or Kia could extract a few more ponies from it for something like the WKNDR (Weekender) – anybody else read that as Wakanda?

Kia recently confirmed to carsales a Tasman SUV – tipped to be called the Tanami – could be turned “around quickly” pending the official sign-off.

“The chassis vice president basically said we could turn it around very quickly, [because] we already have the foundations,” Kia Australia product planning boss Roland Rivero said.

“It hasn’t been green-lit because the business case is under study, and it has to be a global business case.”

Digital images: NYMammoth

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