Kia defends Tasman styling

A Kia senior global car designer has delivered an impassioned defence of the controversial exterior styling of the Korean car giant’s first ute, the Tasman.

Likely the most anticipated new vehicle launch of 2024 in Australia, the Tasman has been subject to numerous unofficial com-gen previews and official teasers that have stirred a mixed reaction.

Last night the real Tasman was rolled out simultaneously in Australia and Saudi Arabia and it is indeed a very different design to the big, bluff ute orthodoxy personified by the likes of the Ford Ranger and new BYD Shark 6.

Reception at the Kia event in Hobart and online to the undisguised exterior has been mixed.

But John Buckingham, chief of Kia’s future vehicle exterior design, strongly defended the Tasman.

“We are proud of what we have achieved,” the Korea-based Briton told carsales in Hobart last night.

“The design department within Kia has created something unique and there are a lot of positive responses from it.

“We knew we had to do something creative and different. And this is the beginning of a journey for Kia as well of course,” he added.

Buckingham made it abundantly clear Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy and its newcomer status in the ute segment meant the Tasman was never going to be an orthodox looker.

“The [ute] competition is well established and there is an aesthetic from that establishment,” Buckingham said.

“So we come along as a brand, we are slightly disruptive there’s no doubt about it, we have brand pillars that define that we are different, bold, simple.

“These brand pillars that we have mean we have to approach things with a certain new mindset.”

Buckingham described the exterior of the Tasman as having the solidity of a bank safe combined with constructed elements. The contrast of the plusher interior was in sync with the ‘Opposites United’ design ethos.

“With [Tasman] it was clear we had to show the capability based on this idea of Opposites United,” he explained.

“It sounds complicated but it’s not, it’s taking opposing ideas to create frictions and ideations out of it.

“And then we have some must-haves from design – it has to have the tiger grille, it has to have the Kia identity … we have a light signature which is another kind of identifier.”

The Tasman also has headlights set into ‘protected zones’ in the over-size horizontal fender flares, which Buckingham acknowledged were potentially polarising.

“It’s a striking looking vehicle. It is a car that takes time [to grow on you],” he admitted.

“And once you are around it more, the balance of the elements is generally correct, even if you feel the way it’s been constructed is not to your taste.

“Effectively taste is the final jigsaw puzzle,” he insisted.

While the Tasman appears to be a genuine game-changer on paper, what with its seven-year warranty, tough-truck flagship model, turbo-diesel powertrain with dual-range gearing, not to mention a one-tonne payload and 3.5-tonne towing capacity, the pick-up truck’s visuals are dominating discussion.

“Car designers generally have to answer a lot of questions,” explained Buckingham.

“We are the cooking pot where all the inputs come in. So out of all these inputs: drivetrain, wheelbase, interior volume, we’re the ones who have to balance all these things and create something visually.

“To sum it all up the car has got strong and bold impressions so that when it drives past you, you will not miss it.”

Buckingham made it clear the Tasman design outcome was the result of a careful and prolonged process. In the gestational phases of design development, significant research with regional stakeholders about vehicle requirements and capabilities was undertaken.

Every Kia design studio – including those in Korea, the USA, Europe and China – contributed as many as 20 initial Tasman design studies to the project.

They were later pared down to three final full-size proposals shown to Kia regions and the winner was subsequently chosen.

The Tasman has also been subjected to substantial clinics with potential buyers over the last 12 months

“I’ve seen the sketches, I’ve seen the design work and I’ve seen the initial ideas and this is it,” said Buckingham, who joined Kia after the Tasman project commenced.

“It’s a very clear path from those original ideas to the final car.

“When design is proposing these kinds of things, when design is preparing the customer for this, we ask ourselves ‘is this the right move, is this the right look, is this the right balance, is it going to give the customer the right impression and the right product and they can drive around and feel proud of it?’

“And that process went on and it resulted in this. It’s not an accident.”

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