Kia Tasman ute takes on Aussie bush

Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger are on notice as local testing of Kia’s crucial ute continues

Fresh evidence of the all-new Kia Tasman dual-cab ute’s off-road chops have been broadcast on YouTube, showing the highly-anticipated new model crashing and bashing its way through the Aussie bush.

Expected to become a significant threat to the dominant ute players in the Australian ute market – think Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux – the Kia Tasman is undergoing extensive testing in Australia and abroad, on and off-road.

This latest footage was taken at Mount Black in Victoria and exposes some of the new ute’s rock-hopping and hill-climbing capabilities.

Like most of its rivals in Australia, the Tasman will pack low-range 4x4 gearing to deliver slow-speed, high-torque crawling across challenging trails. Despite wearing road-biased tyres the 4x4 system – and likely locking rear diff – appear to be functioning as intended.

The 2025 Kia still hasn’t been fully revealed and other details, such as powertrain, equipment levels, unique features and model grades are still unknown.

It’s widely expected to be powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, likely the same unit from the popular Kia Sorento that bangs out 148kW and 440Nm. But if it wants to butt heads with (and claim bragging rights over) heavy-hitters in the segment it’ll need to push those figures above 150kW and 500Nm.

There’s also been talk that Kia could adopt a V6 powertrain but as it stands Kia is keeping its powder very dry.

The Korean challenger is expected to be fully revealed later in the year, probably October 2024, and should will begin rolling into dealerships nationwide around Australia mid-way through 2025.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au