Kia Tasman X-Pro 2026 Tow Test

The 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro dual cab 4x4 is the flagship of the line-up and is priced from $74,990 plus on-road costs.

Of course, as has been widely documented, slow sales means your chances of getting a sizeable discount on that are substantial (just go and price one on the Kia website to find out).

The closest 4x4 dual cab rivals on price include the Ford Ranger Wildtrak ($75,090), Mazda BT-50 SP ($73,490) and the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain ($73,000). The closest Toyota HiLux is the Rogue and Rugged X at $71,990. All these prices are plus ORCs.

Our X-Pro comes with some factory options and accessories befitting a six-month sojourn like this.

The big item is the commercial canopy ($4174.11), a tow bar and hitch ($826.17), tubular side steps ($881.58), a smoke bonnet protector ($148.23), front-end protection film ($58.22) and rubber mats ($139.74).

To set this vehicle up specifically for towing your correspondent paid for the installation of an Anderson plug ($1100) enabling the X-Pro’s electrical system to recharge the caravan battery and an extra leaf in each side of the rear suspension (another $1100) – more on that later.

Just to be clear these two latter items are not options or accessories offered by Kia for the Tasman. You’re in the aftermarket for this stuff.

So, as it stood on the road on April 1 with caravan hitched to the back ready for the off, the Tasman represented an investment of $83,418.05 in total.

And yes, there are roof racks and bike carriers added for our trip, but we won’t include them in the above total because they’ll be removed when the drive is done.

As the flagship, the 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro comes fitted with more equipment than any other model in the range.

Exclusives include 17-inch black alloy wheels shod with Hankook off-road tyres (the spare also), wing mirrors that auto-dip in reverse, a sunroof, a Harman Kardon sound system with eight speakers (no-name audio with six speakers is standard), a heated steering wheel, integrated memory seating for the driver, a 10-way powered front passenger seat, full interior mood lighting and auto comfort control for the driver that manages both seat ventilation and steering wheel temperatures.

More common stuff shared with lesser members of range includes roof rails, dual-zone climate control, a powered driver’s seat, artificial leather trim, alloy sports pedals and a centre console storage box that folds out into a small, but useful table between the front seats.

Standard stuff for the cargo box includes a bedliner, corner steps in the bumper, side rails with two cleats and remote tailgate opening (negated by our canopy that requires the window to be opened first).

A storage pocket is in the right rear fender flare, but because our test car came in the Tan Beige body colour and got body colour fender flares it missed out. White also means you forego this feature. There are eight colour choices, but only white doesn’t add $700 to the cost.

Stuff you can’t get with any Tasman standard includes side steps and sports bars externally and a cool box internally.

The Tasman comes protected by a seven-year/unlimited warranty and 12 month/15,000km service intervals.

A capped price service program for the X-Pro adds up to $4093, or an average $585 per visit. It’s worth noting that Kia recommends shorter 10,000km service intervals if you are subjecting your Tasman to a hard life. Towing a 2.8 tonne caravan in 30-degree heat to Darwin qualifies.

We took Kia’s advice and had the first service in Darwin at a cost of $361 (paid for by Kia) where the Tasman got a clean bill of health. A roadside assist program is free for 12 months and can be renewed for up to eight years if you service with Kia.

Most of the 2026 Kia Tasman range gains the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but the X-Pro and its X-Line subaltern miss out. That’s because they don’t have a bib spoiler under the front bumper that aids test results in relation to the off-set vehicle crash and pedestrian safety.

Removing the bib improves approach angle clearance off-road. It also improves the look of the front-end from awful to just bad (sorry, but it’s true… and that’s all I’ll say about the exterior).

An extensive safety inventory is headed by autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist, junction turning, junction crossing, evasive steering assist and direct/oncoming lane change detection. That’s complemented by adaptive cruise control.

There are also a variety of monitors – driver, speed and lane safety. They all bing and bong, while some try and steer the car. It’s all very irritating, especially as you must tediously go in and turn them off within the centre touchscreen each time the powertrain is cycled.

Kia (and its sibling Hyundai for that matter) have fallen behind the Chinese in providing easy ways to quell annoying nanny-state contrivances. They also need to be tuned more sympathetically. Drive a Ford Ranger to find out how much better this can be done.

A 360 camera is complemented by a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors. A live camera feed that lights up in the dash when you indicate left or right is a handy additional turning aid alongside towing mirrors.

There are seven airbags, including front-centre. Child seat top tethers and ISOFIX are fitted to the outboard rear seats.

The 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro picks up the familiar triple screen set-up that comprises a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 12.3-inch multi-view instrument cluster split by a 5.0-inch climate control screen.

Being a familiar set-up, the primary criticism also remains familiar: the climate screen is blocked by the steering wheel unless you super-size it by pressing the ‘+’ button. Then it consumes the entire left screen.

The key functions can be undertaken via physical buttons on the dash. The same applies to the audio volume. More arcane stuff, like the AM radio band and then scanning it are less obvious. At least there is an AM band, as well as FM and DAB. Performance of the audio system is good, but not in the stellar range the HK name might suggest.

The Tasman provides both wired/wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and this is especially important for the increasing number of caravaners who rely on Starlink for their remote area communications. In the Tasman the trick is to hook up your smartphone via cable before firing the ignition. The phone locks onto CarPlay and then it can tether to Starlink via wifi. You’ll know it if you get it wrong because the two systems will fight over the wifi signal and it will keep chopping and changing.

The X-Pro is also well set up to run a Starlink Mini. No need for a 12v plug or magnetic mounts here. It has a 240v/400w three-in plug at the bottom of the centre console in the rear seat to power it. It would be helpful if the receiver was illuminated to make installation easier.

The Mini also fits neatly into the sunroof hole. The manually sliding inner cover jams it nicely in place. Add some rubber strips to stop vibrations and it’s perfect!

No matter which 2026 Kia Tasman you buy, the fundamental powertrain is going to be the same. Which is the Hyundai Group’s widely used 2.2-litre four-cylinder single-turbo diesel engine.

The outputs for the Tasman are 154kW/440Nm and while they are in the ballpark for a dual-cab ute, there’s no doubt in a country where cubic capacity is still valued, it is perceived as underpowered.

Downstream of the engine is the eight-speed automatic previously seen in the sadly departed Kia Stinger, an on-demand 4x4 system with the ability to run all-wheel drive on bitumen, low range gearing, a locking rear diff (for the X-Pro only) and downhill brake control.

The X-Pro picks up some other drivetrain features that aid its off-roading including an additional rock mode in its traction-tuning Terrain Mode and a low-speed off-road traction control called X-Trek.

There is a specific tow mode that, once set up, optimises shift points across three tow weight stages, with assistance provided both up and downhill.

Also standard is an electronic trailer brake controller that can be tuned while on the move through 20 levels. Trailer sway control, trailer driver assistance and a trailer page on the touchscreen that shows connection, brake functions and sway warnings are also part of the package.

Also handy for towers is the off-road page in the instrument panel that displays oil pressure, and engine, transmission and coolant temperature.

Officially, the 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro has an ADR combined fuel consumption claim of 8.1L/100km.

In all conditions since this car was collected from Kia back in early February (or 10,634km ago as this was written), the trip computer’s claimed average is 14.0L/100km.

But in full towing set-up while trying to maintain 100km/h, the worst average between refuels came out at 21.773L/100km battling long gradients and headwinds from the Barossa Valley to Jamestown in South Australia’s mid-north.

The best without a 2.8 tonne anchor on the back? A lovely 8.398L/100km, just cruising around one-up with no loads.

With diesel prices spiralling as high as $3.72 per litre (that we saw – and paid!) the inevitable decision was made during the trip to slow down. At an indicated 92km/h the towing fuel consumption dipped appreciably into the mid-to-high teens.

Nowadays, I’m watching the consumption average more than the speedo. Yes, I’ve become the caravanner I used to hate...

Without a caravan on the back and a load of people, dogs and stuff onboard, the 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro is a comfortable and easy drive.

For our drives between towing stints, it’s great. We just completed a two-day trip out to Kakadu National Park and back from Darwin and it cruised happily at 110km/h-130km/h, devouring kays with its supple ride, confident handling and accurate steering.

In town, it has the same issues as all these big dual-cab utes have picking its way around in tight spaces. The Tasman is 5.4 metres long and 1.9m wide, so it’s a substantial thing. All its sensors and big windows help with visibility.

But we quickly found the package gets stressed when trying to haul a van as large as our MDC Forte SR19, which is a dual axle 19-foot road van that has a claimed 2469kg tare and 3000kg aggregate trailer mass.

Those numbers easily undercut the 3500kg maximum claimed braked towing capacity of the Tasman as well as its towball download and axle weight limits, but that just shows how unrealistic some of these brochure figures are.

The engine is not happy trying to haul a load like this up a hill. It will do its best and work the transmission hard, but progress is slow. Just move over to the left and accept it. You can only influence performance shifting manually, which in the X-Pro is enabled by flappy paddles on the steering wheel (its shift by wire gear selector is on the steering column).

Tow mode has a propensity to hang on to shorter gears too long well after a hill is crested. So, it’s part of my job to make sure revs are sitting in the right position to support performance and economy. Seventh gear at about 1800rpm is the flat-ground sweet spot. Eighth is OK downhill but starts lugging as revs drop to the mid-teens. Uphill? Sixth, fifth, fourth and even third. Those Adelaide Hills were hard.

In tow mode, the transmission retains manual shifting and won't revert to auto, which is handy.

But credit where it’s due, once we got to flatter ground in the Outback the engine manfully chewed up the kays in 30-degree heat for hours on end. Apart from needing the occasional small top-up of 5W-30 oil, there was no obvious consumption of fluids.

While the powertrain is somewhat a grin-and-bear-it experience, the rear suspension needs work. This is not uncommon when it comes to utes and SUVs when towing. There’s a huge GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) upgrade industry out there for this very reason.

In the case of the Tasman it has become a bit of a controversy because of the pyramid-shaped ‘tertiary spring’ - that looks a lot like a bump stop – sitting on top of the leaf pack that engages with the chassis rail when a load is applied.

Kia says there’s still significant suspension travel available when the spring reaches the chassis rail. To most people though, it just looks like suspension travel has been eaten up. It feels like it too.

In its standard four-leaf form on our first weekend trip away to Paynesville in Gippsland, the rear-end dipped too much under the weight and the tertiary spring was into the rail. Ride quality really suffered, there were a lot of unpleasant sharp inputs from the rear and much cabin shaking.

It also raised the nose of the car too high in the air creating handling instability. In a crosswind it all became a bit too attention-getting.

I had hoped to avoid making any mechanical changes to the Tasman, but after that experience something had to be done. For one reason or another a weight-distribution hitch and airbags were dismissed, leaving me – with the approval of Kia Australia – to ask Melbourne engineering firm Spicers Springs to add a fifth leaf spring into the pack.

Inserted one down from top, it lifted the ride height in the rear 30mm and added about 250kg in load carrying capacity. Just to emphasise though, this was not a GVM upgrade because it was not needed. It was a measure designed to level out the combination’s stance without buggering the ride.

Also, with the help of our old friend Richard Jarvie at Pull Your Weight the weight distribution was massaged. All the key numbers met the requirements, be it axle weights, downball weights and so on, but the kilos just needed to be redistributed a little.

The final clever touch recommended by Richard was flipping the tow hitch to gain 50mm in height. As the standard Tasman hitch can only be set up with the goose neck downward, a new one had to be purchased and fitted.

All that ensured we had a much more level combination. Compare the pics from our first trip with how it looked at the start of the big one and you can see the difference.

The official numbers all read the right way. The Tasman’s Gross Combined Mass limit is 6200kg and our combination came in at 5476kg. The rear axle limit of the Tasman is 2002kg and we measured up at 1814kg. Towball download maximum is 350kg and we were at 319kg.

Happy to say the driving improvement has been remarkable. The Tasman sits flat and stable and feels confident on the road. It rides well, handles competently and has much better connection through the steering. I’m now happy to hitch it up and face a day’s towing to the next destination.

When unhitched, the added leaf spring impacts in no significant way on the ride. Now, if we could just get that Genesis inline-six turbo-diesel unit into the engine bay it’d be job done...

No point giving you an in-depth off-road assessment of the 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro as we haven’t done any of that on this trip.

We have toured the Flinders Ranges sans van and enjoyed the long-legged ride quality on some quite rough tracks and gravel roads. x

If you want to know what serious off-road capability is like then check out this review, where the various off-road features get a workout.

The interior of the 2026 Kia Tasman has always been one of its strongest positives. Its spacious and comfortable and in the case of the flagship X-Pro, well appointed.

As mentioned, one of the best design details is that small fold-out table between the front seats. More than one lunch has been made up and eaten there on a travel day.

The seating, the adjustment of driver controls and the overall comfort level is commendable. The soft headrests are particularly appreciated.

Double smartphone chargers are a smart nod to 21st century requirements, while double gloveboxes are recognition that trips like these generate loads of crap. They form part of a generous overall storage package.

Backseat space is also among the best in class, not that we’ve had people in there. Instead, it’s swallows the booster seats for the two dogs with stuff stored between them on the seats and in the foot well. There’s a heap of other junk stored on the floor and in the zip-up map pockets.

The load box has proved an invaluable storage area, especially with the replacement of the soft cover tarpaulin by the more secure canopy. Note, the canopy is neither full water nor dust proof. We’ve also had an issue with the left-side window popping open on rough roads. But a tune of the pull rids appears to have fixed that.

As a first-time effort, the 2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro is a darn good dual-cab ute.

For general private family use without being heavily laden, its driving manners and interior design places it in the upper echelon of dual cabs you can buy. We know it’s a decent off-roader as well.

But it’s less impressive as a towing vehicle. The theoretical numbers add up but the powertrain struggles to haul what many people would regard as a mid-sized van.

Like plenty of its rivals, the rear suspension ex-factory is underdone for substantial towing and it’s commendable Kia allowed a modification. That an additional leaf spring made all the difference suggests the basic suspension design is not too far away.

Overall, there’s no doubt the Tasman’s towing performance is in the same ballpark as many of its four-cylinder turbo-diesel direct rivals. In other words, it’s acceptable rather than great. You want real grunt to tow a substantial load? Get a 3.0-litre V6 Ranger or go for one of the big American trucks.

That’s not an option for us. We’re just gonna settle in and enjoy the ride.

2026 Kia Tasman X-Pro at a glance:
Price: $74,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 154kW/440Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 214g/km (ADR Combined or WLTP if overseas model)
Safety rating: Not tested

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