Prado-fighting Kia Tasman SUV firming

Kia Australia has all but confirmed a Tasman-based Toyota Prado and Ford Everest rival is on the way, having indicated to carsales the once hypothetical rugged family bus could be here by 2029.

The revelation was made by the brand’s local chassis-tuning wizard Graeme Gambold this week in an interview that saw the engineer, along with senior product and marketing execs, quizzed on the Tasman’s development and how it would compare to its rivals.

The ensemble was asked directly as to when they could discuss a Kia Tasman SUV openly with the media, to which Gambold mused: “Three years down the track.”

Marketing boss Dean Norbiato interjected at this point to clarify the immediate focus and priority was ensuring Tasman’s success before looking further afield.

“If Tasman is a success, then it will open many doors, so let’s get Tasman right first,” he said.

“Once we get that right, then we can go from there.”

“Let us take a breath, the media was asking for a ute for 10 years,” Gambold added, not ruling the project out.

Despite having previously named the Ford Ranger as the benchmark for the Tasman’s development, the Kia team said their ute would be a distinctly different beast to the 2024 sales king.

“The ute-user demographic is so wide compared to other cars; it’s got to be a farm truck for some, it’s got to be a family hauler SUV equivalent for the others,” Gambold said.

“You can’t be everywhere. We’re probably a little bit different to the Ford; we’ve chosen to err on a bit more of the traditional ute market, whereas they’ve tried to go a bit more SUV than traditional ute.

“So there’s a different target, a different number on the dart board.”

Kia Australia product chief Roland Rivero added that even with the traditional focus, the dual-cab Tasman had been developed to balance farm and family duties with equal aplomb, blending all the usual ute ingredients – ladder-frame, leaf rear springs, live rear axle etc – with the latest technologies like frequency selective shock absorbers and connected services.

One can’t help but wonder though, in addition to casting as wider net as possible, if this versatile workhorse approach deliberately leaves room for a wagon spin-off down the track.

There’s certainly room in Kia’s line-up for a sub-EV9 large SUV – above the monocoque Sorento –  and the dual-cab Tasman’s now finished development means there’s already a platform, powertrain (with more to come) and associated running gear available.

The fact the three best-selling large SUVs so far this year are all ladder-frame 4x4s – Toyota Prado, Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X – only adds to the likelihood of a Tasman wagon which, now with the above comments, looks all but certain.

Until a concrete announcement is made, the 2025 Kia Tasman will enter local showrooms next month priced from $49,990 plus on-road costs.

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