Tough, capable, and built for both work and play — Kia’s first-ever ute hits NZ with rugged styling, five-star safety, and proven off-road power
Leveraging more than five decades of expertise developing special-purpose vehicles, including off-roaders, the Kia Tasman is what its manufacturer says is a truly transformative pickup truck, that effortlessly meets the needs of both work and leisure activities.
“Reaction to the Kia Tasman has been nothing short of phenomenal, it’s a statement making machine that combines rugged aesthetics with an impressive powertrain and functionality that can be counted on to get the job done,” says managing director of Kia New Zealand, Todd McDonald.
Kia Tasman Highlights
Highlights of the new Kia Tasman include impressive offroad capability, all-round durability as well as outstanding practicality.
“Overseas testing of the new Ute has proven it to be an incredibly capable offroad performer,” says Todd.
“It offers 800mm wading depth across all models in the lineup, a standardised locking rear differential is also a feature on all variants in the Tasman portfolio as is low-range gearing, whilst the top-of-the-line X-Pro delivers ground clearance of up to 252mm.
“Driver-interaction features of the cabin such as buttons, switchgear and componentry have also been subject to rigorous testing. Kia is confident that Tasman is robust and ready for action, both inside and out.
“This also applies to its all-round interior practicality, especially from a packaging perspective. Tasman offers best-in-segment second-row roominess when measures such as second-row headroom and second-row shoulder room are considered, which is further enhanced in the case of X-Line and X-Pro as they feature a sliding and reclining second-row seat.”
Research and Development
The Kia Tasman has undergone 1777 specific tests conducted over more than 18,000 rounds of evaluation and tens of thousands of kilometres.
The tests took place across a range of environments and covered everything from off-road ability to wading, all-terrain durability to towing, and on-track performance to ride and handling.
Exterior Design
Kia say their design team deliberately shunned the familiar form language that has dominated the pickup genre for decades. The fresh approach to aesthetics stripped away the unnecessary; to begin with they say is a basic, honest form that highlights the vehicle’s sense of solid power through simple yet functional elements, without relying on the oversized styling that has come to dominate the pickup segment.
The upright windshield and rear glass contribute to the Kia Tasman’s bold silhouette, reinforced by the 45-degree angles of the vehicle’s striking graphic elements. The unique fender design combines practical functions, such as headlights and storage units, demonstrating functionality and clear, confident design.
At the rear, the Kia Tasman visually reinforces a highly practical nature. The tailgate showcases a bold, stamped logo, while the tailgate handle and high-mounted stop-lamp are integrated for enhanced functionality and a utilitarian character.
Interior
Just as the Kia Tasman’s exterior aesthetic breaks away from conventional thinking, the pickup’s interior introduces a bold new dimension of design quality for pickup customers.
Large air vents featuring a honeycomb pattern – a key theme of the interior – emphasise the functionality of the ventilation. A multi-function steering wheel and the modern, minimalist lower centre dashboard and tunnel sections with carefully positioned buttons provide intuitive control of the Kia Tasman’s advanced technology.
Powertrain
At the heart of Tasman is a custom tuned 2.2-litre diesel engine that is capable of producing 154kW of power and 440Nm of torque. This is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission specially honed and tuned for the Tasman, helping deliver both power and efficiency.
Model Range
The Kia Tasman will be launched with the double-cab wellside variant, the first of a number of new variants to be introduced over coming months.
Safety
The Kia Tasman has achieved a top five-star safety rating from the independent Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.
The result was achieved against ANCAP’s rigorous 2025 protocols, demonstrating Kia’s continued prioritisation of safety for customers, and is applicable to four-wheel drive dual cab variants. (X-Line and X-Pro variants, as well as 4×2 rear-wheel-drive, and upcoming single-cab and dual cab-chassis variants have not been assessed by ANCAP and are unrated).
Kia Connect Service
Further enhancements relating to the overall user experience is the availability of five-year Kia Connect service, complemented with fully fledged Over-The-Air updates, all of which contribute to improved safety (e-Call SOS function) and implementation of future advancements in features and easy-to-operate user interface.
Pricing
The Kia Tasman is available at dealerships around the country now and the price of the new Ute starts from $52,690 for the TX 4WD Ute (plus on-road costs).
Look out for next month’s issue as we report back after driving the new model at the national press launch in Wellington – Ed.