Kia Tasman one-tonne bakkie confirmed for SA in 2025

Kia has confirmed it will launch a new bakkie in SA next year to compete against the Toyota Hilux, Hilux Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok.

On Tuesday the Kia Tasman one-tonne pickup had its global unveiling at the Jeddah International Motor Show in double-cab variants. The manufacturer confirmed that the bakkie would be launched in the Korean domestic market during the first half of 2025 before being introduced in Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

“We are hard at work to make the Tasman’s local introduction a reality, and based on current planning, we aim to do this in the second half of 2025,” said Paul Turnbull, CEO of Kia SA.

Kia’s first pickup is designed in response to the growing preference for lifestyle-orientated trucks with advanced features,” said Ho Sung Song, president and CEO at Kia.

The Tasman has a rugged, purposeful design underlaid by modern technology and a spacious, comfortable cabin. Enhanced sound-deadening materials provide a hushed, vibration-free interior ambience not typically available in the pickup truck sector, says Kia.

With its strikingly boxy, modular styling, the Tasman departs from the familiar form language that dominates the pickup genre.

“This fresh approach to aesthetics strips away the unnecessary to begin with 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,” said Karim Habib, executive head of Kia Global Design.

The interior has a robust and rugged design that includes large air vents with a honeycomb pattern, a key theme of the cabin. A modern, minimalist dashboard and a multifunction steering wheel have physical buttons to supplement the digital controls on the panoramic touchscreen infotainment.

An optional eight-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system is available with the standard-fit Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

Standard features inside the bakkie include a large folding console table, dual wireless charging pads and hidden storage bins concealed beneath the rear seats offering class-leading storage capacity of 33l. The Kia Tasman is claimed to have best-in-segment headroom, shoulder room and second-row legroom, with reclining rear seats.

The Tasman is offered as a double-cab base model and in X-Line and X-Pro trims. The X-Pro provides superior off-road performance thanks to its ground clearance being raised 28mm to 252mm. It is equipped with 17” gloss-black wheels with all-terrain tyres, while X-Line features larger 18” alloy wheels paired with mixed-use tyres.

The Tasman is also available in single cab and customisable chassis cab variants.

The Korean bakkie will be offered with four bed accessory configurations: Single Decker, Double Decker, Sports Bar and Ladder Rack.

The Single Decker features a canopy and butterfly doors for easy access, and a roof rack for a rooftop tent. The Tasman Double Decker has a trunk equipped with butterfly doors and a sliding tonneau cover, offering customisable cargo space. The Sports Roll Bar variant comes with a functional frame for mounting outdoor lifestyle items. The Ladder Rack variant features a ladder-type rack and is also compatible with rooftop tents.

Power-train choices for the Kia Tasman include a 2.5l petrol turbo engine with outputs of 207kW and 421Nm mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission; and a 154kW/441Nm 2.2l diesel turbo engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission or six-speed manual. Kia hasn’t confirmed which versions will be sold in SA but the turbo diesel is a good bet.

The body-on-frame Tasman rides on independent double wishbone front suspension, with a rigid axle and leaf springs at the rear for optimum load carrying capability. Ride comfort on various terrains is optimised by frequency selective Sensitive Damper Control (SDC) and Hydraulic Rebound Stop technology.

All Tasman models have the ability to ford water up to 800mm deep.

Both the X-Line and the X-Pro have all-wheel-drive as standard, which is optionally available on the base model. The AWD system switches automatically to the configuration required to provide optimum traction on different road surfaces and offers three driving modes — ECO, Smart and Sport — with various terrain modes available.

In SA the X-Pro model will have additional Rock, Desert, Mud and Snow modes, and an automatically engaging rear electronic locking differential (e-LD) and X-Trek mode. The latter enables the vehicle to maintain a low speed off-road without the need for manual acceleration or braking.

To help guide the bakkie through tight areas, a ground view monitor uses the cameras to project hidden obstacles on to the infotainment screen

The Kia Tasman’s load bed can lug a class-leading 1,195kg of cargo in 2WD mode, in addition to a 3,500kg towing capacity.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) offer features such as lane keeping assist, blind spot collision warning and remote parking assist.