A proposed, hero off-road version of the Kia Tasman ute failed to materialise – before the well-received Weekender concept was revealed – but is still a chance for showrooms.
A request by Kia Australia for a hardcore, off-road-focused Kia Tasman ute to challenge the Ford Ranger Raptor and Nissan Navara Warrior was not met by similar interest by its counterparts around the globe.
Still, local executives for the South Korean car giant have not given up on the idea, and say it can be explored again later in the Tasman's life cycle if global demand opens up for it.
Such a vehicle would offer greater off-road capability than today's flagship Tasman X-Pro, which adds all-terrain tyres, an electronic locking rear differential, and a small suspension lift.
"We've been an advocate for a halo variant, and we believe it has a great effect on the desirability of the product [in a] cascading effect," Kia Australia head of product planning, Roland Rivero, told Drive.
"We requested a Raptor equivalent or a Warrior equivalent ... but unfortunately, the global business case didn't align with Australia's desires or requests.
"Not to say that that's dead and buried, but if there's a strong market demand out there for a halo variant above an X-Pro, then we'd love to hear the noise and maybe we can explore it further in the future."
Don't expect a top-of-the-range Tasman to offer a different engine, as six-cylinder power has been all but ruled out due to a lack of suitable diesel engines, and the high emissions of a twin-turbo petrol engine.
"Over 80 per cent of [Australian ute] sales are four-cylinder diesels," Rivero said.
"From our perspective, we wanted to get that fundamental element right first before we look at other powertrains, but now we're also juggling CO2 regulations and the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.
"I think, right now, it's difficult to think about a performance powertrain that's all about performance, and not so much about fuel economy and reduced emissions."
Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith left the door open for a top-of-the-range off-road special.
"There's always an opportunity to look at it. It hasn't been high on our agenda, because we've been busy doing other things, but you never know what [can happen] when it comes to those sorts of things."
Kia has previewed the styling of a potential off-road flagship with the Weekender concept (below) revealed earlier this year.
Rival ute manufacturers without a global off-road flagship have turned to Australian engineering firms to create top-of-the-range models developed for local customers and conditions.
Meanwhile, the services of Walkinshaw – the engineering firm formerly behind Holden Special Vehicles – have been employed by Volkswagen and Isuzu to build hero variants of the marques' Amarok and D-Max utes, respectively.
Walkinshaw also developed the limited-run Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme, based on the previous-generation ute and sold in select Mitsubishi dealers, but the project was not on the same scale as its VW and Isuzu partnerships.
Meredith was keen to point out that Kia Australia was a modern pioneer in tuning the ride and handling qualities of imported vehicles for local roads and customer preferences.
"Kia Australia set up that ride and handling thing. We were the first ones to do it. [It was] done before my time. Others have copied that in regards to product enhancement, [which] is what you're referring to."
The South Korean car giant has dubbed the Tasman its "most Australian product", with Australia at the centre of its development since work on the ute commenced in 2019.
Only two sets of tune for the suspension exist for the Tasman globally, and one was developed in Australia for local roads, by a team led by Kia's local chief engineer, Graeme Gambold.
All but a handful of Kia vehicles on sale in Australia were treated to extensive tuning of their suspension and steering on local roads before going on sale.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
