Kia’s design for the Tasman was criticised even before covers came off the new ute last year, and its most vocal opponents have pointed at the odd looks being a reason behind its slow start on the sales charts.
The outboard, wheel-arch mounted headlights and rounded bonnet are its most striking elements, though neither can be easily changed without a significant – but potentially needed – redesign.
That could be on the way though, with Kia’s Special Vehicle division in South Korea launching a website for the Tasman, targeting commercial and military buyers to provide fit-outs.
Included on the page is an image of two military-ready Tasmans, complete with larger, more traditionally designed headlights, helping to soften the jarring front end of the ute.
While it could be easy to say the renders preview a potential future update to the Tasman, it appears the new design is nothing more than a sloppy interpretation of the ute by artificial intelligence, which has seemingly not been re-checked by Kia prior to being uploaded.
Telltale signs include a very different A-pillar and gibberish writing on the tyres of the camouflaged ute, while the plain green one also features wheels with differing numbers of spokes.
Other images of the Tasman on the Kia Special Vehicle website clearly denote they are for illustrative purposes only, a disclaimer seemingly forgotten about for these renders.
In September, Kia delivered 806 examples of the Tasman in Australia. By contrast, a total of 5047 Toyota HiLuxes and 4867 Ford Rangers were delivered in the same month. Still, the Tasman managed to finish ahead of the Volkswagen Amarok and Nissan Navara, among others.
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