Bargain or bonkers: Has Kia priced the Tasman right?

Kia has finally revealed how much you’ll pay for its hotly-anticipated Tasman ute. Initial pricing and specifications for the new Ford Ranger rival arrive as the order books open ahead of first deliveries by the middle of the year.

The South Korean brand has confirmed the Dual Cab pick-up will lead the Tasman charge starting in July, followed by the Dual Cab Chassis in August and the Single Cab Chassis by the end of 2025. There will be five trim lines for customers to choose from – S, SX, SX+, X-Line and X-Pro, with both 4×2 and 4×4 variants.

The range will begin at $42,990 for the Tasman S 4×2 and $49,990 for the S 4×4. From there the prices start to rise, with the Tasman SX 4×4 priced from $54,490, the SX+ from $62,390, the X Line from $67,990 and the range is crowned by the X-Pro 4×4 for $74,990.

For context, the best-selling Ranger starts at $43,280 for its 4×2 Double Cab pick-up XL variant and stretches to $69,640 for the Wiltrack 2.0 4×4, which is the closest rival to the X-Pro.

Pricing for the Dual Cab Chassis and Single Cab Chassis will be revealed closer to those models hitting the market.

Kia has tried to appeal to both private and fleet buyers, in particular the crucial novated leave market, by offering all Dual Cab pick-ups with a lower payload or less than 1000kg, despite all variants being able to carry more than one-tonne in standard form.

Kia Australia Chief Executive Officer, Damien Meredith, is unsurprisingly optimistic about what the arrival of Tasman means to the brand’s local sales hopes, having previously forecast it could become a top-three selling ute model with more than 20,000 annual sales.

“The Tasman is by far Kia Australia’s most anticipated model yet, reflecting the scale of Australia’s ute market and the passion of these owners,” Meredith said.

“We are confident the input from Kia Australia at each stage of its development, along with its competitive value and versatility, will make it a very strong contender in the local market.”

However, the timing is challenging for Kia, with a flood of new utes due to hit the local market in the next 12 months, spearheaded by big Chinese brands including MG and LDV.