Best look yet at Kia’s Ford Ranger rival

Kia has teased the Tasman in a special camouflage

Are you ready for a Kia ute? Because the company is getting closer and closer to finally launching its long-awaited challenger to the likes of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, recently revealing photos that show our best look yet.

Having already officially announced the long-expected nameplate, Tasman, the South Korean brand has released images of a camouflaged version that gives us a clear picture of how the new ute will look. Underneath the Australian-inspired camouflage you can clearly make out the boxy and ‘truck-like’ sillouhette of the Tasman, although the details remain unclear.

SEGERA DATANG: 2025 Kia Tasman

This special camouflage was created by Kia in collaboration with local artist, Richard Boyd-Dunlop, with the idea being to “visualise a journey of inspiration encountered while driving along the coast and across the outback” – according to Kia.

Kia’s new Tasman will go head-to-head with the likes of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger

“Our Tasman pickup truck embodies Kia’s commitment to design and innovation, as well as its spirit of adventure,” explained Karim Habib, Head of Kia Global Design. “Artist Richard Boyd-Dunlop crafted an exclusive camouflage design, with the support of the Kia design team, that depicts a journey and reflects an essence of adventure that is unique to the Tasman.”

The Australian-themed graphic, coupled with the Australian-derived nameplate underscores the importance of our local market to the development of Kia’s first-ever dual-cab ute.

As we’ve previously reported, the Tasman will be a proper one-tonne, dual-cab ute built on an all-new ladder-frame chassis to compete directly agains the HiLux, Ranger and similar. It’s expected to be powered by Kia’s existing 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, which makes a respectable 148kW of power and 440Nm of torque, while the 200kW/332Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine might also be an option.

Kia Australia clearly sees the opportunity for the Tasman to make a major impact on its sales here. It hired 20 Australian sporting superstars, including Steve Waugh, Ash Barty, Buddy Franklin, Wendell Sailor and MacKenzie Arnold, for the television commercial to officially confirm to the public it was adding the ute.

As we wrote at the time, the ad did a subtle job of previewing the name, with rugby league star Alfie Langer throwing a dart and hitting a map right on the ‘Tasman Sea’ label.

The Kia Tasman will officially go on sale in 2025 with a focus on the Australian, Korean, African and Middle Eastern markets.