Beer O’Clock Hill in The Springs 4×4 Adventure Park – about 180km south-west of Brisbane – has become famous online for its steep gradient and tough ruts, which have seen many off-roaders fail to reach the summit, occasionally due to mechanical failure.
However, its reputation has now become a selling point for carmakers, with GWM last month sending showroom-specification versions of the Cannon XSR ute, Tank 300 SUV and new Cannon Alpha PHEV ute up the hill successfully.
While some brands would be excused for not wanting to send their vehicles up – in case they suffer the same fate as one broken example of the BYD Shark 6 – Kia doesn’t share that attitude, and lent a prototype of the Kia Tasman to park owner Lucas Bree to test it out.
Taking on the hill in a flagship Tasman X-Pro with Mickey Thompson Boss all-terrain tyres as its only claimed modification, Bree made it to the top on what was said to be the first attempt, though its engine turned off without prompt while making the climb.
The Tasman’s ascent was assisted by its locking rear differential, and though it lacks the locking front diff found in the Cannon XSR, the South Korean ute features a ‘Rock’ mode to assist with particularly rutted terrain.
Pricing for the range-topping Tasman X-Pro starts from $77,990 drive-away ($74,990 before on-road costs) nationwide. The dual-cab pickup range opens at $46,490 drive-away ($42,990 plus on-roads) for the 4×2, while the cab-chassis starts from $48,240 plus on-road costs in dual-cab 4×4 guise.
All examples of the Australian-delivered Tasman are powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, producing 153kW and 440Nm, sent to a four-wheel drive system via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
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