Kia’s first foray into the pickup truck market has been an interesting one. Early reactions were pointed to the design of the new Tasman, which looks unconventional, to say the least. Despite being a mid-size truck, Kia says that it won’t land in North America.
Kia Tasman officially won’t come to U.S.
Kia
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A representative of the company confirmed to Car And Driver that while a truck for the U.S. market makes sense, this isn’t in the cards for the Tasman. Until now, Kia had been mum on the subject since it launched back in October, even when a prototype was spotted testing in California.
Instead, the Tasman will launch in its home market of South Korea, before being exported to Middle Eastern and African regions, as well as Australia. Controversial design aside, the Tasman uses an old-school body-on-frame platform with an array of gas and diesel engines backed by either an automatic or manual transmission. An all-electric version is in development.
Likewise, Kia will offer a dedicated off-road trim on the Tasman. This is said to have lifted suspension, with up to 9.5 inches in ground clearance, along with all-terrain tires and an electronic locking rear diff.
Holds up against theoretical competition
Kia
Kia claims the Tasman can tow up to 7,716 pounds. That’s considerably higher than any of the midsize pickups currently for sale in North America, like the Toyota Frontier and Nissan Frontier. The Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins can just about match the Tasman at 7,700 lbs if properly equipped with the 2.8-liter Duramax turbodiesel.
Inside, the cabin is thankfully less eccentric. As this is a truck, hard physical buttons are present throughout the interior, while a widescreen display sits on top of the dash. In other words, pretty typical Kia fare.
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If the Tasman is competitive, why isn’t Kia releasing it in the U.S.? That damn chicken tax, which has placed a 25-percent tariff on light trucks built elsewhere since 1964.
A more cheery theory could be that, given the vast U.S. truck market, Kia would want to build a dedicated pickup that won’t be sold elsewhere. If that were the case, it faces an uphill climb against the Ram 1500, Ford F-150, and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 for sales supremacy.
Final thoughts
Kia
Beyond the odd design, the Kia Tasman looks to be a promising first attempt for a popular segment that’s new to the carmaker.
Maybe the new administration can kill the chicken tax for good and welcome more pickups to the U.S. More business never hurts a country that’s rooted in capitalism.
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