Kia is set to deliver the first examples of its new Tasman ute to customers from July, but it’s not finished testing the dual-cab on local roads.
CarExpert reader Rick took these images of the Tasman being tested at Canberra’s Mount Ainslie, with Kia’s ute towing a trailer with a Cerato on it.
A pair of Tasmans – one black X-Line and another Tan Beige X-Pro – were spotted driving up and down the mountain, while also being benchmarked against a Ford Ranger which was hooked up to the same trailer.
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The Kia Tasman – like the Ranger and a number of Australia’s best-selling dual-cab utes – has a 3500kg braked towing capacity, with the circa-1000kg car trailer and sub-1400kg Cerato not pushing it near its limit.
All Australian-delivered Tasmans will be powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 154kW of power and 441Nm of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
That puts it on par with the power output of the 2.0-litre bi-turbo Ranger, though it’s down 59Nm. Compared to most 2.8-litre turbo-diesel Toyota HiLux variants, the Tasman is up 4kW but down 50Nm.
However, Kia has said the Tasman will have a payload of 1017kg to 1195kg, depending on spec. Dual-cab Rangers can carry up to 1018kg, while the HiLux has a payload limit of up to 1040kg in SR5 dual-cab guise.
While it may not be a volume seller on the same scale as its aforementioned rivals, it could propel Kia past Mazda and into the top three on Australia’s new-car sales charts.
Pricing for the Tasman is yet to be announced, however Kia has previously slated July to launch the dual-cab, August for the dual-cab/chassis and the fourth-quarter (October to December) for a single-cab/chassis.
MORE: Everything Kia Tasman
