Kia’s new ute is closing in on showrooms, and now pre-production examples still in the country have dropped their disguise.
The 2025 Kia Tasman is less than six months away from Australian showrooms, and prototypes are still touring local roads as final testing prepares to wrap up globally.
The black Tasman spotted by Drive in Sydney appears to be an X-Pro flagship model, judging by what appear to be all-terrain tyres, and is among the first local sightings of the ute without disguise.
Australian showroom arrivals of the Kia ute are on track for June or July this year in dual-cab format, with prices to be announced closer to launch.
Kia executives told media late last year the Tasman – powered by a 154kW/441Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine – had attracted close to 20,000 expressions of interest locally.
MORE: 2025 Kia Tasman unveiled – new Korean ute to upset Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux
The ute’s styling has been one of its most controversial attributes – but the company says it is growing on potential customers.
“You’re all aware of the commentary around launch from an aesthetic standpoint, but we’re really starting to see a narrative shift in terms of opinions,” Kia Australia general manager of marketing Dean Norbiato said in December 2024.
“A lot of people, the more time they see it and spend with it, we are seeing a separation in opinion from the initial launch.
“We’ve done some customer research as well. We had a week-long research piece with the Tasman, and in terms of the feedback, we feel we’re confident from a position of overall sales volume targets we have with that model – the product and its specification – that we’re in a good position.”
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