Trying as if it got here straight out of a supersized Lego Technic field, the Tasman Weekender is a Korean tackle a Ford Ranger Raptor rival. At present an idea, the overly angular pickup truck is making a splash this week on the 2025 Seoul Mobility Present. It’s fairly completely different than the polarizing manufacturing mannequin, and dare we are saying that Kia has addressed the principle design challenge. The fenders are actually body-colored, making the profile look so a lot better.
In fact, it additionally helps that the fenders are significantly wider on this idea truck. The Weekender sits on meaty 35-inch BF Goodrich all-terrain tires and presents a greater strategy angle after Kia shaved off the corners of the entrance bumper. The adventurous Tasman additionally will get a winch, beefy seize handles on the B-pillars, and a big storage field on the again. All that’s lacking is a snorkel, though it’s accessible as an official accent for the manufacturing mannequin.
Picture by: Kia
One other delicate change is on the entrance, the place the headlights not look like pushed to the physique’s extremities. That’s partly due to the bigger entrance fenders, however Kia has additionally added a black plastic trim piece. This useful styling tweak doesn’t simply alter the proportions; it additionally reduces the chance of headlight injury whereas off-roading.
However even with these modifications, the Tasman remains to be immensely quirky. The lifted Weekender idea is a step in the proper path, and hopefully, a manufacturing model will comply with. A stronger engine would make sense, though the truck proven in Seoul had the usual 2.2-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder with 207 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Some markets additionally get a 2.5-liter gasoline engine with 277 hp and 311 lb-ft. A bigger V-6 has been dominated out due to stricter emissions laws, albeit rival manufacturers supply six-cylinder midsize vans.
Though Kia CEO Ho Sung Tune says the corporate is “critically learning” a truck for america, it received’t be the Tasman. Extra particulars concerning the pickup might be introduced tomorrow, April 9, throughout Kia’s Investor Day.
Picture by: Kia
