2025 Kia Tasman review: Australian off-road preview drive

First order of business, let's get some caveats out of the way. In this first drive of the 2025 Kia Tasman ute on Australian soil, the few examples we have are pre-production models. We're limited to off-road driving as well, so things like loaded performance, suburban and highway driving impressions and towing credentials will have to wait.

However, this is still a tantalising opportunity. Kia has been kicking lots of goals in Australia with plenty of enviable designs and strong sales figures. But the ute segment in Australia is a different beast: particularly competitive and especially parochial, where enthusiasts are equal parts well researched and judgemental.

Just look at the failed Mercedes-Benz X-Class, which only survived two years.

Will the Tasman, with its broadly derided frontal design, be able to survive? Or thrive?

And while we have all been preoccupied with the controversial design of the Tasman – with a face that has been attracting no shortage of negative commentary – this is our first chance to change tack and talk about how the Kia Tasman drives.

There is an important difference between the departed X-Class and incoming Tasman. Whereas Mercedes unsuccessfully leveraged the existing Nissan Navara 'NP300' platform, Kia has gone to the considerable expense and effort of making its own ladder chassis, body-on-frame platform for its first four-wheel-drive ute.

The mechanical layout of the Tasman is a familiar one: leaf springs in the rear, matching up to a live axle with a meaty, round-looking housing. The springs are parabolic in this case, with a four-leaf pack replacing the three-leafer we saw in earlier images.

There's independent suspension up front, and you'll find a familiar engine under the bonnet. A 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel unit, which is also used in Kia's Sorento SUV and Carnival people mover. It's matched to an eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox that's similar to what you'll find in a Kia Stinger, bolstered with a separate oil cooler.

A bit of additional detail about this donk, which is also employed by Hyundais like the Palisade and previous-generation Santa Fe SUVs. Introduced in 2020, this engine replaced another of the same capacity, but got a timing belt (replacing a chain) and received a new alloy block (replacing compacted iron graphite). Outputs are 154kW (up slightly for the Tasman) and 440Nm.

Compared to what you get in a Carnival or Sorento (other than rotating it 90 degrees here), the only difference in the engine itself (along with the small bump in power) is an upgraded cooling system.

While the numbers are decent, torque for the Tasman isn't able to match the majority of the segment. Most utes make 450 or more newton-metres, with the V6-powered Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok being top dogs with 600Nm.

Regardless, you've got a 3500kg braked towing capacity and a circa-1000kg payload (depending on specification). We don't know these numbers exactly just yet until final production details are locked in. But Kia has quoted a gross combination mass (GCM) of 6200kg and gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3250kg.

Like most other utes, the Tasman's 3500kg braked towing capability will be flawed in real-world usage. We'll be able to break this down further when we have all of the figures.

But enough of that, let's get to the driving experience. As we all know, parts of Kia's team behind the Tasman confirmed that developing a four-wheel-drive ute is a tough nut to crack. Off-road ability, driving comfort, working utility and family convenience all pull in separate directions. Getting that balance without underperforming in any area is tricky.

On the short drive we undertook in the Tasman, we still have more questions than answers. The modern-day four-wheel-drive ute gets pulled in a lot of different directions, and you need to explore all of these before making a full and accurate assessment.

The cars we drove were pre-production models, and one in particular was described as '90 per cent' close to what we will get on Australian roads later this year. We only got to test-drive these vehicles off-road and unladen.

And typical of all Kias these days, what we get in Australia will be tailored to suit our own tastes and desires. The frequency-selective dampers, which have integrated hydraulic rebound stoppers, aim to provide that all-important balance of ride comfort, load carrying and off-road ability.

The steering – which has an electric power-assistance system – feels well weighted. It's on the slower side of things, without a sharp initial response that suits a vehicle like the Tasman.

On one section of our drive loop, which included a small section of a patchy dirt road at 40–50km/h, we got a sense that the Tasman has a nice dose of bump absorption in the ride tune, without too much jiggle and shudder over the rough surface. But of course, we'll need to see how this performance fares over a wide variety of conditions.

A heavy press of the accelerator pedal at this same time showed a powertrain that feels good, but also not as responsively spicy as you get from Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen in particular. It feels good enough, but it's also not overly effortless under short exertion.

One area of concern for me was when testing the off-road ability of the Tasman on a moderate climb that included a few sharp corners. There were a few different times that the vehicle would up-shift happily from second to third gear in low-range, only to bog down with insufficient torque and be forced to downshift.

Locking the car into manual mode – using either the shifter or paddles – doesn't preclude the problem, because revving up the engine doesn't lock the ratio down, and the car up-shifts whether you like it or not.

This could be a problem in certain circumstances, like driving up a steep and soft sandhill. You want to build and keep momentum, but an unwanted up-shift could bring you unstuck. And by that, I mean stuck.

Better news comes through the off-road traction-control system, which is more sophisticated and multifaceted than what you find on most utes. There's a range of driving modes available to adjust throttle response, transmission calibration and wheel spin control depending on your challenge.

It's sharply tuned and quite smooth in operation, kicking in without excessive wheel spin and controlling progress nicely. However, I'm looking forward to putting these systems under additional duress in the future for more thorough testing.

This is matched to a clutch-based four-wheel-drive system, which is similar (but not the same) to what you get in a Ford Ranger. Using Eaton hardware, there's an electronically controlled clutch pack that connects the front and rear wheels in the chain-driven transfer case, which can fully disconnect the front wheels, lock into a proper four-wheel-drive mode, or any variance between those two.

The vehicles we were testing – indicative of the X-Pro – also get a selectable locking rear differential, which is also sourced from Eaton. Other models lower down the range will get an auto-locking rear differential, which is similar to what you get on a KGM SsangYong Musso.

As is always the case for four-wheel-drive utes, a relatively long wheelbase (3270mm, matching the Ranger/Amarok twins) means rampover angle and sill clearance will be your first issues off-road, and the 265/70 R17 Hankook tyres have a slight advantage in terms of rolling diameter and corresponding ground clearance.

The major strength of the Tasman – and one area where it could lure buyers away – is the interior experience. There's an interesting design language going on here, and it combines practicalities, technology and an upmarket ambience quite well. This is important, when you consider the fact that the Tasman X-Pro is line-ball with the highly regarded Ford Ranger Wildtrak on price.

Infotainment is well provided for, and the additional glovebox and storage areas will help absorb your everyday accoutrements. The seats are comfortable and supportive.

The second row is a particular standout, in terms of overall size (don't forget, the Tasman will be amongst the longest in the segment when it arrives) and comfort for occupants. The flip-up seat base is one trick for additional storage, but the base also slides forward (tilting the backrest at the same time) for an advantage I've not seen before in a ute. Good comfort, ample leg room and some adjustability. These are things not often cited in the back seats of a ute.

Getting behind the wheel of the Tasman is an important next step for this ute, which allows us to talk about something other than how it looks. Calling the styling divisive is being disingenuous, as virtually every comment or mention I see puts the Tasman's look in a strong negative light.

For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of the front styling, even though it's been tweaked. Body-coloured flares reduce their visual impact in profile, but the rear – which reminds me of the Jeep Gladiator – actually isn't too bad.

One could argue that how it drives – not how it looks – is more important, and this initial taste of the Tasman shows it's on the right track to compete with the segment. The powertrain doesn't rewrite any records, but the balance of ride quality and steering feels good.

Off the back of a promising ride quality, the interior of the Tasman is impressive in its design, layout and comfort.

And if Kia can sort out the annoying transmission calibration in low-range, there's good off-road potential in the Tasman that we are excited to explore further in due course.