Last year, the Kia Mohave may have been killed off, but it wasn’t in vain. From its remains came the Kia Tasman, the brand's first-ever pickup truck. The Mohave was a true off-road luxury SUV that made good use of a body-on-frame structure and a diesel V6 engine. But that was before its sad demise. Now, a new generation can experience the Tasman, which makes full use of the Mohave’s best features.
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| 2026 Kia Tasman |
The first-ever Kia Tasman is a pickup truck that competes against the best midsize pickup trucks from across the Pacific Rim. Starting at 37,500,000 Korean Won, the Tasman was born from the remains of the Kia Mohave, which, sadly, was no longer in production.
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| 2026 Kia Tasman |
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| 2026 Kia Tasman |
Let's begin with the exterior design. Although the muscular exterior design bears nothing in common with the entire Kia vehicle line-up of today, one hard look and they can be easily fooled into thinking that it is a Jeep Gladiator, which is one of the Tasman's chief rivals.
Similarly sized compared to the now-defunct Mohave, its squarish design makes a huge statement for customers, thinking that the Tasman is the ideal building block of their everyday needs, come business or leisure.
Customers can customize the Tasman with various gear to meet their adventurous needs. Options include bed rails, a canopy, or both. Additionally, you can choose configurations with a roof tent or overland gear.
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| 2026 Kia Tasman interior |
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| 2026 Kia Tasman interior |
In contrast to its macho exterior styling, the Tasman boasts a luxurious interior featuring a 12.3-inch + 5-inch + 12.3-inch panoramic widescreen technology, haptic switches for the sat-nav, switches for the volume, climate control, and hazard lights, door handles with rollers, folding console table, column-type gear lever, and secret compartments under the second-row seats, among others. Rear-wheel-drive variants can carry as much as 700kg of bed space while 4WD variants, especially the X-Pro variant, can carry up to 400kg.
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| 2026 Kia Tasman |
The only engine that powers the Tasman is a Smartstream G2.5 Turbo GDI engine that produces 281PS of power and 43kgf-m of torque. Mated to an 8-speed AT, it does 0-100kph in 8.5 seconds and onwards to 185kph. As for fuel economy, rear-wheel-drive variants get up to 8.6kmpl while 4WD variants get up to 8.1kmpl. Towing capacity is up to 3,500kg.
Manpower pushed the Tasman through the extreme limit to demonstrate its cross-country abilities while tackling scorching sands and blizzards. In response to such demanding elements Mother Nature can throw at it, the Tasman features the tried-and-tested X-Pro variant that features increased ground clearance and standard 4WD. In addition to three driving modes; ECO, Smart, and Sport, the X-Pro adds Rock, Sand, Mud, and Snow. It even comes with a rear Electronic Locking Differential, an X-Trek Mode which enables the Tasman to maintain a low speed off-road without the need for manual acceleration or braking, and the ultra-handy Ground View Monitor.
In addition to the Ground View Monitor, trailer assist, and the trailer brake controller, the Tasman packs a wide range of ADAS such as lane keeping assist, blind spot collision warning, and remote parking assist through Highway Driving Assist 2.
The all-new Kia Tasman pickup truck inherits the body-on-frame design from the now-defunct Mohave luxury SUV and boldly ventures into uncharted territory for the Kia brand. With the rogue gallery of midsize pickup trucks from across the Pacific Rim in its crosshairs, the Kia Tasman is a worthy contender in its class and looks like it's on a roll.
Those who are interested in a proper off-roader from Kia can look no further because the Tasman has arrived.
Available Colors: Snow White Pearl, Interstellar Grey, Aurora Black Pearl, Cityscape Green/Black, Runway Red/Black, Tan Beige/Black, and Denim Blue/Black.
Photo: Kia Corporation
