Kia Tasman ute launches in NZ
Stepping into the already crowded ute market, it’s important to bring your best game. Kia look to have done just that with the arrival of its first ute, the Tasman, at a recent event in Wellington.
The “racy new urban concept” is for a sporty three-door hatchback with cross-over elements in the design. These include “muscular” wheel arches and large air intakes moulded into the lower front bumper, plus a power bulge in the bonnet and lowered roofline.
Also on view are a tiger-nose grille and LED headlights – styling lines eschewed by Kia Motors’ design chief and now group president, Peter Schreyer.
The concept has yet to be named; this may be released just ahead of the Geneva show. No details have come forth about the engine or drivetrain.
The Kia concept is expected to be joined at the show by the recently unveiled GT versions of the European-built cee’d 5-door and pro_cee’d 3-door hatchbacks, powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine delivering 204hp.
“The new concept shows a much more youthful and sporty side to Kia and it will be interesting and exciting to see how the vehicle itself appears at the Geneva show,” says Todd McDonald, general manager of Kia Motors New Zealand.
“The indication from the sketches are that it will it will have a performance edge.”
