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Enclosed Tasman will most likely target the Prado and Ford Everest rather the Toyota Fortuner when it goes into production.
Tasman will make its South African debut later this year. Image: Kia
Reportedly still set to debut in South Africa this year, a new report from Australia has alleged that the Kia Tasman could spawn a body-on-frame SUV by 2028 if all goes to plan.
But wait…
Likely to be aimed at the Ford Everest and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado than the Fortuner, the hinting by Kia Australia’s head of chassis tuning, Graeme Gambold, was quickly followed up marketing head, Dean Norbiato, saying that immediate focus remains on the Tasman that went on-sale Down Under two months ago priced from $42 990 or R496 263 when directly converted.
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“If Tasman is a success, then it will open many doors, so let’s get Tasman right first. Once we get that right, then we can go from there,” Norbiato said.
Addressing the question, posted by carsales.com.au, further, Gambold said, “let us take a breath, the media was asking for a ute for 10 years”.
“You can’t be everywhere. We’re probably a little bit different to the Ford; we’ve chosen to err on a bit more of the traditional ute market, whereas they’ve tried to go a bit more SUV than traditional ute,” he said in reference to the Tasman having been benchmarked against the Ford Ranger.
“The ute-user demographic is so wide compared to other cars; it’s got to be a farm truck for some, it’s got to be a family hauler SUV equivalent for the others. So, there’s a different target, a different number on the dart board”.
What to expect
Likely to seat seven similar to the Everest and Prado, the SUV could go under a different name than the Tasman, however, as mentioned, nothing has yet been finalised.
A rival for upper-end versions of the Isuzu MU-X as well, and possibly the next generation Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, the “Tasman SUV” will, in probability, have the same engines as its bakkie sibling, namely the 2.5 T-GDI petrol producing 207kW/421Nm and the 2.2-litre turbodiesel rated at 154kW/441Nm.
Compared to the Everest that also offers the 3.0-litre Lion turbodiesel V6, the SUV, as with the Tasman, won’t be equipped with a six-cylinder engine at any stage.
For the moment though, nothing has yet been given the greenlight.
ALSO READ: Wait finally over as Kia officially debuts long-awaited Tasman bakkie
