2025 Kia Tasman ute completes on-track testing, showcasing handling, towing, payload: Video
08/28/2024 10:02 PM
A teaser video for the Kia Tasman ute has shown it being tested on the track in the United States, as it moves closer to its official reveal.
A new teaser for the 2025 Kia Tasman ute has demonstrated on-track testing for its handling, towing capabilities, and payload.
Conducted at the Hyundai Motor Group proving grounds in California, near the Mojave Desert, the testing shown in the video includes handling and high-speed driving stability assessments around the track.
The facility includes a 10.3-kilometre oval track, a vehicle dynamics area, a vehicle handling course, a paved hill road, and different surfaces to simulate roads in North America.
It also includes a 30,000 square foot office complex, and an additional indoor testing area for items such as airbags in a side-impact collision.
However, despite being tested in the United States, the Kia Tasman will not be sold in North America, instead focusing on markets such as Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and South Korea.
Other tests include chassis development and towing evaluation, the stability of its lane-keep assist system including while towing, and payload hauling.
Previous teaser videos for the Tasman have shown off-road testing in Australia, including one version with what appears to be a bullbar, and wading tests at Kia's proving ground in Gwangju, Korea.
MORE: 2025 Kia Tasman ute: Price, engines, size and everything we know
Kia says it has completed “1777 specific tests conducted over 18,000-plus rounds of evaluation”.
As detailed here, the Kia Tasman is all but confirmed to feature a version of the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine available in the Sorento and Carnival.
In those applications, it produces 148kW and 440Nm, however, it is possible the Tasman could be boosted to around 150kW and 500Nm to match the four-cylinder Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Mitsubishi Triton.
The Kia Tasman ute is due in Australian showrooms in mid-2025 with a full reveal expected between October and December 2024.
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