When one thinks of a ute, an ever increasing list of brands and vehicles come to mind. Kia though has traditionally not been a part of this discussion, until now that is. Enter the Tasman, the controversial looking new ute has been making waves since the project’s inception and its recent local debut had to be one of the year’s most hotly anticipated new car launches. No pressure then!
The event was to be held over the course of a Friday and Saturday, the former of which begun with us arriving at the airport before first light, 5:45AM if we’re being precise. Kia’s intentions were evident from the get go, they weren’t messing around when it came to the Tasman’s launch. Nor should they as despite the push towards electrification, utes still have a vice grip on new car sales in New Zealand, proving that we are indeed a nation of farmers and fishers! That aside, our wheels were up by 7 o’clock before touching down just after 8 in Wellington, the nation’s capital.
Based on the itinerary laid out for us, we were vaguely aware of how the day would pan out but once we were handed our ‘Kia Tasman’ branded oilskin jackets, a whole new layer of mystery was added to our morning. From there, we were loaded onto a rickety old bus which struggled to keep its speed as the motorway climbed, its purpose though would become evident shortly. Once off the motorway and through some rural back roads, we arrived at a mysterious driveway, a gravel laden steep climb separated us from the top of the property where the event was to be held. This little old bus really did earn its stripes here with its traditional four wheel drive system and low range gearbox crawling its way up the gravely drive. There were panicked faces all around, if this is what the terrain was like so far, what could possibly lay ahead of us?! Todd McDonald, Kia NZ’s MD just grinned in response.
Snow capped mountains signaled the end of the ascent and the beginning of the event
The first sign of the journey coming to an end was a clearing in the forest, through which the above snow capped mountains were spotted. It was just as well that the jackets were given on arrival because it was a bone chilling 3/4 degrees atop Dirt Farm! And although cold, the view was undeniably pretty and what a day it turned out to be with barely a cloud to be seen. Once off the bus, we were greeted by a sea of Tasmans (see what I did there), in all shades and with every accessory possible, more on this later.
Department of Conservation style signs were a nice touch!
A quick coffee stop accompanied by a short briefing would see us prepared for the day and on our way. Our name tags had the group split into two with yours truly belonging to group b, the cooler one arguably as many 1980s rally references were made while waiting on a warm beverage. Speaking of bygone eras, Kia had also decorated the main marquee with some antique furniture, depicting the typical Kiwi front room through the years. The furniture was in immaculate condition for its age with some of the other journalists eyeing up a piece or two. As inviting as the couches looked, we were not here to reminisce on old memories but instead to welcome a brand new era for Kia. But first, coffee!
Various living room arrangement depicted parts of a typical Kiwi home through the years
Once suitably caffeinated, I was ready to tackle the first of two activities planned for the day ahead. Course one would see us accompany a professional driving instructor who would conquer a series of obstacles that lay in the Tasman’s path, the goal of which was to demonstrate the extent of its capability in a controlled environment. The obstacles in question included steep ascents and descents, loose rocks, mud ruts, banked corners and there was even a wading pool to really put the Tasman through its paces.
Some may say the above was overkill and yes, there is an argument to support this. Most new utes will probably find their way into cities/urban centres where their off road/all-terrain tyres will be swapped for shiny wheels, following which they will spend their days traversing multi-storey carparks and speedhumps rather than paddocks. Even so, remember that Kia are fresh faced newbies when it comes to utes. They haven’t sold this type of vehicle before in New Zealand, let alone one that rides on a ladder frame chassis, this too at a time when some of its competitors are rolling out the second and third generation versions of their respective vehicles. The onus then was on Kia to prove that the Tasman could hold its own out here.
A sea of Kia Tasmans were put through their paces on a grueling off-road course at Dirt Farm
As the serene beauty and stillness of the forest was quickly overcome by an orchestra of whistling diesels, it became even more apparent that the Tasman was here to prove itself. The professionally piloted part of the course saw the Tasmans take on a series of challenging off road hurdles. Huge rocks and ruts were conquered with ease, the kind that would break a weaker ute but not the Kia. Don’t be fooled by its comfortable seats, premium audio and suite of technology, it means business off-road. Credit to the brand though, those familiar with their interiors were instantly at home in the Tasman, the positioning of the screens, buttons and other controls were similar to what you might see on a Sorento for example or even an EV9, even more so when it comes to the starter button and gear lever!
Although it may share parts with other vehicles from the lineup, Kia doesn’t make anything quite like the Tasman, a point which was proven as the instructor took the vehicle on a banked curve with a 29/30 degree tilt to it! At one point, I found myself staring down the edge of the hill asking myself if this was the end but not quite, the ute was barely breaking a sweat. Although if it did need to cool off, the next obstacle was just what the doctor ordered!
A Kia Tasman emerges victorious from the wading pool
If there’s one thing scarier than sitting in a car tilted 30 degrees, it’s sitting in a car that is heading quickly downhill towards a pool of water. And yes, that’s exactly where I found myself that morning, putting the Tasman’s 800mm wading depth to the test. Safe to say that it did indeed pass with flying colours as I walked out dry and the car drove out. The deep descents and steep ascents were in fact made with Kia’s new ‘X-Trek’ technology (that’s pronounced x-trek rather than Cross-trek). It’s a system that controls the vehicle’s speed either downhill or up, think hill descent control but smarter as it goes climbs too!
Similarly over loose rocks, gravel etc, you simply just need to let ‘X-Trek’ do its thing and if you’re in the right terrain mode with the differential set accordingly, you can off-road like a pro.
While the above was fun, I was itching to have a go myself at this point. So, the cars were handed over to us before we were let loose on another off-road course. This time though there would ne no water feature or 30 degree tilts, the course was tough but slightly toned down for the lot of us who are not professional drivers but likely think that we are!
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The viewing point offered rewarding vistas of the Tasman Sea
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Dinner offered a chance to get up close with the Tasman and ask our pressing questions
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The next morning, we departed Wellington with impressed faces, improved driving skills and some impeccable coffee gear
To close off, I do indeed know that the phrase used in the title is incorrect but it’s that very version that is so commonly used around these parts of the world and a fitting one to describe the Tasman. In this case, Kia were rank outsiders coming into the ute market, they had never made anything quite like this before but fancied a slice of the pie and what a slice they have claimed!
The Tasman may have stirred the pot with its looks but it couldn’t have been a better marketing exercise for the Korean ute as it has gotten people talking about it. And with plenty of buzz around, the purpose of this launch was to reaffirm the Tasman’s off road capability which certainly can’t be doubted. On road though, we will have to wait for a proper review to confirm but if its abilities on the day are anything to go by, it should be equally impressive.
And yes, the phrase should really read “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.
Thanks for reading! For more Kia news and reviews, visit Tarmac Life.
A special thank you to Kia New Zealand for inviting us on the launch of the Kia Tasman. Thanks to Tim from Dirt Farm and Stu & the team at Downforce New Zealand.
Words and photos by Matthew D’Souza.