2025 Kia Tasman ute takes shape: Most promising look yet at new Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger rival thanks to fresh spy pics

Following a widely circulated video from earlier this week which depicted a Kia Tasman development car, disguised in a car park, more rumours and estimations - including this render - have surfaced regarding the Kia ute.

The 2025 Kia Tasman dual-cab ute, which has undergone some serious development in Australia, was seen only a few days ago covered up and is now the subject of a render by Kolesa.ru.

According to the Russian digital artists, details and design elements from the likes of the Kia EV9 and Kia Mohave SUVs have lent themselves to this render, as well as the limited clues given by the prototype mule.

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The grille being reminiscent of the Carnival people mover, while the head- and tail-lights borrowing from Kia's electric car stylebook make sense, though the plastic cladding seen on the sides in this render would likely be divisive if Kia takes that path.

What's not clear exactly yet is what will be under the bonnet.

Both the Carnival and Sorento SUV make use of a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine that makes 148kW and 440Nm, which would make sense as a power unit for a Kia ute.

Kia Australia's General Manager of Product Planning, Roland Rivero, told CarsGuide late last year that the ute will "definitely" be the most Australian Kia model yet.

Expect to see the ute land in mid-2025 here in Australia (Image: Kolesa.ru).

"It's a different sport," Mr Rivero said. "But with that involvement comes a lot of responsibility."

Kia Australia has reportedly flagged sales in the vicinity of 20,000 per year in Australia to its South Korean HQ, as well as bearing responsibility for development of a model that could become popular in other ute-hungry markets.

"We've had feedback certainly from South Africa, who have been in contact with myself personally and our marketing team in regards to that," said Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith.

"It's an important car. An important car for South Africa. Important car for the Middle East."

Expect to see the ute land in mid-2025 here in Australia.