The Kia Tasman made its world debut yesterday, with the South Korean brand entering the global ute market to compete against the top-selling Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
Kia says it’ll launch the Tasman in its domestic market during the first half of 2025, followed by regions like Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
While it looks more like a Jeep Gladiator than its more traditional rivals thanks to a boxy design and chunky fender flares, it more closely resembles the likes of the HiLux and Ranger on its spec sheet.
We don’t know how it’ll be priced when it arrives in Australia, but we’ve decided to compare some of the key specifications of the Tasman against its two main rivals based on what we know so far.
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Kia itself has said it benchmarked the Tasman against the Ranger, HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, and Mitsubishi Triton, with the former two utes the current Australian segment leaders.
At this point, Kia has only revealed dual-cab pickup and cab-chassis variants of the Tasman, but says it will offer single-cab configurations further down the line.
Between the Tasman’s launch in mid-2025 and the end of next year, the range will come to include single- and double-cab-chassis and double-cab pickup body styles, with 4×2 models available in the base dual-cab ute and the single-cab-chassis.
Local pricing and specifications are expected to be announced closer to its local launch.
Drivetrains
The Kia Tasman will be produced with two engines, one petrol and one diesel. At launch, only the latter – referred to as the Diesel New R – is expected to make its way Down Under.
| Kia Tasman | Diesel |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.2L turbo-diesel 4cyl |
| Power | 154kW |
| Torque | 441Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual or 8-speed auto |
| Drive type | 2WD or 4WD |
| 0-100km/h | 10.4s |
| Fuel economy (target) | 7.6L/100km |
While that power figure stacks up well alongside the four-cylinder Ford Ranger BiTurbo (154kW) and Toyota HiLux (150kW), the torque figure falls below those popular utes (500Nm each) as well as the 3.0-litre D-Max and Mazda BT-50 (450Nm), and the Triton (470Nm).
It’ll match all of those for towing, however, with a braked tow capacity of 3500kg.
Ranger Bi-Turbo 
HiLux V-Active
Here are the specs for the three available Ranger drivetrains:
| Ford Ranger | Single-turbo diesel | Bi-Turbo diesel | V6 diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0L turbo-diesel 4cyl | 2.0L Bi-Turbo diesel 4cyl | 3.0L turbo-diesel V6 |
| Power | 125kW | 154kW | 184kW |
| Torque | 405Nm | 500Nm | 600Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed auto | 10-speed auto | 10-speed auto |
| Drive type | 2WD or 4WD | 2WD or 4WD | 4WD |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 7.6-8.0L/100km | 7.2-7.6L/100km | 8.4L/100km |
Here are the specs for the four available HiLux drivetrains:
| Toyota HiLux | 2.4L diesel | Petrol | 2.8L diesel | V-Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 2.4L turbo-diesel 4cyl | 2.7L naturally aspirated 4cyl | 2.8L turbo-diesel 4cyl | 2.8L turbo-diesel 4cyl with 48V mild-hybrid |
| Power | 110kW | 122kW | 150-165kW | 150kW |
| Torque | 400Nm | 245Nm | 420-550Nm | 500Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual or 6-speed auto | 5-speed manual or 6-speed auto | 6-speed manual or 6-speed auto | 6-speed auto |
| Drive type | 2WD or 4WD | 2WD | 2WD or 4WD | 4WD |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 6.9-8.0L/100km | 10.4-11.1L/100km | 7.1-8.1L/100km | 7.2-7.8L/100km |
Dimensions
HiLux SR-5 
Ranger Wildtrak
| Kia Tasman | Ford Ranger | Toyota HiLux | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 5410mm | 5370mm | 5260-5330mm |
| Width | 1930mm | 1918mm | 1800-2020mm |
| Height | 1870-1920mm | 1884mm | 1750-1880mm |
| Wheelbase | 3270mm | 3720mm | 3085mm |
| Ground clearance | 224-252mm | 224-234mm | 174-265mm |
| Payload | 1017-1195kg | 912-1447kg | 780-1310kg |
Tub
| Kia Tasman | Ford Ranger | Toyota HiLux | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tub length | 1512mm | 1464-1839mm | 1570-1840mm |
| Tub width | 1572mm | 1520-1584mm | 1540-1645mm |
| Tub depth | 540mm | 525-529mm | 480-495mm |
Warranty
It’s likely Kia’s first ute will come with the Korean brand’s seven-year warranty and capped-price service plan, though no service pricing or intervals are currently available.
The Ranger, meanwhile, is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, as with the rest of the Ford range. Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, with the first four visits capped at $379.
Similarly, all Toyota HiLux models sold in Australia are backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. That extends to seven years if you service on time within the Toyota dealer network.
The Toyota HiLux’s service schedule is every six months or 10,000km, with service pricing capped between $245 and $290 per visit for the first six visits – covering three years or 60,000km.
MORE: 2025 Kia Tasman revealed: Everything you need to know about the new HiLux, Ranger rival
MORE: Everything Ford Ranger
MORE: Everything Toyota HiLux
