Kia launches first double cab in SA

The latest brand to enter the double cab bakkie market is Kia, who have introduced their first double-cab bakkie to the South African market with the launch of the Tasman.

It is a well-known fact that South Africans love a bakkie, so much so that South Africa’s top selling vehicle is often a bakkie. So it is no surprise that more and more manufacturers are looking to claim their slice of this market segment. 

The latest brand to enter the double cab bakkie market is Kia, who have introduced their first double-cab bakkie to the South African market with the launch of the Tasman.

The unique looking Kia Tasman is a bakkie that blends durability with modern design and a technology rich approach, while maintaining a strong focus on real world capability.

The Kia Tasman was designed from the ground up as a double-cab and engineered to meet the demands of commercial and lifestyle users. The engineering concept includes a ladder frame chassis which is home to a double-wishbone front suspension and a rigid rear axle with leaf springs, allowing the Tasman to balance load carrying ability with everyday comfort.

A premium interior

Inside, Kia has used their experience in building premium SUVs to design a modern, spacious, well-equipped interior.

A fully integrated display setup, combines a 12.3-inch cluster, a central infotainment screen and a dedicated climate control interface.

The interior blends durability with comfort, modern connectivity features and a suite of advanced driver assistance features. This includes a comprehensive suite of safety technologies, ranging from adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance to blind spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking.

Modern turbodiesel powertrain

The Kia Tasman is powered by the brands renowned 2.2-litre Smartstream turbodiesel engine, which offers 154kW at 3 3800rpm and 440Nm from 1 750rpm and which is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Adventure ready

Thanks to a ground clearance of 252mm, a wading depth of 800mm and approach and departure angles of 32.2 degrees and 26.2 degrees respectively, the Kia Tasman is capable of conquering the toughest off-road obstacles with ease.

In addition, drive modes are complimented by dedicated terrain settings designed for low grip conditions, allowing the Tasman to easily adapt to a variety of surfaces.

This includes X-Trek mode, which allows for controlled, low-speed progress over rough terrain. A rear electronic differential lock has been designed to enhance traction by intelligently distributing torque to the wheels where it is needed most.

Ready to work

The Kia Tasman has also been designed to be able to fulfil double cab workhorse roles thanks to a payload capacity that exceeds one tonne and a braked towing capacity of 3 500kg.

A three-model range

In South Africa the Kia Tasman will be offered in a 4x2 LX grade as well as in 4x4 SX and X-Pro derivatives along with colour coded variants of each model.

Kia Tasman 2.2D AT 4WD LX                                            R679 995

Kia Tasman 2.2D AT 4WD SX                                            R789 995

Kia Tasman 2.2D AT 4WD X-PRO                                    R999 995