Kia Caught Testing the Upcoming Tasman Pickup Truck in the U.S.

Kia recently revealed the name for its first mid-size truck, and now the pickup has been spied driving in California, suggesting it could come to the U.S.

• The Kia Tasman was spotted testing in California, a YouTube video posted by KindelAuto shows.
• The Tasman is the brand’s first mid-size pickup and is expected to use a traditional body-on-frame platform.
• The video reveals a boxy crew-cab body and vertical headlights that look similar to those on the Telluride SUV.

Two weeks ago, Kia confirmed that it is readying its first mid-size pickup truck and announced that it will be called the Tasman, named for the Australian island state of Tasmania. The Tasman will initially go on sale in South Korea, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East, but we think the truck may eventually make its way stateside. That prediction was bolstered when video of the Tasman testing in the United States was posted online over the weekend, showing off its boxy bodywork.

The YouTube video, posted by spy photographer KindelAuto, shows the Tasman driving in California, heavily clad in camouflage. The Tasman sports a four-door, crew-cab body and an upright, squared-off front end. The vertical headlights look reminiscent of the units found on the Telluride SUV, and the Tasman rides on butch six-spoke wheels that sit under trapezoidal wheel arches. The mesh covering on the front end shows a series of vertical bars in the front grille.

The Tasman is expected to use a body-on-frame chassis, as opposed to the unibody approach taken by sister brand Hyundai’s first pickup, the Santa Cruz. The Tasman could end up sharing its powertrain with the Telluride, which uses a naturally aspirated V-6 producing 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. The Tasman will compete with mid-size trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline.

While automakers will occasionally test cars in the U.S. that aren’t destined for this market, we think the Tasman’s California cameo bodes well for the truck’s future appearance in American dealerships. If it does come here, we assume Kia will have to find space in its West Point, Georgia, factory to avoid the 25 percent tariff the United States adds to imported pickups.