Promo for Kia’s impending ute kicks in a year ahead of availability, to prime its Aussie audience.

SO Aussie it potentially mightn’t mean a thing to a great many Kiwis.

That’s the promotional ad, mainly packed with Aussie sport stars, Kia has unleashed across the Tasman as a pointer to the utility it will have there - and very likely here - in a year from now.

The spot’s theme is all about what name the 2025 model will get.

The money has always been on ‘Tasman’ and, sure enough, there are two big giveaways that this is the chosen tag.

The primary is rugby league star Alfie Langer throwing a dart and hitting a map right on the ‘Tasman Sea’ label. Look closely, and you’ll also see the setting for the ad is a country pub, which is revealed to be called the ‘Hotel Tas…’. Subtle.

That being the case, it’ll be second time around. A version of a big front drive Austin car of the 1970s, developed for this region, was also a Tasman. A deluxe edition, which swapped the single round headlamps for twin rectangular types, was called Kimberley. 

The ad has gone down a storm with the neighbour’s; general consensus is that it’s exactly the right approach to whet appetites there.

Kiwis love utes, too, so Kia New Zealand has been asked if they also plan to take the Tasman and, further, will they use the ad or, perhaps, develop their own to the same theme, but with more identifiable Kiwi sports stars?

Their response has limited to the first question, with a spokesman offering: “Kia Australia has announced the impending arrival of an all-new Ute model for their market.  Kia New Zealand doesn't have anything to advise just at the moment, but watch this space...”

What will Kia’s vehicle will look like in showroom form? That’s still to come, but disguised pre-production examples have been spotted around Australia, a favourite zone for sign-off testing for Kia product that sells here. 

The image below, from the Torquecafe website, shows a vehicle in South Korea.

In Tasman’s case, though, it’s thought there’s more development undertaken, not least in the red dust zones. After all, a precedent hs been set: The one-tonne sector dominating Ford Ranger was fully crafted on Aussie soil.

What is clear is that Kia Tasman will be - sorry, couldn’t resist the pun - rather ‘able’. 

It’s a proper one-tonne, dual-cab ute built on an all-new ladder-frame chassis. 

Aussie media are speculating it is likely to be powered by the Hyundai Group’s existing 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, which makes 148kW of power and 440Nm of torque. Another prospect is the family’s 200kW/332Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine. 

Both have been utilised here already in the Kia Sorento and its Hyundai Santa Fe equivalent, as well as in Hyundai’s larger Palisade sports utility wagon. 

The Santa Fe, though, loses those powertrains for four-cylinder hybrid power in its next evolution, on sale here from mid-year. 

A lot of rural buyers have enjoyed the Santa Fe diesel and, assuming Hyundai also develops its own ute - which has always been proposed - then perhaps farmers will swap body styles to keep faith with the diesel.

Kia Australia says it wanted to start preparing the market well ahead of Tasman’s launch. It has opened expressions of interest from prospective customers, even though they remain adamant it isn’t out until 2025. 

Has Kia NZ done the same? That question is also being asked of the local arm, which has historic tendency to be close-mouthed about future product. 

“Kia Australia has always been very candid about our desire to bring a Light Commercial Vehicle to the local market, so it is with great excitement that we are taking an important step towards it becoming a reality,” said Kia Australia’s chief executive Damien Meredith in a prepared statement.

Kia Australia general manager of marketing, Dean Norbiato, explained the rationale behind the star-studded commercial.

“We were looking for a unique and quintessentially Aussie way to launch Kia’s most Australian product ever – our ute – and what better way than to bring together our country’s most iconic themes – sporting heroes, nicknames and an old-fashioned Aussie watering hole,” Norbiato said.

The sports stars in the commercial are: Adam Reynolds, Brisbane Broncos Club Captain and premiership winner; Alexander Volkanovski, UFC legend and former featherweight champion;  Alfie Langer, rugby league legend and four-time premiership winner; Ashleigh Barty, former world tennis No.1 and Grand Slam winning champion; Brianna Clark, Brisbane Broncos NRLW star; Buddy Franklin, Australian rules legend who kicked more than 1000 goals during his career; Damien Oliver, three-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey; Darren Lockyer, former rugby league player and Australian captain; David Boon, (pictured at the top of this story) retired Australian cricket legend; Dermott Brereton, five-time premiership winner and former Australian rules footballer; Dylan Alcott, Australia’s most successful wheelchair tennis player; Jessica Watson sailor and OAM recipient; John Aloisi, former professional soccer player and current coach of Western United; Kerry O’Keeffe, former Australian cricketer and dad joke specialist; MacKenzie Arnold, current Matildas goalkeeper; Mark Occhilupo, former Australian professional surfer and world title winner; Patrick Carrigan, Brisbane Broncos and Australian rugby league player; Wendell Sailor, former dual International: Rugby League / Rugby Union; Scott Sattler, former NRL player and cover tackle specialist, and Steve Waugh, former Australian cricket captain and AO recipient.