Kia Tasman Pickup Faces Sales Woes; Digital Artist Proposes a Telluride-Inspired Makeover

Daily Car

·

22/12/2025

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Kia's new Tasman pickup is selling slowly in Australia and people are talking about the way it looks. While that debate continues, an independent digital artist has sketched a very different face for the truck borrowing the style of Kia's well liked Telluride SUV.

Key Points

Tasman sales are sluggish - its design may be one reason.
An artist has published pictures of a Tasman that wears Telluride styling.
Kia says there is no quick facelift on the way.
The company still plans an electrified version and tougher off road models later.

Design Doubts plus a Digital Make-over

Kia wanted the Tasman to look unlike any other pickup, but buyers have hesitated at the square fenders, high nose and strip across the hood. Digital artist Theophilus Chin, known as Theottle, has answered - showing a truck that wears the calmer, more familiar face of the Telluride. His pictures drop the current Tasman lines and swap in the SUV's cleaner lamps, simpler bumper and smoother sides.

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A Telluride With a Bed

The artist tags his creation “Mohave,” a name Kia once used for a concept but also for a body-on-frame SUV. In the images the truck keeps the Telluride's vertical LED headlights, a broad bumper and unbroken body panels - it looks more polished than the real Tasman. The rear carries the SUV's wide LED taillights and a working tailgate. For scale the artist used the Volkswagen Amarok rather than the actual Tasman measurements.

What Kia Will Do Next

Kia denies any immediate redesign - yet the firm admits the Tasman still has a long road ahead. Engineers are preparing a battery assisted powertrain as well as rough-country trim levels that may echo the Weekender concept. Those changes are meant to help the pickup face strong sellers like the Ford Ranger besides Toyota Hilux.

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