Why the 2025 Kia Tasman ute won’t get a diesel six-cylinder engine
It is increasingly unlikely the Kia Tasman ute will ever offer a diesel six-cylinder, as another possible engine option – from a Genesis luxury SUV – dries up.
The chances of a six-cylinder diesel version of the 2025 Kia Tasman ute are all but gone, as one of the two engine candidates ends production – and the other nears the end of the line.
Given there are only two six-cylinder diesel engines used in Hyundai Motor Group passenger vehicles – the 3.0-litre inline-six in the Genesis GV80 SUV, and the 3.0-litre V6 in the Kia Mohave – it was already unlikely the Tasman would offer more than four cylinders in diesel form.
However the discontinuation of the 204kW/588Nm diesel engine in the Genesis GV80 – and confirmation that the Mohave's 20-year-old engine is not under consideration for the Tasman – has all but sealed the deal.
The Genesis GV80’s diesel engine has only been in service for four years, launching in 2020, and has not been offered in any other model – highly unusual, given an all-new engine is a big investment car companies tend to spread over several models.
Drive understands the Genesis diesel engine has been discontinued globally and made up about 23 per cent of local sales when it was still offered.
Meanwhile, the Mohave – a Toyota Prado-sized 4WD produced in South Korea for Kia’s home market – dates back to 2008, and its diesel engine is even older.
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Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Drive earlier this year the Mohave's V6 is "not [an engine] that's being looked at" for the Tasman.
The only six-cylinder diesel-engined utes currently among the Tasman's direct competitors are the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok twins under the skin, which share a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 developing 184kW/600Nm.
As previously reported, the Kia Tasman will launch with a four-cylinder turbo-diesel offering, expected to be the 2.2-litre engine found in the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe that is good for 148kW/440Nm in those models.
The benchmark for four-cylinder utes is around 150kW/500Nm, figures produced by the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger bi-turbo, while the Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara, and Mitsubishi Triton all come close.
It is expected Kia will extract more power and torque from the engine to match its rivals, particularly given spy photos show the Tasman will be one of the larger models in its class.
With a diesel six-cylinder engine seemingly off the table – unless Kia invests in an all-new engine – a twin-turbo petrol V6 looks increasingly unlikely with the advent of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) due to come into effect next year.
Speaking to Drive earlier this year, Mr Rivero said the brand needs to be very careful with future powertrains as the NVES looms.
"We've dissected that category in that segment accordingly so the big volume areas are targeted ... we've got to optimise our powertrains, our mix, our product range so that we're not paying a penalty, we're not passing on a penalty and we're meeting all the needs of the customer,” he said.
"And if it means that initially there's no V6 diesel or V6 petrol in the mix, then that's what we have to do."
Mr Rivero said having a six-cylinder powerplant in the dual-cab ute segment isn’t necessarily the key to success.
"The majority of the products out there in the marketplace, bar say a Raptor and a V6 Amarok, fundamentally are doing it with a four-cylinder turbo, with 3.5-tonne towing, over a tonne payload, and meeting most of the needs of farming, agriculture, building, construction, you name it,” he said.
"If you dissect that ... [there are] 200,000 plus [4x4 ute] customers, the bulk of which are [buying] four-cylinder diesels. You've got to strategically target the big volume."
Kia has previously expressed a desire to build a direct rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor, which uses a 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, but whether that intention materialises into a production version is still unclear.
A hybrid option may arrive for the Kia Tasman sometime after its targeted mid-2025 launch with a diesel engine, while an electric version has been confirmed by head office in South Korea for an overseas launch in 2026.
