Kia finally revealed the Tasman after teasing the bejeesus out of it, and, well, it certainly doesn’t look like any other truck on the market. Of course, it’s still a body-on-frame pickup truck, so it has the basic shape down, but many of the design choices have proven controversial. If you ask Kia, though, its approach to the Tasman’s design is a continuation of the design decisions behind the Optima and Sportage. Basically, standing out is better than blending in even if that means not everyone is a fan.
Speaking to Australia’s CarSales, Kia’s head of future vehicle exterior design John Buckingham said, “The [truck] competition is well established and there is an aesthetic from that establishment. So we come along as a brand, we are slightly disruptive there’s no doubt about it, we have brand pillars that define that we are different, bold, simple. These brand pillars that we have mean we have to approach things with a certain new mindset.”
Even Buckingham didn’t shy away from the fact that designing something that stands out among other midsize pickup trucks meant some people weren’t going to get it at first. Still, he insisted that in time, it would make sense even to those who were initially turned off by Kia’s design choices. “It’s a striking-looking vehicle. It is a car that takes time [to grow on you],” he told CarSales. “And once you are around it more, the balance of the elements is generally correct, even if you feel the way it’s been constructed is not to your taste. Effectively taste is the final jigsaw puzzle.”
Whether that will happen or not still remains to be seen, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time an automaker’s controversial design ended up aging better than people initially expected. Heck, even the infamous Pontiac Aztek looks more like it was just ahead of its time than the ugliest vehicle ever produced. Similar things can be said about the E60 5 Series and even the Mazdaspeed 6. So if you aren’t a fan of the Tasman’s design, maybe just give it time for your eyes to get used to seeing it. Or be happy that Kia still hasn’t announced plans to sell the Tasman in the U.S. yet. Either one works.
