As one of the major carmakers in the world, Kia is finally entering the segment of pickup trucks. The new model has officially been confirmed and it is expected to arrive sometime in 2022. Meanwhile, we’ve been hearing a lot of rumors that suggest the Korean manufacturer could offer a concept version first, to give us a hint of the new model’s design approach. We don’t know the name of the possible concept, so we will call it the 2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept for now.
Although it’s still early to talk about details, we presume that the manufacturer will tend to make this pickup truck as much as production-friendly. Therefore, count on a lot of parts and design solutions that will find their way to the production version. The officials aren’t particularly generous with details. So, most of the upcoming content will be based on rumors and our predictions. Therefore, take them with a reserve.
2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept Design
As we’ve just mentioned, it’s hard to say something in detail about the 2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept, but we can discuss the model’s base design approach and one of the things that come to mind is the size and platform. According to the officials, this model won’t be related to the upcoming Hyundai Santa Cruz. Instead, it will get bigger, similarly sized to Honda Ridgeline. However, Kia’s spokesman said that this truck will be far more rugged than Ridgeline. This could mean two things when it comes to the platform.
Body-on-Frame Design
After hearing such a statement, the first thing that came to our minds was body-on-frame platform. This would make the 2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept a genuine pickup truck and we know you’re probably a little bit skeptical about this, considering that the Korean manufacturer doesn’t have big experience in making such vehicles. However, we can find a vehicle with such chassis in Kia’s portfolio.
The Kia Borrego, or Kia Mohave in other parts of the world, is the vehicle we are talking about. Untypically for Kia, this is a genuine BoF SUV, which arrived in 2008 and it was even present in North America for a short time. With a couple of facelifts, the same model is still available in Korea.
Therefore, this mid-size SUV could be a perfect basis for the new 2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept, particularly in terms of the chassis. Of course, we would expect tons of upgrades in terms of new technologies and similar things.
Telluride-Based Design
Although a body-on-frame layout would be a great thing, we rather believe that the 2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept would feature a more conventional, unibody layout. Simply, the market is already full of well-established BoF pickup trucks. It’s hard to believe that too many people would pick this Kia over proven work machines such as Toyota Tacoma or Chevy Colorado.
Instead, the new Kia pickup would rather compete with, currently, the only unibody pickup on the market, the Ridgeline. It will offer a vehicle that rather balances between capabilities and ride quality. Naturally, the new Telluride would serve as an excellent basis for this pickup. The two models would share not just mechanics, but lots of aesthetics as well. Of course, we are talking about the front end, but the cabin should look pretty similar as well. We presume that the concept would come in a crew cab layout. Still, other variants shouldn’t be in the offer in the production version either.
2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept Engine
It’s hard to say which engine will find the place under the concept’s hood but we can talk about possibilities for the production version. Of course, a new 3.8-liter V6 from the SUV sibling seems like the most obvious pick. With a max output of 290 horsepower, it is quite typical for the class. However, North America isn’t the only market where this pickup will be available.
Moreover, the officials stated that the Kia pickup will be offered in markets like Australia and South East Asia first, and then in North America. Therefore, a diesel engine seems like a natural pick. We presume that could be a well-familiar 2.2-liter CRDi turbo-four, with a max output of around 200 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Those are quite typical numbers for the class.
2021 Kia Pickup Truck Concept Premiere
While the production version will come in 2022, rumors say that the concept version would take place at some of the major car shows during 2021. However, the concept version still waits for official confirmation, so take this with a big reserve.
I think Kia should have brought out a truck years ago, I just hope they follow through with it this year 2022