- Kia’s Tasman struggled in Australia, and its styling took most of the blame.
- A correction kit reworks the front end without altering any sheet metal.
- Body-colored overfenders cover the headlights that drew the most ridicule.
The Kia Tasman hasn’t exactly been the sales smash Kia was hoping for in Australia, leading to drastic price cuts to claw back some showroom momentum against brutal competition. Since the reviews are mostly positive, the truck’s polarizing styling gets the blame for the cool reception, which got me wondering whether I could do something about it.
So I put my design engineering background to use and dreamed up a “correction kit” for the Tasman to bridge the gap until Kia inevitably caves and rushes out an early facelift. The brief I gave myself was simple: make the midsize truck easier on the eyes without touching the expensive sheet metal.
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Naturally, I zeroed in on the two areas Tasman critics keep circling: the horizontal “eyebrow” fenders and the awkward headlights that make the thing look like Sid from Ice Age.
Step one was a set of body-colored overfenders that cover both the original fenders and the side chunk of the headlights, which serves no real purpose anyway. Kia’s own Weekender concept went down a similar road, but I went with a rounder shape that blends more naturally into the rest of the body.
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The half-hidden headlights already made the truck look smarter, but it still needed a meaner lighting signature. Borrowing an idea from a user in the Kia Tasman Australia Facebook group, I reworked the grille to pack three horizontal LED strips on each side, echoing the factory mesh.
Next came a body-colored wrap on the outer sections of the front bumper and a matte black graphic on the hood. It earns its keep twice over, as it quietly hides the awkward horn-shaped nose trim while acting as a visual extension of the black skid plate and reconfigured grille.
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Out back, my changes are limited to a body-colored finish for the taillight garnish and the outer sections of the rear bumper, mirroring the front-end treatment. I also tried masking the taillights but that didn’t work as they stick out of the bodywork too far to pull it off, so that idea died quickly.
For maximum wow factor I bolted on a pile of off-road accessories, including beadlock wheels wrapped in chunkier tires, a snorkel, a roof rack, and a bed rack. Those are all optional, though. The “correction kit” stands on its own without them.
To prove my point, I applied the body-colored fenders and grille-mounted LEDs on the entry-level 4×2 Dual Cab trim of the Tasman while retaining the stock black steelies and the unpainted bumpers.
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Some might say that the work-focused trim looks better than the flagship X-Pro, which inspired a Tasman GT-Line rendering with a matte finish and EV6-sourced alloy wheels. I also applied the styling upgrades on the Single Cab model despite the fact it is much rarer than the Dual Cab configuration.
All up, I reckon the “correction kit” does what I set out to do and makes the Tasman genuinely easier to live with from the driver’s seat of the car parked next to it. The upgrades would suit a Kia-backed special edition with local tuning, or they could be sold as optional accessories or an aftermarket kit for current and future owners.
For now it’s all still at the digital concept stage, but I’ve already started bugging engineering firms, tuners, and body shops about turning it into something real, assuming there’s enough demand and a few Tasman owner clubs willing to back me. If you want a closer look (or want to tell me I’ve made it worse), the rest of my crimes against good taste are on display at CarVibe.
