- The painted fenders could become standard equipment on select versions of the Tasman.
- Kia claims prospective buyers are starting to warm up to the pickup’s unusual design.
- Deliveries of the new mid-size truck are set to begin in Australia later this year.
If you’ve been browsing social media since the Kia Tasman’s debut last year, you’ve probably noticed that the pickup truck’s looks have sparked some strong opinions. The general consensus? Most people aren’t exactly sold on its design, though Kia insists that public opinion is gradually shifting.
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To their credit, it looks like Kia is listening to the feedback, because they’ve made an effort to address one of the truck’s biggest eyesores: those bizarre fenders.
Read: Kia Says Buyers Are Warming Up To Tasman’s Looks
Even before the Tasman was revealed, spy shots showed that it could come equipped with odd black fender flares that look like strange eyebrows or a pair of weird mustaches. Now, a photo has been shared on social media by the Kia Tasman Club showing the Tasman with body-colored fenders and it looks much, much better.
The Tasman, which has not gone on sale yet, was recently snapped in the Aussie state of Tasmania and it sported matching white arches. We would not go as far as to say that, thanks to this change, the Kia now looks good. It doesn’t, mainly because of the weird placement of the headlights just in front of the arches. The shape of the grille and the blacked-out bumper is also a little strange.
According to some reports, these paint-matched fenders could be standard equipment on some versions of the Tasman, despite not yet being unveiled in full. If they do indeed become standard, Kia will essentially be acknowledging that the black fenders didn’t strike a chord as they likely had hoped. This could be good news for customers, particularly any that were instantly turned off by the black fenders.
While speaking about the unconventional looks of the truck in December, Kia Australia’s general manager of marketing Dean Norbiato claimed locals were starting to come around to the design after seeing the Tasman in person.
“You’re all aware of the commentary around launch from an aesthetic standpoint, but we’re really starting to see a narrative shift in terms of opinions,” said Norbiato.
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“A lot of people, the more time they see it and spend with it, we are seeing a separation in opinion from the initial launch. We’ve done some customer research as well. We had a week-long research piece with the Tasman, and in terms of the feedback, we feel we’re confident from a position of overall sales volume targets we have with that model – the product and its specification – that we’re in a good position,” he added.
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