Kia Tasman Gets A Style Boost With Body-Colored Fenders

Kia’s Tasman pickup hasn’t exactly been winning beauty contests, but it seems the automaker is listening to the feedback. One of the biggest gripes has been those strange black fender flares—compared to weird eyebrows or mustaches by some. Now, a recent photo shared by the Kia Tasman Club on social media shows the truck sporting body-colored fenders, and it’s a big improvement.

The updated look was spotted in Tasmania, where a white Kia Tasman was seen with matching arches. It’s definitely better, but the truck’s styling still has its quirks. The headlights sit awkwardly close to the fenders, and the grille and blacked-out bumper have a bit of a mismatched vibe. Still, body-colored fenders could go a long way in winning over potential buyers who were put off by the original design.

Reports suggest these paint-matched fenders could become standard on some trims, even though Kia hasn’t officially confirmed it yet. If true, it would be a pretty clear sign that the automaker realized the black fenders weren’t a hit. That’s probably good news for buyers who were instantly turned off by the odd styling.

Interestingly, Kia Australia’s general manager of marketing, Dean Norbiato, seems confident the truck will win people over in time. Back in December, he admitted there were mixed feelings about the design at launch but claimed opinions were shifting after people saw the Kia Tasman in person.

“We are seeing a separation in opinion from the initial launch,” Norbiato said. “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.”