By The Korean manufacturer is working on its first-ever pickup. Those are the latest reports we are getting and, although they claim this is a certain thing, some things are still unclear, especially when it comes to the overall design. As you know, Hyundai already launched the Santa Cruz, which is a small unibody pickup truck that has a lot in common with Tucson. Therefore, we would expect something similar from Kia, so the new 2023 Kia Pickup Truck would be based on Santa Cruz, as well as with the new Sportage.
However, there are also reports that the Korean manufacturer could go for something bigger, for something more serious. That would mean a mid-size pickup, which would be based on the Telluride. At this point, the officials are still quiet, so it’s hard to talk about anything more precise. Still, we can make predictions for both scenarios.
In both cases, we believe that the 2023 Kia Pickup Truck could hit the market by the end of this year.
2023 Kia Pickup Truck Design
As we already mentioned, the most logical scenario is the one that brings a 2023 Kia Pickup Truck based on the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Hyundai’s pickup has been launched recently and it has brought a pretty interesting design approach. This crossover-based pickup offers a very high level of refinement, packed in a more practical layout, though not particularly capable.
So, we would expect to see the same approach from Kia. In other words, we would see the same platform and most of the mechanics. That also means a lot of influence from the new-generation Sportage. Kia’s crossover is on the way and we presume it will serve as an inspiration for the new pickup in terms of the styling, particularly at the front.
The same thing goes for interior design. In this case, we would expect to see the same dashboard design as in the new Sportage, which utilizes high-quality materials, modern aesthetics and a full load of tech features, highlighted by massive infotainment and instrument cluster screens.
Engine
The 2023 Kia Pickup Truck would ride on the same platform as the Santa Cruz, so it’s not hard to conclude it would use the same engines as well. So, base versions would come equipped with a familiar 2.5-liter inline-four, which features a max output of 191 horsepower. More capable versions would come with a 2.5-liter turbo-four, which puts out 281 horsepower.
We would exclude the possibility to see hybrid versions either. We are talking about the same systems found in the new Tucson. Both hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are based on a 1.6-liter turbo-four engine, with 226 and 261 horsepower, respectively.
2023 Kia Pickup Truck: Telluride-Based Design
The other scenario suggests a more serious pickup layout. In this case, we would see a pickup based on Kia Telluride. This means that the 2023 Kia Pickup Truck would be much bigger and compete with models like Honda Ridgeline. It would ride on a unibody platform and share most of its parts with the aforementioned mid-size crossover.
This doesn’t refer just to mechanics. We would expect to see the same front end design, while the rest of the vehicle would use the same aesthetical approach as well. The same thing goes for the interior design, which would include the same dashboard design and overall layout.
Finally, this leads us to the engine, which would also be borrowed from the Telluride. We are talking about the 3.8-liter V6, which puts out 291 horsepower.
2023 Kia Pickup Truck Release Date and Price
No matter the design approach, we believe that the 2023 Kia Pickup Truck could arrive by the end of this year. The price will largely depend on the final design. In the first case, we estimate starting price of around 25.000 dollars. In the case of mid-size Kia pickup, base models would go somewhere around 35.000 dollars.
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