It sure looks the part but once everyone looks at the 5,000 towing cap, second looks might not happen. Around 7,000 or more is what anything that resembles a truck should have. Kia/Hyundai is better building a real truck on a more rugged platform.
Kia Pickup Truck Previewed
Could a Kia pickup truck be in the cards?
With every automaker rapidly expanding its lineup of trucks and SUVs, it wouldn't come as a surprise. Kia recently just expanded its off-road-capable lineup with the launch of the Telluride, a vehicle that has inspired this artists rendering.
With Kia's sister-company Hyundai looking to get into the compact pickup segment with the Santa Cruz, Kia wouldn't want to compete. Instead, it would move up-market and up in size, with Telluride-based mid-size pickup. Similar in design to the Honda Ridgeline or the previewed Volkswagen Tanoak concept, the Telluride pickup would be a unibody construction and feature the same all-wheel drive system as the SUV, with power defaulting to the front axle, but with the ability for an AWD lock at speeds under 40 mph.
Shown here the Kia pickup would trade the SUV's plentiful amounts of chrome for drark black plastic, on the roof rails, with a custom "KIA" badged grille to add some off-road cred.
Riding an inch higher than the SUV it would come with 18-inch wheels (two sizes smaller than the top-level Telluride) and higher-profile all-terrain tires. Each wheel would sit inside slightly flared fenders.
Additional slight highlights include the running boards with integrated steps, and an integrated roll bar.
Power would be provided by Kia's 3.8-liter V6 engine, tuned slightly for use in this new truck. Power would be detuned to around 280-hp from the 291 in the Telluride, while torque would come up slightly to 275 lb-ft. The brand's 8-speed automatic transmission would be standard.
As for pricing, expect a Telluride-based pickup to sticker at around $34,000 to start and top out at $44,000.
