Well, that didn’t take long, did it? A high-ranking Kia executive has only just conceded it is “possible” the Korean firm could one day build a lifestyle bakkie and someone has already rendered one.
A digital artist (under the username “St00k”) over at KiaTellurideForums has shared his/her take on what a Kia-badged bakkie could look like.
The artist used the boxy (unibody) eight-seater Telluride SUV – which was revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2019 – as a base, adding a load bed, an integrated roll bar and plenty of black plastic cladding.
The imagined bakkie furthermore gains 18-inch alloys (replacing the 20-inch items used on the three-row SUV) wrapped in chunky rubber and framed by flared fenders. Integrated side-steps, roof rails and (interestingly) hidden rear door handles have also been included.
The Telluride makes use of a naturally aspirated 3,8-litre V6 petrol engine, so if a bakkie version were to see the light of day, it’d likely use this powerplant as well as the Telluride’s eight-speed automatic transmission and active on-demand all-wheel-drive system.
Still, don’t expect to see Kia offering a lifestyle bakkie any time soon, with the head of Kia Motors America pointing out such a vehicle is “a long way down the road”…
