The Tasman features a minimum ground 
clearance of 206mm and wading depth of 
800mm that rivals the leading utes in class.
24  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE
Tested
Kia Tasman TX
Trailer Stability Assist helps 
reduce trailer sway while towing. 
Lane Keeping Assist and Lane 
Following Assist also help keep 
the Tasman centred in its lane 
by making continuous steering 
corrections, which is especially 
useful on long towing trips when 
driver attention can start to fade.
We had our Hayman Reese 
towbar supplied by Best Bars NZ 
that was fitted with a 1 7/8th 
tow ball to match the Oceanpro’s 
DMW trailer connection. As the 
535-centre console is under 900kg 
the trailer is unbraked and from 
long trips towing the boat that 
included from Tauranga to Auckland 
and Auckland to Northland, the 
ute tows the light boat superbly.
Fuel consumption when towing 
will of course increase and I 
have noted this goes up to 
just over 11L per 100km from 
normal driving of around 8.7L per 
100km for similar distances to 
reach our fishing destinations.
A great feature of the Tasman’s 
tech is using the Tow Mode 
which is simply engaged by 
holding down the Drive Mode 
button on the steering wheel 
when the boat is hitched on the 
rear.  This will set many of the 
vehicles required drive features 
and turn off reversing alarms and 
automatic braking/warnings.
This is a big plus for me as our 
previous Triton would suddenly 
brake hard when reversing the boat 
trailer if you didn’t turn this off, 
and it was a slow process of going 
into menus to find everything!
Overall, the Kia Tasman delivers 
an excellent towing experience, 
adding another strong feature 
to a ute that feels safe, capable 
and enjoyable when trailering 
boats. For Kiwi boaties looking 
for a new ute, the Tasman 
deserves to be high on their list.

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