1 day ago
22
Few new utes on sale in Australia still offer a manual transmission – and Kia has no plans to add to the list, but not entirely for the reason you might be thinking.
A desire to offer a five-star safety rating across most of the model range will keep the Kia Tasman manual out of Australian showrooms.
It leaves just four conventional utes left with the option of a manual transmission in Australia – the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Toyota HiLux – only the latter pair offering three pedals with a tub, not a cab-chassis layout.
Manuals accounted for less than 10 per cent of 4x4 ute sales in 2023, a share that's expected to have dropped now the Mazda BT-50, and all non-cab-chassis Tritons are auto-only.
A six-speed manual transmission will be offered in the Tasman overseas, but Australia will only get the eight-speed auto – for now, at least.
"The problem with the manual is the ability to get all the ADAS [advanced safety features] to function with it," Kia Australia head of product Roland Rivero told Drive earlier this year.
"And that would preclude it from an ANCAP [safety] rating. So at this stage we're not certifying a manual.
"There is a manual developed globally, but it won't be coming to Australia at this stage."
Safety features that require bringing the vehicle to a full stop tend to be those harder to execute with a manual transmission, as the car's computers cannot dip the clutch electronically to prevent the engine from stalling.
Kia has already indicated that not all Tasman variants will carry an ANCAP rating, the flagship X-Line and X-Pro editions to go score-less as they lack a pedestrian-protection front bumper lip to boost their off-road capability.
However, they are "lifestyle-focused" models aimed at private buyers who may be less concerned about an ANCAP rating.
In contrast, manual utes tend to be more popular at the bottom end of the model range, including with fleets, which often mandate five-star safety scores for their purchases.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
