Rumors about Kia pickup truck seem quite logic with Hyundai Santa Cruz underway. According to the newest reports, the long-awaited Santa Cruz unibody truck will be officially revealed sometime next year. On the other hand, Kia hasn’t released any official information regarding its version of the vehicle, but our insiders claim that the car manufacturer started working on its pickup truck already.
Of course, this still unnamed pickup truck will share mechanics with the Hyundai Santa Cruz, but the automaker looks in a totally different direction when it comes to the design of the model. Interestingly, word on the street is that this new model is going to be heavily influenced by the Kia Telluride. Judging by the renderings from Kia Telluride Forums, the future unibody pickup truck will likely keep the SUV’s rugged design. Still, Telluride’s usual chrome treatment has been sold for dark black plastic that occupies grille, roof rails, and bed. The third row of seats will be eliminated in favor of the bed, for which we believe isn’t going to be too big, though, it will most definitely get a telescoping option.
The boxy-looking pickup will reportedly offer an extra quality when compared to the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Honda Ridgeline. According to some reports, the Telluride-based truck will offer quite decent off-road abilities thanks to higher ride height, underbody protection, and off-road tuned suspension. In contrast to the Ridgeline model which is “one-engine-truck”, the Korean car manufacturer will offer several interesting options under the hood:
The Kia pickup truck will start its journey with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that kicks out 235 horsepower. The second option will be borrowed from the Telluride SUV of course. It’s the powerful 3.8-liter V6 engine that delivers 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. Both units will be paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.