Should Kia PH bring this spiced-up K2500 here?

When business owners look for a utility truck, they’d likely go for the Mitsubishi L300 or the Toyota LiteAce. Kia Philippines has however been offering the K2500, formerly known as the K2700, for more than a decade now.

Over in Kia’s home market of South Korea (where it is known as the Bongo III) the light commercial vehicle has just received a little refresh, with some convenience features which you don’t usually get in its segment.

For starters, the exterior has been slightly redone with a new bumper and headlight clusters in front. The side on the other hand gets new decals on the doors, and the power-folding side mirrors get turn indicators.

Inside is where it’s a bit surprising as Kia has given this very utilitarian vehicle a not-so-utilitarian 10.25-inch infotainment screen (8-inches on lower variants), placed on top of the dashboard. The gauge cluster has also been updated with a 3.5-inch multi-information display in the center. Tweeters have also been added for better quality from the vehicle’s audio system.

Buyers of higher variants will enjoy other niceties typically uncommon in the segment such as smart keyless entry with push button start, black or brown leatherette seat material, a ventilated driver’s seat, and automatic climate control.

For the South Korean market, the sole engine choices for the Kia K2500 is a 2.5-liter engine that is powered by LPG. It produces 138 horsepower and 255 Nm of torque with a 6-speed manual transmission, or 159 horsepower and 294 Nm with a new 5-speed automatic transmission option. The former can also be had with a 4WD drivetrain.

Safety has also been improved as a fire extinguisher is now included as standard on all variants. This is in addition to its already extensive safety feature list which includes autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and assist, parking sensors, and a reverse camera, among others.

Now we’re not sure if Kia Philippines has plans to bring in these changes, and even the very nice convenience features to the local spec K2500 given that utility vehicles are purely utilitarian in our market. It doesn’t hurt to wish though and it would be cool to see something different.