KIA K2500

K2500 Overview

The Kia K2500 is the sole commercial vehicle from the Korean carmaker in its lineup for the Philippines market. A commercial van that can double up as a people mover, the Kia K2500 promises to shot two sparrows with one arm. The Kia K2500 is available in two variants – Cab and Chassis and Closed Van, the prices of which are PHP 810,000 and PHP 910,000 respectively.

KIA K2500 Interior & Features

From the inside, the Kia K2500 is as basic as that it is when viewed from the outside. The dashboard looks spartan and very utilitarian, which misses out on a number of features.

The two spoke non-adjustable steering wheel along with the all-analog instrument console make up for a very dated and old school cockpit. The centre console consists of two rounded rectangular AC vents, below which is placed a blank housing for aftermarket music system, with three round AC dials placed in a vertical manner.

This complete centre console, as well as instrument console, are encased in a wraparound housing finished in a silver panel, with the rest of the cabin finished in black theme. The dashboard also comes with a closed glove box and a big deep cavity for keeping small kick knacks on the dashboard.

The closed cabin of the Kia K2500 can seat three passengers abreast, while the closed compartment behind can seat 10 people at one time.

K2500 Exterior

The Kia K2500 has been designed keeping only one thing in mind, and that is to maximise its commercial abilities. This is the reason behind the fact that the Kia K2500 looks too basic and functional in its exterior appeal.

The front look of the Kia K2500 looks too simple and van-like with its large windshield and vertical headlamp layout with a curvy design. However, Kia has tried to make things look a bit interesting here by giving it a very slim Tiger-nose grille with chrome bordering and a large Kia logo right in the middle.

The door panels of the Kia K2500 are large and wide, which do make the ingress and egress quite easy. The vertical door handles and outside rearview mirrors are blackened, accentuating its basic appeal even more.

In the cab and chassis model, the Kia K2500 comes with a basic flatbed for just load-carrying duties. However, in the closed van variant, the K2500 comes with a boxy and rectangular cabin with three large sliding window panels on either sides and a two same facing flat benches for seating purposes. These flat benches can be folded altogether to make way for extra luggage carrying capabilities.

At the rear, the Kia K2500 has a completely vertically flat design with asymmetric rear windshield and small round units for tail lamps.

KIA K2500 Ride & Handling

With the focus on sturdiness and practicality, the Kia K2500 comes fitted with torsion bar spring at the front and multi-leaf spring at the rear, which makes it capable enough to withstand heavy load with ease. Armed with 15-inch steel wheels and disc brakes at front and drum units at the rear, the Kia K2500 is decent in its ride quality and braking abilities.

K2500 Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Kia K2500 comes with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that is housed under the seat. Coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox, the engine pumps out a maximum power output of 130 PS and a peak torque output of 255 Nm. The engine is torquey enough to pull off nicely in heavy load conditions.

KIA K2500 Braking & Safety

Being a basic commercial van, the Kia K2500 is not available with many safety features. However, the K2500 misses out even the basic amenities like ABS and parking sensors, which is a serious miss.

K2500 Verdict

The Kia K2500 is not a vehicle with modernity in mind and has a very basic and dated appeal to it, which is evident from its plain-jane design and lack of features. However, the core aspects like torquey performance and load-carrying abilities of the K2500 are balanced with suppleness, which makes it a very capable vehicle for loading purposes.