Kia K2500

As expected, the interior cabin of the Kia K2500 looks pretty basic, with decent levels of fit and finish suggesting that Kia hasn’t taken the all bare-bones approach for the interior layout. While it lacks the creature comforts of passenger vehicles, it feels thoughtfully designed for the practical bits it packs in.

The driver’s cockpit of the Kia K2500 comprises of a two-spoke steering wheel and an analog instrument console with a tiny MID in between, both of which look too simple in their design. The wraparound theme for the centre console manages to make the dashboard look quite big and wide, with the silver surrounds making it look slightly upmarket.

The centre console here has rounded rectangular AC vents at the top and an empty but covered provision for a 2-DIN or touchscreen music system. The three-round dials for the air conditioning controls are positioned adjacent to them in a vertical manner. The co-passenger side of the cabin gets a covered glove box and an uncovered carved bin at the top.

The Kia K2500 cannot be termed as a handsome looking vehicle which can be eye-pleasing at first, for the exterior design looks a bit oddball by current design trends running in the market. However, it looks big enough to not be billed as cheap.

The front face of the Kia K2500 has a curved theme for it, with the slightly rounded front windshield and lower bonnet. At the bottom of the bonnet, it exhibits its Kia lineage in the form of a tiger-nose grille, which here is in its super sleek form and gets horizontal positioning with silver surrounds.

The vertically laid trapezoidal headlamps of the Kia K2500 are rounded from all the four edges, and also integrate amber coloured turn indicators in their upper sides. The large front bumper has a simple design for it, with horizontally laid and partitioned air dam and small rectangular fog lamps.

The side profile of the single cab of the Kia K2500 gets a curved kink for the window waistline, like in many other commercial vehicles. The door handles look quite unique for a commercial vehicle for their vertical layout. Here, the door handles and rearview mirrors are finished in basic black plastic to keep costs in check.

The chassis behind the cab of the Kia K2500 can be had in either an uncovered loading bay, a closed compartment for load carriage and a seating compartment with front facing seats, AC vents and three window panes on either sides.

The Kia K2500 is fitted with torsion bar springs at the front and multi-leaf springs at the rear, both of which are capable enough to carry heavy loads with ease. The suspension is strong enough to glide over the worst of the roads with suppleness. However, the ride comfort goes for a toss.

For the K2500, Kia has plonked in a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that is married to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The engine feels torquey and produces a maximum power output of 130 PS and a peak torque output of 255 Nm.

The commercial usage of the Kia K2500 and built to cost appeal does create a compromise in terms of a safety feature. Except for a lockable cabin and seat belts, the Kia K2500 gets no other safety feature.

The versatility and load-carrying capacity of the Kia K2500 gives it an image of a practical cabin which comes as a multi-purpose vehicle at a very affordable price range. The engine as well as suspension of the Kia K2500 feel heavy duty and perfectly suitable for the job it has been engineered.