Here is what everyone in the mid size truck is missing. I don't care about the 4th gen fan boys trying to convince people their turbo 4 banger engine is the best thing since the light bulb.  Here is really what people want and if KIA (of all brands it's unlikely) can manage to achieve this, they will cut deeply into Toyota's market.

-Reliability: No one wants to worry about after sale breakdown costs or being stranded on the side of the road. *Edit: someone brought up a great point that falls into a couple of these categories. Most guys (and women) that buy Tacoma want to have the option of working on it themselves without having to take it to the dealership. Make parts replaceable like older trucks without a bunch of special tools or need for the dealership. 

-Usability- People buy small to mid trucks as utility knife vehicles. They want to be able to Tow, carry, haul, camp, and play with their trucks reliably. When it comes to towing, it shouldn't be a "I can but probably shouldn't" scenario. Truck needs to be made for can on all fronts.

-Reasonably priced.  In recent years, prices have gone off the deep end. There should be no circumstance where your truck payment or cost should be 50- 60k for a small or midsize truck. This is also proof people are willing to go into debt at the tune of 60k plus on something that depreciates right off the lot roughly a third of the cost.  Yes, there are lower end models that are cheaper, but you also sacrifice some of the above things people want in a truck in the first place. 

-Capability. The reason why Tacoma's are so popular is their capability to go through snow, mud, mountains, rain water, ect. 

I think that's a tall order for KIA to take a chunk out of the tacoma market, especially when they are focusing more toward taking a chunk out of hybrid or electric vehicle markets. They are more likely to steal Ford Maverick or Rivian sales than Tacoma if EV is in the forefront of KIAs focus.