Sam Krahn 
A few weeks ago, we brought you some early details on the new Fiat Strada. Now, the tiny truck has been officially revealed. Fiat currently sells the Strada in the South American and select European markets. While we won’t see the Strada in the American market, it looks like a great entry level truck.
The new Strada is a unibody chassis, and its design is far more car-like than U.S. pickups. Its also much smaller, slotting beneath mid-size pickups like the Ford Ranger. While this may be off putting to domestic buyers, it certainly doesn’t matter in its market. In Brazil, the Strada has made up almost 60 percent of sales in its segment for the past 20 years, according to MoparInsiders. Unfortunately, Coronavirus pushed Strada production to the second half of 2020.
As previously mentioned, this compact pickup won’t come to the U.S., as a Fiat at least. However, the current Strada is rebadged and sold as the Ram 700 in Mexico. While the next generation is likely to continue that, we’d also like to see this nimble little carryall arrive stateside. Across town, Ford is rumored to launch a compact pickup to slot beneath the Ranger, possibly called the Courier. In short, American pickup truck makers are evaluating and will be entering the wide open space below the midsize segment where the Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Ranger reside. The Ram 700 would be perfect in this space.
The new Fiat Strada will be available in a four-door configuration at launch, with a two-door model following soon after. It’s bigger on the inside and out compared to the previous model. This gives more interior space, and a larger bed. As for powertrains, there’s a 1.4 liter 88 horsepower engine (yes, only 88 hp) and a 1.3 liter 110 hp motor. Both are gas engines, paired to a 5 speed manual. No automatics are available. For a Ram 700 in America, we’d expect significantly more output, likely with different engines.
On the inside, its cheap yet cheerful. It’s a simple design, undoubtedly with some cheap plastics, but a 7 inch touch screen is on offer. In Brazil, the current model starts at the equivalent of under $10,000, so it’s hard to complain. But by far, the best part of the new Fiat Strada, are the names of the trim levels: Endurance, Freedom, and top level Volcano. What could be happier than driving around in a Fiat Strada Volcano?
