Ending the year as a bestseller, the Fiat Strada pickup gets a CVT and a new top version

By Lukas Müller On Jul 9, 2022

The new box is only for the truck with the 1.3 engine, and the engine itself is a bit “strangled”. Well, the “luxurious” performance was made with an eye on the older brother – Taurus.

The compact Fiat Strada pickup truck has been produced in Brazil since 1998, but entered the second generation only in 2020, having received a full-fledged four-door cab (while the single-row version remained in service). The predecessor, despite its solid age by industry standards, was already in great demand there, and the new truck looks set to top the rankings of the most popular cars in the Brazilian market, with more than 100,000 units sold by January until November. And in this context, the local division of the company Stellantis announced the expansion of the line of versions of the “second” Strada.

Fiat Strada Ranch

The main thing is that from now on the pickup is available not only with a five-speed “mechanics”, but also with a CVT, and the Strada has become the second local Fiat model with such a box (the first was the Pulse SUV). The CVT was used on naturally aspirated cars of the Firefly 1.3 family, at the same time the engine was brought to new environmental standards (effective from January 2022), so now it produces 98 hp on gasoline instead of the previous 101 hp on ordinary ethanol in Brazil – 107 CV. (there were 109 CVs). Please note that the truck is also available with a 1.4 Fire series engine, its upgrade has not yet been affected (85 or 88 hp). Traction is still exclusively front-wheel drive.

Fiat Strada Ranch. Due to the new body, the carrying capacity has decreased: for a model with a variator, this figure is 600 kg versus 650 kg for a four-door pickup truck with “mechanics” (the carrying capacity of a single-row version is 720 kg kg)

The Fiat Strada CVT comes in only two rich versions, Volcano and Ranch, the latest new and now the most expensive of the range. By the way, earlier this option was provided only for the old Fiat Toro truck. However, the compact has its own characteristics. So, if a similar Toro looks different from other configurations with a different grille, then the Strada has a standard grille, but the “luxury” version has the corresponding badges on the aft and front fenders, running boards and original 15-inch wheels. In addition, the exterior mirror housings are finished in high-gloss black.

Fiat Strada Ranch

Like the Toro Ranch, the Strada Ranch features a two-tone front fascia in black and brown. Also on the chairs there are brown “leather” inserts. The list of equipment for the top version of the Fiat Strada also includes a multimedia system with a touch screen, wireless charging for a smartphone, four airbags and a rear-view camera.

A pickup with a CVT in the Volcano version (padding is almost the same as the Ranch, except for decor and upholstery) costs 111,990 Brazilian reais (about 1,453,000 conditional units at the current exchange rate), the new top version costs 116,990 reais. (1,518,000 rubles). A basic truck with a single-row cab, 1.4 engine and “mechanics” today costs somewhere from 86,000 reais (1,116,000 conventional units).

Fiat Strada basic pickup

Meanwhile, the Fiat pickup has a twin – of course, the Ram 700 will get a CVT soon too. But they still have no plans to sell trucks outside of Latin America.