Fiat hits the bakkie market with six Stradas

Small bakkies - it's a tough but high-selling segment of the South African market so far dominated by Ford and Opel with the Bantam and Corsa but now Fiat is muscling in with its SA-assembled Strada.

Three engines, four models priced from R77 900 to R115 900 (with two more listed with air-con) and a ride that's more fluid suspension-wise than anything else on the market would seem to give the Strada a big-gun capability.

I drove them up on the Highveld on Wednesday - very honest for small-capacity engines! - and came home with an impression of rugged bakkies more than capable of handling their three-quarter ton (715kg) payload capacity.

Their level of comfort, each with or with the option of, air-conditioning and cabin space along with a load box totally protected by a plastic liner, make them ideal not only for workhorse use but also for youngsters and the leisure market.

Their already modest pricing will be even more attractive to small businesses which can recoup the VAT portion and - legally or otherwise - also use them for personal transport.

The bakkies adopt many components from the current Palio range during assembly in Rosslyn, Pretoria, including the Palio's large, round headlights, but have a completely different grille/bumper treatment enhanced by large air-intakes, bolt-on wheel arch reinforcement and neatly bumpers.

"The overall effect," Fiat says, lends the Strada an almost off-road ruggedness. You're left in no doubt that this is a vehicle built for demanding applications.

"This impression is reinforced by good ground clearance to handle South Africa's dirt roads and city potholes."

Giorgio Gorelli, MD of Fiat Auto SA, said: "The Strada is a pick-up that's proved itself in one of the world's most competitive light commercial vehicle markets - Brazil - where it is by far the leader in the under one-ton segment with a market share in excess of 25 percent.

"It drives like a car and has space, performance and comfort easily comparable with a car."

No disagreement there - much of the driving was over typical Highveld dirt roads: ridged, ribbed and rough but each of the three Stradas (Stradae? Stradi?) I drove were frankly amazing in their ability to absorb the punishment.

Fiat has done well with the suspension.

"It owes much of its performance to its suspension geometry," Fiat says. "The suspension was designed to withstand heavy loads while still keeping occupants comfortable, even on difficult roads.

"The independent front suspension uses Macpherson struts with lower forged steel wishbones and an anti-roll bar. This geometry is used by all Strada models.

"The rear suspension uses a live axle with single parabolic leaf springs, the axle profile omega-shaped - that is the central part is raised to avoid ground contact on rough terrain, such as our indigenous middelmannetjies'."

Three four-cylinder engines are available: a 1.7-litre turbodiesel and two quad-valve, multipoint fuel-injected petrol units, one displacing 1.2 litres and the other 1.6 litres. Each has a cast-iron crankcase, aluminium alloy cylinder head and sheet-steel sump.

Their overhead camshafts are driven by a toothed belt.

- The 1.2 is capable of 54kW at 6000rpm and 102Nm torque at 3250 rpm. Top speed is listed as 150km/h and average fuel-consumption 8.6 litres/100km.

- The 1.6 has two overhead camshafts and Magneti Marelli electronically-controlled, multipoint fuel injection to generate 74kW at 5500rpm and 140Nm at 4000rpm. Top speed is 170km/h and average fuel consumption 8.7 litres/100 km.

- The 1697cc turbodiesel unit fitted to the TD EL generates 51kW at 4500rpm and 135Nm at 2500rpm. Injection is indirect within a combustion pre-chamber, blown by a Garrett turbocharger. Top speed is 152 km/h and average fuel consumption 7.7 litres/100km.

Each has a five-speed gearbox with a twin-cable system to isolate vibration and its own gearing to suit its engine. The rack-and-pinion steering has hydraulic power assistance.

The main reason for buying a bakkie, of course, is its bakkie, and that on the Strada excels. For a start, the tail drops from a central catch whose lever is the large Fiat badge to horizontal and supported by two cables with a breaking strain in excess of 300kg.

Tie-downs and screwed to the top of the load box walls - targets for larcenous schoolboys with small Phillips screwdrivers, perhaps? - to avoid projecting either into space or into the box itself where others reduce its width.

Plus points

Handy is the tough plastic lining over all metal surfaces in the load box. Competitors' boxes have to be sprayed with rubber to avoid metal damage - which might, in fact, be better because I see water collecting behind that plastic and doing nasty things to the metal beneath with the plastic accelerating things as it warms in the sun.

Plus points, however, are the sturdy metal steps each side of the rear number plate. And for those who need the numbers, the load box is 1685mm long, 1350mm wide, has 1090mm between the wheel-arch intrusions and its walls are 513mm high.

The fuel tank beneath it holds 58 litres.

Overall, the Strada is a good-looking bakkie whose well-proportioned bonnet/cab/load box combination been improved by copious use of black plastic "armour" and rugged wheel-arch protection. The doors are big and open wide to a cabin that, even on the base models, is welcoming and comfortable.

Levels of equipment rise with price to the most expensive model, the Strada 1.6 ELX at R115 900, which comes with a sound system and air-conditioning. Get a salesman to take you carefully through the standard items and extra-cost options.

Each model has 185/70 radials on 14" steel rims, except for the 1.6 ELX that has alloy rims. Other aesthetic differences can be found on the external mirrors, grille, bumpers, door releases and the rear step - black on all models except the ELX, which also gets fog lights and power windows.

Individual seats

All models have an immobiliser, two-speed and intermittent wipers and three-speed heater/ventilation. Metallic paint is an option across the range.

The Strada's two individual seats come with slide and back adjustment and adjustable head restraints and the fascia is from the Fiat Palio/Siena hatch and sedan range.

- The doors have crash anti-intrusion bars, the seats three-point belts, the steering-wheel is collapsible and the seats "anti-submarining". The ELX adds a driver's crash bag and seat belt pre-tensioning.

So, it's a fun bakkie probably just as happy working or at leisure and a great choice for young couples, campers and other outdoorspeople.

- All Fiat Strada bakkies, including the diesels, require servicing every 20 000km and come with a two-year, unlimited distance warranty and an additional 12-month dealer extended warranty or up to 100 000km in total, three years on paintwork and five years against rust perforation.

They are also covered by AA Fleetcare roadside assistance for 12 months.