Fiat Fullback — The Italian Foal

Thinking of all the products that make their way to us from Italy, one would often think of sleek, elegant and extremely luxurious things.

That might change with the introduction of the all new Fiat Fullback.

While its design is stylish and top of the line, there’s no doubt that this model is a quite different than anything else that comes out of the Fiat factory.

Previously having enjoyed driving around in the Fiat 500, a much smaller product by the Italian brand, I wondered if Fiat was going to impress me further or take a giant step in the wrong direction.

To be honest, I had mixed feelings.

Everyone in southern Africa probably gets a kick out of riding in a bakkie, so there’s always a certain level of expectation when getting into one of these babies.

However, sometimes expectation can set one up for disappointment.

Firstly, changing gears in the Fullback is a hassle, and an unnecessary one at that as it doesn’t let you do so in smooth motions – a mechanical problem which could have been a little more refined.

Getting out of town and onto the high-way was little more frustrating than it should’ve been given the constant ‘stop-start’ driving.

The ride might have been slightly more pleasant if the transmission was automatic.

However, once on Windhoek’s Western Bypass, the Fullback was trying really hard to impress me, the slightly disappointed driver, and did do so to some extent.

The engine of this bakkie is without a doubt powerful, producing 100kW of power, 324Nm at 2 000rpm of torque and not to mention its one ton loading capability.

The electronically adjustable leather seats were actually comfortable for the short while I spent in the Fullback, however one would most likely not feel that way after a trip down south or to the north, not forgetting the bumpy dirt roads all over Namibia.

It’s safe to say that the Fullback did pretty well on a gravel road, especially once I got used to the troublesome transmission.

There’s no denying the fact that Fiat is out of its league when it comes to playing with the big boys such as the Toyota Hilux, the Isuzu KB and the Ford Ranger.

If Fiat can come back with a bigger and better version of the Fullback, they should feel free to do so, but I think staying in their lane of small, pleasant hatchbacks and SUVs should be pretty high up on their to-do list.

There’s still a long way to go if the Fullback wants to upgrade from an Italian foal to an Italian stallion.

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