Filed under: Car Buying, Trucks/Pickups, Chevrolet
Gotta LUV that Brazilian-built Chevy Tornado
At first glance, you may hiccup and taste a little bit of your last meal in your mouth. Swallow, take a deep breath, and continue reading... What you are looking at is called the Chevrolet Tornado. Built in Brazil (where it is sold as the Chevrolet Montana), the two-seat pickup is sold in Mexico and South Africa (where it is rebadged the Opel Corsa Utility). With a 1.8-liter four rated at 104 hp under the hood, and a 5-speed manual to row the gears, the little truck scoots to 60 mph in about 10 seconds. The Tornado offers a payload area larger than that found on the Honda Ridgeline, and a payload capacity of 1,600-pounds (50 pounds more than the Ridgeline's rating). Saving the best for last, the frugal Tornado is rated at 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. Do you think Americans who are accustomed to full- and mid-size pickups would ever consider something like this? If you think consumers would never stoop to such levels... think back to the early 1970s and remember the Chevy LUV.
[Source: PickupTrucks.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
TriShield 9:04AM (6/16/2008)
The old S10 four cylinders returned the same economy numbers. GM should have kept their compacts truly compact when they renamed them Colorado/Canyon.
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psarhjinian 11:05AM (6/16/2008)
All the old compact trucks are deathtraps in an accident, so saying "they get ____ mpg" is kind of disingenuous. You trade a lot of safety away when you step into an older truck.
It's also worth noting that these mileage numbers are not EPA, so comparing them may not be appropriate.
1337 4:14PM (6/16/2008)
The current Ford Ranger has been around since 1998 (and was only lightly redesigned before then). The 2.3L/2.5L I4 Rangers have been returning 25+ mpg for years while other trucks have gotten worse. I'm not saying the Ranger is a safety or engineering masterpiece, but it's clearly possible to sell a slow, cheap, utilitarian, efficient compact truck in the USA market.
Dave 8:54PM (6/16/2008)
I agree, there is no compact truck in the U.S. anymore and its sad. Everything is bigger is better and look at the Dodge Dakota. It was once mid-size now its full-size.
This truck is ok I guess, but I would rather have that Chevy (Isuzu) Luv or at least a truck more that size.
The new India compact truck coming later this year will probably do ok.
RWD fan 9:08AM (6/16/2008)
I had a 1980 Datsun Long Bed that had better numbers.
I hope Mahindra cleans up with a compact utilitarian p/u that is built for actual work, and forgoes this passenger car with a truck bed theme.
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Stuka 9:08AM (6/16/2008)
I saw these all over in mexico, along with the VW ute. The Ford Courier is sold there and is also a ute.
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ronzo 9:09AM (6/16/2008)
What does it cost to ship to Austin, TX and where do I sign? :D
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Avinash machado 9:11AM (6/16/2008)
Sell it as the new El Camino.
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RidinLow 10:53AM (6/16/2008)
More like El Caminito maybe. =)
ronzo 9:14AM (6/16/2008)
Hey Detroit... wake up. You need to start selling these things in the States. Drive on into the 21st Century thinking please. Seriously.
You have the perfect oppurtunity to cash in. Don't waste it.
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Vintage 9:21AM (6/16/2008)
Yes, Americans would buy these. This is more what most people need, not huge Diesel V8s and dualies and 8,000lb towing capacities. Today's trucks are more of a mechanized penis contest than anything else.
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Frylock350 10:01AM (6/16/2008)
Dude those diesel V8's have 16,000lb + towing capacities. A half-ton gasoline V8 has 8000lbs :).
And this vehicle fails on one huge point for me, where do the passengers go? Also what kind of 50-80 passing power will it have when pulling a boat?
Today's trucks are the successor to the American sedan of the 60s and 70s. Bring back the big RWD full-frame station wagon and I'll give up my SUV gladly. My 96 Roadmaster Wagon is still my favorite vehicle I've ever owned.
Vintage 10:05AM (6/16/2008)
That's just it... when you're towing a boat, who cares about your passing ability at 50-80, because chances are the boat trailer tires are only rated for 55mph! Quit speeding around with little tires on your trailer! It's dangerous! Also, quit passing in general. You're towing. It's not a race. A vehicle SHOULD be slow when it's towing.
Frylock350 10:19AM (6/16/2008)
The tires on my trailer are rated for 65mph. Its not about racing its about keeping my preferred pace. I go boating quite frequently and following a tractor-trailor or an old dude going 50mph down the 2-lane when I want to be going 63-ish just isn't acceptable. So I wait for a safe opportunity then pass.
When towing, passing power is even more relevant because you have more weight and twice the vehicle length to get around the slow moving obstacle. The faster your vehicle can pass, the less time you spend in the oncoming lane and the safer it is.
Vintage 10:27AM (6/16/2008)
But you don't NEED to be doing that. Do you think people buy semis based on passing abilities? They tow more than any pick up ever will, and I'm pretty sure truck drivers aren't obsessed with passing abilities. If a truck has the ability to tow a huge boat, and still haul ass, it must suck fuel like no other. Quit being so wasteful. Staying behind the semi or taking a bit longer to pass someone will only cause your trip to be a few minutes longer, if that. Slow down and chill out, you're towing a boat.
PS: I tow my boat with a 98hp Honda Accord. Yes. It's slow. Yes, it's hard to pass. But hey, it works, and I get 30mpg.
HotRodzNKustoms 10:48AM (6/16/2008)
Ok Vintage I'll tow my 12,000lbs boat with a 98 hp honda.
I have a GMC Duramax that I have all tuned up with 1,000lbs of torque it is perfect for towing that boat it accelerates with and sometimes faster than traffic, I can pass at a speed that satisfies me, and the truck gets 20mpg which doesn't matter anymore because diesel is $5.50 a gallon. It does look pretty cool when the torque overwhelms those poor all terrain tires and a cloud of smoke pours over all 34 feet of my boat.
And personally I think you should stop talking about being wasteful unless you have a sailboat without a gasoline outboard you still are wasting to a degree. You don't NEED to be driving a boat which at best gets 6mpg. Personally I'll stick with my twin 502's. But go ahead and tow that 12,000lbs boat with your Honda, I'll stick with my big diesel truck.
Frylock350 11:08AM (6/16/2008)
@HotRodsz,
6mpg for a boat? First off how do you compute that when the boat only records engine hours, not distance (and a nautical mile isn't equivalent to a mile) My fishing boat is far more efficient than that. It has a 220hp Mercury direct-injected outboard and it has a 15 gallon tank. I fill it up maybe once every month over the summer and that's going fishing every weekend.
@Vintage,
I know about towing with a slow car, I used to use an 87 Electra Estate with 140hp to tow and after experiencing that I'll never go back. My Suburban is a much better tow vehicle and it manages to net me 18-20mpg, which I'm ok with. My old Silverado only got 16-18. I don't need to have a boat either, but I have one. As long as I can feed it, I'm gonna buy a V8 truck. Plus you tell me a more efficient way to get 7 guys + luggage/gear and a boat to a weekend fishing getaway. When I go fishing its a rare occurrance that I don't fill every seat. And you wouldn't believe the toll that a boat and 7 adults takes on a 320hp engine. I'd kill for that 6.2L.
Landy 2:20PM (6/16/2008)
It's so funny to read these hardcore truck guys!
I used to have such a discussion with a Detroit Ford guy who was telling me that he uses to haul his (probably Queen Mary II size) boat + 3 motorcyles + BBQ-grill + fridge + 6 persons for the fishing trip on the weekends and that he needs an Excursion to do that. Well... in Europe we call that "Moving". He told me about all that power he needs to get his equipment up these tremendous hills in the US country side. What we in Europe would call a mountain, he will just call uneven terrain... And he told me about these enormous distances he drives every weekend with all that stuff (probably everything he owns). I agreed that distances are a lot larger than in Europe but can anybody please explain to me how to do all that on one weekend?????
I mean, getting nearly everything out of the house - put it on a trailer or in that boat (ship) - drive thousands of miles, mostly uphill, unload all the stuff, have fun with the boat, go fishing, ride the bikes, have a BBQ, sleep, und everything backwards again? I ended up telling him that men in Europe use to wear their balls in their throusers - not on their trailer hitch.
So please give us a break Frylock350
Frylock350 3:50PM (6/16/2008)
@Landy,
I'll usually take 1 day off work and take a Fri-Sun night trip, leaving after work Thusday and getting home late Sunday night. I drive ~380 miles one way to get to my getaway destination, with ~250 miles of that on 2-lane backroads. I'm not taking everything I own with me but consider an average trip. Its not too hard to get the trip going too. Takes maybe 30 minutes tops to pack clothes and fishing gear, another 10 to prep the boat and get it hooked up to the Suburban. Then once everyone gets to my place, we load up the SUV and head off to the lake. I'm usually on the road within an hour of getting home from work. Quick vacations work if you plan ahead a bit and set everything up. Unloading is simple, we put the boat in the water and drive to dock and carry our clothes inside. Then we fish for 2 1/2 days and then go home, hopefully with a story worth bragging about.
Now do I NEED a Suburban to do it? No a full-size Express van would work too, but they just don't ride as nice or handle as well as a Suburban. Would a Minivan work, absolutely not. FWD sucks when you're towing and the cammer torqueless wonders don't deal well with all of the weight they're being taxed with. We've taken a Honda Odyssey to the lake too and it was extremely taxed with the load we put in it. The engine had to be kicked into passing gear to climb steep hills and it spun at a high RPM level to maintain 65mph. The Suburban is effortless by comparison, and more composed and stable. If you've ever done hauling with an SUV vs an minivan you'd understand. My Roadmaster was decent at it, but couldn't take the people. Still I'd go back to the full-size wagon if it existed, but I'll never go to an FWD DOHC-6 powered vehicle.
I have the boat (trailered weight is ~4000lbs), 2 kayaks on the roof, in the truck there's all the guys that go, which is usually myself, my brother, his buddy, my two buddies, and 2 of my cousins. That's 7 duffel bags with clothes, seven sets of fishing gear, etc. It takes a large vehicle to swallow all of that stuff and haul it around.
Holden Miecranc 9:21AM (6/16/2008)
By the time they make all of the changes to bring these things up to US spec for safety and emissions, they probably won't be all that cheap or get the mileage they do in their current form.
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