Back in July, we showed off spy shots of the new Chevrolet Montana pickup for the South American market. Now, GM has removed the camouflage of the new mini-truck.
The Montana shares its design and Gamma II platform with the South America-only Agile hatch (which we mistakenly thought was the Aveo replacement for the U.S. market earlier in the year). The architecture is also shared by the all-new Chevrolet Aveo and Spark.
The diminutive pickup is powered by a 1.4-liter flex-fuel four-banger producing 97 hp and 95 lbs.-ft. of torque mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The powertrain delivers a 0-60 time of 12 seconds and more than 30 MPG on the highway. Whether the four cylinder is an ECOTEC is unknown at this point, but we’d be surprised if it weren’t.
Now, before you think this is a matchbox truck, get this: the truck is capable of hauling up to 1,671 lbs. in its bed. That’s about 144 lbs. less than a regular cab Chevrolet Silverado equipped with the 4.8-liter Vortec V8.
The Montana has a base price of $18,720 and can get to as high as $25,770 for a fully loaded top-of-the-line edition. If this pickup peaks your interest, you might want to heed the advice given by Jamie Ardilla, President of GM South America, back in July: “The Montana is also exported to Mexico, and the new version will be exported to Argentina and South Africa. If you are interested in the U.S. market, by all means place your order.”
Whether this is the U.S.-bound replacement for the soon-to-be-discontinued Colorado/Canyon trucks remains to be seen, but let’s hope that The General has a plan for their successor.
Source: PickupTrucks.com
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Comments
I have a 1998 S-10 pickup four cylinder standard shift which I bought new for transportation back and forth to work its my third vehicle this would be a nice replacement for me in the future. I have too late model GM vehicles but it’s nice to have a little truck to bang around in and pick up things. The drawback, majority of people like larger trucks.
I think the reason for this little truck is changing consumer preference in small/compact trucks. They’re no longer looking for huge Colorados/Canyons (they are huge compared to the Montana). They’re looking for a recreational vehicle with a bed that can take some minor abuse and wear/tear… and I think this is the right car for them.
Whereas previously you had compact truck buyers base their decision on technical factors (body on frame vs. unibody), this new breed of buyers couldn’t care less. They just want a bed with some utility.
What would be interesting for me is a four-door version of the Montana.
Looking at that engine it’s not an ECOTEC at all. It’s the D-TEC/E-TEC 8-valve Family I engine that was found in Vauxhalls/Opels/Daewoos/Holdens/Chevys and other World market GM cars. A version of it would have been sold in the US in the last Pontiac LeMans.
Nice find! That’s surely interesting. I wonder why they decided against using an ECOTEC… it surely would be more powerful and fuel-efficient – not to mention the economies of scale of using a global mass-produced ECOTEC. Anyone else find this strange?
we need some small cheap cars and trucks in this country where cheap isnt $15000.00 why don’t they sell some of this stuff in the US
Bring it here…