5 reasons the Strada is boosting its category

When a man sets his sights on the prize, you can very well see the steely look of determination on his game face.

And what sort of prize would be worth the effort for the man of the house? Here’s a hint: Something with wheels and an engine. For some dads, a simple car that can take him and his family from this to that is enough of a reward for all the hard days and nights.

But we’re not talking about a simple car here, and we’re not talking about a simple dad, either. We’re talking of daddies who have a life outside of work, say a farm or an outdoor hobby that he and his brood “escape” to during the weekends and holidays. So, is it an SUV for the dad? Well, an SUV isn’t really a farm “animal,” so to speak. It can’t take a 10-foot-tall tree sapling on its back. And when things get rough out there outside of the safe enclaves of the city, the SUV would tend to back off where the star of this article would normally be in its natural element.

For the dad who wants to go places and bring along his family (and even the family dog), the double-cab pick-up is it. The market isn’t in short supply of them. There’s the Nissan Frontier Navara, the Mazda BT50, Ford Ranger, Toyota Hi-Lux, the Isuzu D-Max and the Mitsubishi Strada.

The company, symbolized by diamonds, oak leaves and ship’s propellers in its badge, produces probably the most recognizable pickup today, the Strada.

Probably the shapeliest of all double-cab pick-ups, the new-look Strada (introduced in 2006) had captured the biggest slice of the pie in the 4×4 pick-up category from 2007 onwards (except in 2009).

It wasn’t just the looks that lured many a family man into an affair with the Strada.

To find out the allure of the Strada, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines lent out the 2011 Strada 4×2 GLX-V 4×2 DI-D to Inquirer Motoring a couple of weeks ago. Powered by the new 2.5-liter 4-in-line DOHC 16-valve turbocharged and intercooled VGT and DI-D engine mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission, the Strada immediately revealed six points why this pick-up could indeed prove to be a love-at-first-sight for the papa.

• Beauty is fast, and more than skin deep. Being based on the equally eye-catching Pajero Evolution platform, the Strada’s design is a head-turner. What attracts the checkbooks is its performance and frugality: quick acceleration, but with improved fuel consumption. When Inquirer Motoring drove it, we almost forgot that this vehicle was a 1.7-ton light truck powered by diesel. The four passengers remarked on the smoothness of the ride. Considering it was the first days of the school year, the city roads being predictably more congested than usual, the Strada managed fuel efficiencies of 8 km per liter on city drives and 11 km per liter on the highway.

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