June 7, 2019 – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Canada’s fleet operations division recently made the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) stop of its 2019 spring launch tour—which has also made stops in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton—at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Ont.

With a lot of hype over the last few months surrounding its release, FCA’s Jeep Gladiator mid-size pickup truck (pictured)—which looks like a Wrangler with a truck bed—was definitely the model most fleet professionals were on hand to see and test-drive on a closed course. It has a 3.6-L Pentastar V-6 engine with 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. While it is a new vehicle, it offers the capabilities of a Wrangler with a 5-ft bed and dampening tailgate.

By comparison, the Ram HD, which has been redesigned for 2019 and boasts an available 1,000 lb-ft of torque, was almost lost in the background. So, FCA demonstrated its capabilities by having it pull an 18-wheeler through the convention centre’s parking lot. The pickup offers a maximum towing capacity of 15,921 kg and a maximum payload of 3,484 kg.

The Ram HD offers an upgraded Cummins 6.7-L high-output turbo diesel engine with 400 hp and 1,000 lb-ft of torque. A second variant provides 37 hp and 850 lb-ft of torque. Both diesel engines are equipped with six-speed automatic transmission. The standard engine, on the other hand, is a 6.4-L Hemi V-8 with 410 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

“It will definitely be an exciting year ahead for FCA,” says Basil Marcus, director of business development and marketing for Foss National Leasing. “The new Gladiator is a very cool vehicle, while the new HD offers a really amazing working capacity, along with opulent luxury you would expect more from a high-end SUV, rather than a truck.”

FCA Canada will conclude its spring launch tour in Montreal later this month.

Mario Cywinski is editor of Machinery and Equipment MRO magazine, a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) and a judge for the Canadian Truck King Challenge.