Fiat's tiny three-wheeled truck is the cutest thing you'll see this week
Meet TRIS, a compact little car for handling very teeny weeny bidness Skip 3 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
Paging Pixar Studios: we have the main star of your next car-based animated movie. This is the Fiat TRIS, and it's a three-wheeled EV that's easily the cutest thing you'll see this week.
It's the car content we all need right now. Far removed from a world of thrusting, overweight thousand-horsepower dragsters, the TRIS is a petite, configurable commercial vehicle built for so-called 'last mile' delivery and 'urban' logistics.
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Basically, it's a teeny delivery truck.
So teeny, it's smaller than a kei car. Where those hardy little Japanese workhorses are around 3.4m in length, this diddy Fiat is only 3.1m. It also weighs just 485kg, features a 2.25-square-metre load bay – able to swallow a whole Euro pallet! – and a payload capacity of 540kg (allowing a max weight of 1,025kg). You might like
And because it's got a turning circle of three metres, it's perfect for city deliveries. The chassis and tubular structure underpinning it all – adorably described as 'robust' and 'engineered for long-term performance' – is configurable. So there are flat-bed and 'chassis-cabin' versions, and a pickup.
Fiat reckons the latter is suitable for deliveries of fruit, sand or furniture. Top Gear reckons it's perfect for deliveries of cupcakes, stuffed dog toys, or something else equally floofy.
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TRIS gets a teeny 6.9kWh lithium battery that powers a 12bhp (9kW) 48V electric motor. This motor also produces 33lb ft and can push the lil' fella right up to 28mph. Fiat reckons it's a stable 28mph too, via a 'wide track rear axle, enlarged wheelbase and 12in tyres'. Recharging is done via a standard home plug: 0 to 80 per cent takes 3.5 hours.
While Fiat has neglected to offer any visual representation of the inside, we're assured there's a 'strong focus on driver comfort' to allow for 'long working hours'. Former: good. Latter: concerning.
You'll spot it is lacking in the whole 'door' thing. It's not lacking in the whole 'screen' thing, because there's a 5.7in digital cluster inside, a USB-C plug and a 12V socket too.
Now comes the bit in the Pixar movie where it all falls apart: Fiat's adorable little TRIS is only being produced for the Middle East and Africa. So despite Fiat boss Olivier Francois assuring us it is 'born from Italian creativity and engineered for the realities of daily life', it's not engineered for our daily life.
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But wait! A third act flourish: 'We believe its potential goes far beyond,' Francois added. 'Europe may be next, because this kind of smart, sustainable solution speaks a universal language.'
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