GMC Canyon SLE Crew Cab 4WD Z71 (2024)

We first clapped eyes on a Chevy S-10 in 1981, the Pleistocene epoch, a year in which we went embarrassingly gaga over a Renault Le Car and Csaba Csere was a fresh hire. If the S-10 were a young man, he'd today be old enough to view uncensored airings of the Super Bowl half-time show. And still GM refuses to ax the thing-a crew-cab S-10 lives for another year or so. The General is cautious about introducing new trucks like A.J. Foyt is cautious about Chinese hand tools.

But now, with the appearance of the GMC Canyon and its nearly identical sister, the Chevrolet Colorado, it's okay to forget about the rough-as-a-cob S-10. The Canyon/Colorado duo is styled with stubby overhangs, squared-off wheel openings, and the squinty four-eyed visage of the full-size Silverado and Sierra. They look a little like dazed rodeo bulls, brawny but lovable.

The platform here is genuinely new, shared with no other light truck or SUV in GM's vast repertoire. Three cab sizes are available-regular, extended, and crew-on two wheelbases. Two bed lengths are offered-73.0 inches and 61.0 inches. Two suspensions can be ordered-standard or the Z71 off-road version, which creates 9.3 inches of ground clearance fore and 8.4 inches aft. Two engines are available-a 175-hp DOHC in-line four and an all-alloy 220-hp DOHC in-line five, both derived from the straight-six in the TrailBlazer. And two transmissions are on tap-an Aisin five-speed manual or a Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic.

All Canyon/Colorado beds are 57.2 inches wide with a clever tailgate that can be locked at 55 degrees, where it stands at the same height as the rear wheelhouses. Four-by-eight-foot sheets of plywood can thus be stacked flat.

Our test truck arrived as a crew cab, with the off-road suspension, the 20-valve in-line five-cylinder engine, and an automatic. It otherwise sported few options, including OnStar ($695), an XM satellite radio ($325), a six-CD changer ($395), and a factory trailer hitch ($270). That was nevertheless sufficient to hoick its sticker north of 30 grand, a very scary plateau in this compact-pickup class.

Drive the Canyon and what you notice first is that it's far, far more solid than any S-10 ever built or imagined. Torsional rigidity is way up, with minimal bed shimmy, no shivers through the dash, no subassemblies in motion. The new body mounts are adept at blocking harshness transmitted through the frame. Impacts, right up to genuine slobber knockers, are distant, nontroubling events. Accidentally drop two wheels off the right side of the road? The Canyon doesn't care. Go ahead and drive all day like that.

This truck, at least by class standards, is also gratifyingly quiet, thanks in part to an aggressive sound-deadening program, including triple door seals that have reduced wind and tire roar. Rocks that once ricocheted into the wheel wells now make an echoless plink rather than the old metallic ker-whang. At idle and full throttle, the Canyon is quieter than any of the five "Compact Critters" we compared in August 1998. It offers an unexpectedly soothing cabin, rare for a class where "cheap" has more than one meaning, and it makes the uplevel sound systems worth contemplating. Audio quality, even from the base six-speaker system, is terrific.

The new in-line five idles at about 600 rpm, where it evinces a peculiar staccato backbeat that is felt more than heard. Crack the throttle a titch, up to 900 or so rpm, and the idle suddenly goes as smooth as Vaseline. At wide-open whack, the engine emits a curious lowing, like a cow with acid reflux. It needs to be about an octave lower and divorced from all 4-H club proceedings before 20-something males, rabid subscribers to the compact-truck class, will find it agreeably macho. This engine, with its twin balance shafts, is otherwise devoid of the mechanical clatter and thrash that afflicted all previous S-10 and Sonoma powerplants. It is subdued and carlike all the way to its 6100-rpm redline.

Sixty mph materializes in 8.9 seconds, way better than the 9.5 seconds of a Nissan Frontier SC, one of the "quick" compact trucks. Funny thing is, the Canyon never feels fast. Instead, the in-line five often acts overwhelmed by this pickup's 4254 pounds--only 40 pounds lighter than the mid-size Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Sport with a 235-horse iron-block V-8. Even minor jabs at the Canyon's throttle induce transmission kickdowns, over and over, with the result that revs seem too often intruding in the 3500-and-above range. Peak horsepower says howdy at 5600 rpm, awfully high for around-town truckin'. Step-off is smooth because it's senile, at least by car standards. Even in two-wheel drive, you can't chirp the tires. And if you're towing? Well, towing capacity is down from the S-10's 5900 pounds to 4000. You might want to limit yourself to a Grumman canoe instead of a 350-horse Fountain ski boat.

Fortunately, the Canyon's ride-and-handling trade-off is nearly perfect, a major achievement for a tall-stance off-road suspension. The gas-charged monotube shocks have been tuned to their most benign settings, and the 15-inch Generals feature forgiving sidewalls. On the most rutted, ravaged roads, the ride is more luxury SUV than compact truck. Even with all that compliance, there's little of the squirm you feel in, say, a TrailBlazer, and body motions are satisfactorily controlled. On our handling loop, the Canyon was usually settled and flat, happy to supply modest grip without feeling tall, ungainly, and goofy, as most trucks do. The tires yowl early, but their ride and noise traits make them otherwise essential. Lateral grip peaks at 0.70 g, same as a Toyota Tacoma's with the TRD suspension.

GM's revised steering is also a major improvement, although the effort could have been a hair lighter. Freeway tracking is excellent, with a strong sense of straight-ahead. There's minimal kickback, even on potholed roads, and the vibration that does wend its way up the column is, by truck standards, forgivable. You can usually place the Canyon within a few inches of where you want it, a trait that contributes hugely to driving satisfaction.

From 70 mph, the standard ABS helps stop this pickup in 206 feet, performance similar to a Frontier SC's. Brake feel is okay, and panic stops are straight and controlled. (A week after our Canyon departed, however, we drove a Colorado with grabby brakes.) GM has installed 11.2-inch discs in front but dowdy drums at the rear, hidden by fat aluminum wheel spokes. Funny coincidence, huh?

Our test truck came with bench seats encased in a handsome gray twill that looked classy and felt durable. The front seat remains comfortable for all-day grinds, although the seatback is slightly overpadded. The rear bench is tolerable for two adults for one-hour trips, but the cushion is low, hoisting your knees unnaturally. The steering wheel is adjustable for rake through a huge arc. The radio features large, easy-to-understand buttons, and the HVAC system responds to three rotary controls that can be operated even if you're wearing gloves. The white-on-black gauges are a model of legibility. The shift from two-wheel drive to four-wheel-drive high is conducted seamlessly on the fly. And even the wipers must be among the quietest GM has ever produced.

The backlight is a single fixed pane that won't slide open; it's also defrosterless. Fact is, sliding backlights have become an entry point for thieves and noise, so maybe it's a loss mainly to your dog.

A new Tacoma, Frontier, and Dakota are all on the horizon. Right now, though, the Canyon stands as the gotta-have in the compact-truck class--tops in ride, fit and finish, solidity, impact isolation, and general driving refinement. We'd have preferred more oomph--acceleration a little closer, say, to the 7.7-second 0-to-60 performance of the current manual-trans V-8 Dakota. And we'd have preferred fuel economy better than an observed 14 mpg, but that's what you get with a 2.1-ton pickup with the frontal area of a Subic Bay ferry. What interests us more is whether the more-is-better truck crowd accepts five cylinders when a V-6 is the de rigueur option in this class.

This truck is built in GM's Shreveport plant, which means you can get a Colorado in Louisiana. Naturally, you can drive a Canyon into Colorado or even into a Colorado canyon, but you wouldn't want to drive a Colorado into a Canyon.

TONY SWAN

Bigger pretty much equals better in the pickup biz, and when bigger comes with improved quality, you have almost all the ingredients for a winner. Almost. The Canyon and the Chevy Colorado are smooth, roomy, and conservatively good-looking. But where's the music? The GM in-line engine that works so well as a six sounds distinctly asthmatic as a five, particularly at full throttle. Meanwhile, the Dodge Dakota offers a mellifluous V-8 option. GM has raised the quality of its compact-pickup game, and with the five-cylinder, these trucks perform pretty well. Now, work on the aural gratification.

LARRY WEBSTER

I felt some chassis flex but not the usual accompanying cacophony of squeaks and rattles. Chevy has also done a good job with the comfortable seats and the butch styling. The price, however, is a shocker. For about the same money, I'd opt for a V-8- powered full-size truck that can haul and tow more. I'd be more forgiving if there were some neat touches, but an example to the contrary is a rear seat that doesn't fold cleverly. The seatback simply flops onto the bottom cushion, leaving a uselessly high and slanted cargo area. I'd need something more than just increased agility to keep me out of a full-size truck.

CSABA CSERE

The Canyon is no exception to the directive that every new machine be larger and roomier than the one it replaces. Sure enough, its four-door cabin is larger than the one in the old Sonoma and also plusher, but no one will be confusing it with the Ford F-150's. The Canyon has grown, yet it retains a compact feel--narrow enough to easily maneuver in parking lots and not so tall that you long for extending stairs whenever you climb in or out. This moderate size, along with the high-tech five-cylinder engine, endows the Canyon with class-leading performance. If you want a modern pickup that isn't scaled like the dump trucks of yesteryear, here's one that's worth a serious look.