You will
likely hear a lot about the fact that GM's new compact pickups no longer
have a V6 or the highest payload ranking in the class, but the potential
for criticism from its competitors does not worry GM even a little bit,
and that says a lot about their confidence in the new Chevrolet Colorado
and GMC Canyon models.
GM believes it now has the best compact pickup lineup in the market,
and that people who need V6s and maxi-payload capacity would probably
prefer a full-size pickup anyway.
Time will tell if they're right about the V6 and the payload issue, but
you can see right off that the world's biggest car company is correct
about having the best lineup of compact pickups in the market.
In every
conceivable way except the ones mentioned above, Colorado and Canyon are
better than the S-10 and Sonoma models they replace. In the most significant
aspects of a pickup, they are significantly better.
Most importantly, the trucks are bigger, stiffer, quieter, better built,
more responsive, and come with much better powertrains. In all, they make
much better personal use vehicles than the models they replace and are
at least equal as work trucks.
Style is always a matter of taste, but no one could say either Colorado
or Canyon are ugly. They're sort of good-looking in a mid-west farmer
kind of way.
Sure, they cost a little more than the vehicles they replace, but GM
would quietly point out that they deliver a whole lot more for the money.
On paper then, they look like a much better investment than the models
they replace, and that proves to be the case on the road as well.
Something about the size, design and build quality of Colorado/Canyon
suggests solidity from the outside, and that feeling is re-enforced once
you sit behind the wheel. If you've got a really sophisticated spine and
are familiar with the old trucks, you might at this point recognize the
only carryover part -- the seat frame.
