The
compact pickups from General Motors are getting old, we must say. And so much
better are their replacements (due in late 2003), that if you can wait that long,
then wait. Still, they offer a lot of features for the dough, and let's face it,
value is as prime a motivator as anything for many truck buyers, so if you need
a truck right now, you don't want to spend a lot of cash yet you demand stuff
in addition to utility, you could do worse than the S10/Sonoma duo. One
thing that the GM twins have going for them are their availability in a variety
of body styles, from standard cab to extended cab to the 4-door Crew Cab (which,
by the way, won RTM's Most Athletic pickup award in 2001). Now while the standard
and extended cab are essentially made for two people only, the Crew Cab features
four front-hinged doors and real legroom for real adults in an interior that nonetheless
lacks the kind of panache and fine materials found in other trucks such as the
Toyota Tacoma. The
base engine is a wheezy old 120-horsepower 4-cylinder, so if you can afford to
step up to the 190-hp 6-cylinder, you'll thank us for the suggestion. You can
choose between the just the rear or all four wheels to be the ones that move with
the engine. The Crew Cab, incidentally, comes only with the V-6 due to its extra
weight, and you also should be aware that its abbreviated cargo area helps to
keep overall length under control. |