GMC's new midsize pickup worth a look

[Ming]

Wallet Watchers: GMC's new midsize pickup worth a look
Friday, September 17, 2004
By Don Hammonds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pickup trucks can be wonderful things. They're handy, have room for four passengers, can be ordered with four-wheel or all-wheel drive and often have just as much glamour and charisma as cars do.

But pickups can be a pain. They can be thirsty, noisy, slow-moving and absolute hell to try to park anyplace -- if you can find a space that fits.

For those reasons, it's no surprise that one of the growing niches in the industry is small to midsize pickups. They have all of the advantages of the big pickups and almost none of their disadvantages.

One of the best buys in this field also happens to be one of the newest: The 2004 GMC Canyon. It comes in two-wheel- and four-wheel-drive varieties, regular and extended- cab models, and a variety of trim levels -- all told, there are 22 models available.



Power comes from a 175-horsepower, four-cylinder engine or a 220-horsepower Inline-5. Fuel economy on the 5-cylinder I tested was 17 city and 22 highway.

Our test model, a four-wheel drive Z71 SLE Crew Cab, had a base price of $27,210. Options that included leather seating, off-road suspension, reading lamps and a leather-wrapped steering wheel brought the final price to $30,735.

GMC points out several improvements in the Canyon over its predecessor, the Sonoma. The regular cab model extends 4 inches more than the old model, and there are 3 more inches of storage space behind the optional reclining bucket seats. The Canyon has a jazzier look, too, with a more aggressive grille and more interesting character lines along the flanks.

The interior is one of the more comfortable ones you'll find. There's plenty of room to stretch out, all the gauges are in places that make sense, and the leather interior looked and felt good.

There seemed to be a lot of plastic for a truck that hopes to compete with the Nissan Frontier, the Toyota Tacoma and the Dodge Dakota. And the rear cup holder mounted between the seats rattled too much for my tastes.

But GMC, like other General Motors divisions, has recently been showing signs that it's getting the message about the quality of its interiors, so I would expect to see further improvements soon.

Article Here

[gmwsag]

The new trucks are very nice, indeed. Better than any Ranger or Tacoma....
I think the public is just misjudging these vehicles. The Colorado interior looks much better than the 2005 Frontier interior, and people need to realize that you don't need 265 hp to run a good truck.

[Carguy]

That looks like a new nose job for the GMC. Could it be? :huh:

[Swahili]

I still really like the new Colorado/Canyon trucks. Still think that people need to get over the fact that if you want the towing and power of a full size truck, you have to pony up the extra money and pay for it.

[ByTheLake]

Yes, grill is a bit different ... and if that is a new production nose, it's an improvement on the GMC.

Our family is eagerly awaiting the delivery of our '05 Colorado, which should arrive early in October. I like the Colorado/Canyon trucks.

[Cortazzo]

That looks like the new GMC Sierra coming out in 06 or 07 i think, it is def. not a canyon. I was really interested in getting a canyon, they are stunning and get good fuel economy. The interior is sub-par though, especially compared to the upcoming tacoma. If they can refresh the interior next model year their trucks will still be very competitive, I just feel bad for the ranger.

[SUPERBADD75]

swahili Posted on Sep 18 2004, 03:32 PM
  I still really like the new Colorado/Canyon trucks. Still think that people need to get over the fact that if you want the towing and power of a full size truck, you have to pony up the extra money and pay for it. 

umm... i hate to inform you of this, but no you don't. the GMC/Chevy twins offer the lowest max towing of all midsize/compact pickups. quit trying to cover up GM's mistakes. they shouldn't have made the I5 the largest available engine, or even worse made it impossible to fit the I6 in there. GM is about to fall far behind the rest of the field, except for Ford. GM screwed up, and you all know it but hate to admit it. hopefully for you, GM will remedy the situation soon, but for now their highest engine offering isn't enough. :zap:

[Askani]

Originally posted by SUPERBADD75@Sep 18 2004, 04:53 PM

umm... i hate to inform you of this, but no you don't. the GMC/Chevy twins offer the lowest max towing of all midsize/compact pickups. quit trying to cover up GM's mistakes. they shouldn't have made the I5 the largest available engine, or even worse made it impossible to fit the I6 in there. GM is about to fall far behind the rest of the field, except for Ford. GM screwed up, and you all know it but hate to admit it. hopefully for you, GM will remedy the situation soon, but for now their highest engine offering isn't enough. :zap:

Dude, you're like a disease with no cure.... Everytime I look there you are complaining... blah, blah, blah.... :

[diablo4]

Originally posted by Askani+Sep 18 2004, 05:05 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Askani @ Sep 18 2004, 05:05 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-SUPERBADD75@Sep 18 2004, 04:53 PM

umm... i hate to inform you of this, but no you don't. the GMC/Chevy twins offer the lowest max towing of all midsize/compact pickups. quit trying to cover up GM's mistakes. they shouldn't have made the I5 the largest available engine, or even worse made it impossible to fit the I6 in there. GM is about to fall far behind the rest of the field, except for Ford. GM screwed up, and you all know it but hate to admit it. hopefully for you, GM will remedy the situation soon, but for now their highest engine offering isn't enough. :zap:

Dude, you're like a disease with no cure.... Everytime I look there you are complaining... blah, blah, blah.... : [/b][/quote]
I agree superbadd75.Pretty soon the twins will fall behind.

[banzai79]

Well for once I agree with him. We are in an automotive age where none of our vehicles have "what they need" they have "what people want" People don't need a 260 HP Grand Prix, they don't need a 400 HP C6, and they don't need a midsize truck with more than 220 HP either, but their competition is going to offer it, and people will want it. The interior in these trucks is top notch though, I think people are just knee-jerk complaining.

[Base Model]

Originally posted by Carguy@Sep 18 2004, 09:56 AM
That looks like a new nose job for the GMC. Could it be? :huh:

The pics are of the Canyon AT4 show truck. http://www.gminsidenews.com/forum/index.ph...?showtopic=2669

[thehemi]

Rarely do I ever see a small/mid size truck actually
doing any towing. They usually are commuters and
occasional use trucks. At least from what I've seen.

For my needs, a small/mid size truck with a limit of
4000# for towing is plenty more than I will ever use.
(Currently only tow 1800# worth of jetskis.)

4-cyl are always too lacking (from what I've tested).
The 5-cyl is a nice blend of power and fuel economy.
Sure, I suppose they could offer a larger engine for
appealing to the guys who think they need the most
power they can get. Although I imagine anyone who
needs V8 power should probably get a full-size truck.

[Dumb_Ass_2003]

These trucks were also built to handle, get good fuel mileage, and easy to park/maneuver. Let's see the new Dakota, Frontier, or Tacoma do that. All the competition is doing is copying their full-size trucks. Larger, heavier, bigger engines, more powerful, less efficient, harder to park, rougher ride.

[driver]

The Honda V6 in the Saturn Vue has more horsepower and get better mileage than the Canyon/Colorado I5. How does that happen? I know they have different purposes but they weigh about the same.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Dumb_Ass_2003@Sep 18 2004, 02:04 PM
These trucks were also built to handle, get good fuel mileage, and easy to park/maneuver. Let's see the new Dakota, Frontier, or Tacoma do that. All the competition is doing is copying their full-size trucks. Larger, heavier, bigger engines, more powerful, less efficient, harder to park, rougher ride.

I had a flash of insight - what if this is Toyohondassan's plan? Make their compact trucks "mid-size" and then attack the compact truck market with car-based trucks like the upcoming Honda pickup? Hmmmm.... :kama: