No, I fell out of love with the truck during our first date. To be truthful, it was merely a surface relationship in the beginning anyway. I was initially taken in by its stunning good looks, but like a mail order bride photos don't always do a vehicle justice. For instance, while the GM spokesman who gave me the keys made sure to mention that its poor paint quality was due to early production, it was just so ruddy awful that I couldn't get past it. It would be an insult to oranges to call it orange peel. I made a point of showing it to everyone I knew, all of which, after trying to contain their laughter, stared in utter dismay. It's so bad that it's humorous.
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| My love affair with the Canyon quickly went sour after taking a closer look at the paint job. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
But stand back a little, OK a lot, and it still looks handsome. The front end, encompassing a robust grille and nicely detailed fascia, is my favorite viewpoint, with only the Chevy Colorado looking better in my opinion. Sure the rather pathetic 15-inch aluminum wheels (why bother with alloys of this size anyway) seemed out of place in a class that now predominantly features 16s as standard equipment, but above the beltline it's one stylish workhorse.
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| The interior of the Canyon is typical truck-fair, not outstanding but practical. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Inside, the materials used are about what can be expected in a pickup, not particularly good but still hardly offensive. Plastics quality is better than in the previous Sonoma, but that isn't saying a heck of a lot either. But wait a minute, most buyers in this category don't care all that much about the tactile quality of switchgear or dash surfaces anyway, right? Hmmm, I'm not sure about that. I know if I was in need of a pickup, a vehicle type that I have previously shelled out personal coin for, perceived quality would be high on my list. It's often a sign of the care and attention permeating the entire vehicle, or so that's the popular misgiving - live with a new Volkswagen product a while and you may disagree. But it will still be interesting to see what Ford does with its next-generation Ranger, after turning the full-size pickup truck segment on its proverbial ear with the best-in-class F150 interior. There's nothing that currently comes close, even from Nissan or Toyota.