2004 GMC Canyon Road Test

The front seats are comfortable, however, offering decent support for the small of the back. The rears are tight from back to front, with abbreviated legroom and

Although the Canyon's ride is soft and compliant, its handling is less than ideal. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

a rather vertical seatback that would be uncomfortable for long durations.

But I wouldn't want to drive the Canyon very far anyway. Sure, its ride is soft and compliant, but it handles with the finesse of George Forman dancing the Nutcracker. Let me explain. Go around a completely smooth corner and as long as you're not traveling too quickly it won't complain. But if a manhole cover, or any other road surface imperfection happens to catch the rear wheels while attempting to make haste the truck's rear end

It seems that GM has managed to develop a chassis that is both poor in the corners and terrible in parking lots. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

hops and jumps out of control. This is not only disconcerting but downright dangerous. Over and over again the Canyon hopped, skipped and jumped over the uneven roadways that course through my city - I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like on gravel.

But that soft suspension setup must be great over rough pavement or speed bumps at low velocity, right? So I would have thought, but no it is anything but. The rear end bounce over speed bumps is among the harshest I've experienced. It seems that GM has managed to develop a chassis that is both poor in the corners and terrible in parking lots, impressive. Then again it may be the setup of this particular 2WD Crew Cab model that needs a little more attention from GM's chassis engineers. I can't say.