The Enterprise Rent-a-car office nearest my office has seen a lot of me over the past year or so (Ms scmrak complains that they see me more often than she does!), which factors into the cars I get when I rent there. Instead of simply handing me the keys, Lily or Ty will show me the lot and say, "So, what do you want to drive today?" My most recent visit fell on a morning when the lot was pretty empty: a Sable, a couple of Neons, a Grand Cherokee, and a Chevy S10 pickup. Seeing that I'd been driving my venerable '88 Toyota pickup already that day, it seemed a good time to check out the competition (besides, I've already reviewed a couple of the other choices). Here's what my three days and 400 miles in a rented S10 felt like.


The Tao of Truck

One buys a pickup, ostensibly anyway, to haul stuff. The vehicle class started out as a wagon with a motor, although today's versions have progressed worlds beyond their humble origins. Modern pickups combine the cargo-hauling capability of the twenty-mule team freight wagons of yore with the comforts and convenience of a modern auto. These trucks have proven indispensable to those of us who own older houses, like to garden, move frequently, or often pull trailers. To be sure, a truck-based SUV can carry a pile of groceries and tow pretty much its own weight, but do you really want to fold down your back seat and have a yard of compost dumped in there? Really?

Modern pickups try very hard to combine freight-hauling capability with creature comforts; and that has been accomplished to varying degrees in different models and lines. One of the biggest disadvantages of a pickup has always been the amount of room in the passenger cabin, which explains the proliferation of King/Extended- and Crew-Cab models in the past few years (for the record, I own two compact pickups; one's a regular cab and the other's an extended cab). If a manufacturer wants to sell pickups, then they also have to install the goodies people expect in their sedans: quality sound systems, power windows and doors, A/C, cruise control, and the like. By the way, before you're mightily impressed by sound systems and air-conditioning, stop by your local Massey-Ferguson dealer: you'll learn that even farm tractors have those conveniences these days!

Nope, the task manufacturers still have to face is giving the consumer a vehicle that can haul -- in both the cargo and the speed senses -- and still carry passengers in relative comfort. Did Chevrolet do that with its 2002 S10? Well, yes... and no.


The "Truck-y" Part

The truck was blue -- we'll get the most important fact out of the way quickly -- and looked like, well, a truck. The S10 is classified as a compact pickup, putting it in the same class as Toyota's Tacoma, Ford's Ranger, Nissan's Frontier, and the Dodge Dakota (among others). The model I drove is the LS Extended Cab 4X2 version, with optional 4.3-liter V6 and four-speed automatic transmission. Other available body styles are the regular cab (seats three) and the crew cab. All are also available in 4WD. The LS is the "posh" trim level, with more appointments than the base level.

The extended cab is a three-door version, with a "suicide door" (hinged on the rear) on the driver's side to gain access to the rear cab area. The rear seats just one person, in a jump seat that folds down from the cab wall on the passenger side -- this passenger rides facing the left side of the vehicle, not the front. Although GM doesn't state the depth of the area behind the front seats in the specs, the extended cab is 14 inches longer than the regular cab; the difference in Ford Rangers is 14 and in Tacomas, 18 inches.

Cargo capacity of the S10 is 1360 pounds, better than that of the Ranger (1260) but beneath the Tacoma's 1500-pound payload. Towing capacity is the lowest of the three at 3000 pounds (Ranger 3155, Tacoma 3500). The cargo box is the standard 6-foot size of compact pickups, give or take an inch or two. The biggest disadvantage of a compact pickup has always been the bed size, which is too small to lay a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat.

Chevy introduced the current body design of the S10 in 1994 - the only full redesign since model's introduction in 1982. Minor, mostly cosmetic changes have been made in the past nine years but the only significant body upgrade was introduction of the third door for the extended cab, which came to pass in 1996.


The "Car-Like" Part

The LS version comes well-appointed, with power everything (including heated side-view mirrors), cruise control, tilt-wheel, and a single-disk CD player. Seating for the driver is moderately comfortable, with limited lateral support to the seats but an adjustable lumbar support. The "split bench" front seat supposedly seats three, but the middle person had better be small. The front of the seat has a cutaway for access to the cupholders, and a folding armrest protrudes from the seat back; leaving perhaps ten inches front-to-back. This seat, by the way, has neither shoulder harness nor airbag.

Seating in the rear is almost laughable; suitable only for a small, agile person. One must either crawl backwards into the rear compartment or turn around within its confines to place his gluteus maximus on the jump seat. And then, his knees are almost at chin level. This seat, for what it's worth, has a shoulder harness.

There's a medium-sized glove box and the usual door pockets; the only other cab storage is in the lid of the fold-down armrest. That space is suitable -- though just barely -- for a couple of CDs and some coins. Sight lines to the instruments and controls are clear, though the vehicle suffers from having one of those nasty GM "super-stalks," a combination dimmer switch/turn signal/cruise-control/windshield-wiper control found on the left-hand side of the steering column. The automatic transmission selector is mounted on the right-hand side of the column.

The climate and radio controls are located, as is normal, in the console center. Chevy has rotated the entire panel slightly to the left so that it's turned toward the driver. While it gives drivers a better view of the radio and climate controls, anyone in the passenger seat can barely read them. The glare off glass surfaces (e.g., radio dial) is worsened for the driver as well. Both A/C and sound system are of good quality; the A/C stood up well to a Houston summer and the CD player drowned out the road noise (most of the time). This is that Bose system, by the way, with the speed volume control and equalizer presets for different music types (if you like that sort of thing).


Driving the S10

One of the first things you'll notice behind the wheel of an S10 is the power. The 4.3-liter Vortec V6 engine puts out 180 horsies, though the 2.2-liter four found on the base trim is considerably less energetic. The "optional" electronically-controlled four-speed automatic tranmission marries well to the V6, shifting smoothly through the gear ranges without hesitation or hunting. Acceleration is crisp, with plenty of reserve power for merges and those short bursts needed for passing. A manual transmission, by the way is nominally standard, but the beasts are increasingly rare on this and other small trucks.

Handling is precisely what one would expect for a small pickup. Empty, the ride is noticeably jittery, what with an empty cargo box behind you causing an uneven weight distribution. Around sharp turns and on even slightly slick surfaces, the rear end threatens to break loose (normal, unfortunately, for small pickups). Steering is responsive (speed-sensitive power-assisted steering) and precise, and the front end doesn't dip much when maneuvering, though the 41.6-foot turning circle makes getting in and out of tight spots a bit of a chore. Braking seemed a bit subpar to me, needing a long distasnce to stop and having fairly noticeable fade. The suspension ironed out small bumps well, but rough spots in the road tended to overwhelm it.

The passenger compartment noise level is borderline. Under normal conditions, the engine is reasonably quiet, but when prodded it roars like an angry bull -- especially, for some reason, when cold. Road noise is intrusive, especially on coarser surfaces, and wind noise suppression is also worse than average.

Fuel economy for the V6 is estimated by the EPA to be 17 MPG city, 22 MPG highway; my experience on a mostly highway trip was about 19.5 MPG. The four-cylinder engine gets considerably better gas mileage, though there's little advantage (especially with the V6) attributable to a manual transmission. Engine specs allow the use of regular-grade gasoline (87 octane).


Safety

The S10 comes with three-point safety belts for three seats and a lap belt for the center-front. Both front seats are protected by airbags; the passenger-side airbag can be deactivated for smaller passengers (the key-operated switch is prominently displayed on the dash). ABS (antilock braking system) is standard, as are daytime running lamps. A single child car seat can be mounted in the front seat; Chevrolet warns against placing a child seat in the rear. There's no mention of LATCH in the online specifications, so I assume they aren't available.


Design and Build Quality

Just about any manufacturer can turn out a truck body; it's how they dress them up that sells 'em -- that, and their durability. The S10 LS trim comes nicely equipped, with a sporty, powerful drivetrain (the V6, that is). Its cargo capacity is somewhat low compared to the competition, but the ride and handling appear to be pretty much par for compact pickups. Design quality and ergonomics are average or above, though the rear compartment (cab extension) is very tight for an extra passenger.

I was somewhat concerned by build quality, though mainly in a single area: every latch seemed to be sticky or tight. With just 3000 miles on the truck, it took near X-Man finger strength to open the latch on the third door. The glove box latch was also sticky, except that it was hard to get it to stay latched. And the lid of the armrest almost required two hands to open it (making for some wild rides, I'm sure). The S10 has, according to published reports, average reliability, with more problems in the drivetrain than the body.


Overall

The S10 is straight-up competitive with the Ford Ranger, but not with the Tacoma. While it has a more powerful engine than competing compact pickups, strangely it doesn't have the payload and towing rating of some of the competitors. That engine, though, makes it fun to drive, and the ride and handling are slightly less trucky than some of the competition (I can't speak to the Dakota, by the way). The S10's design is somewhat dated, though still serviceable -- more or less along the line of "it ain't broke, so it don't need fixin'." Build quality is average, less than average in some areas. Interior comfort and noise levels are, again, average or slightly worse; the small extended cab area is also disappointing.

Based on its drivability alone, this is a fine little truck; but I also noticed a lot of little negatives. Unfortunately, those little negatives add up. Interior noise level, comfort level, and space are all substandard; which drags the overall average down. On a ten-point scale, I'd give it a weak seven; here it gets a strong three stars.



Amount Paid (US$): 38/day
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: LS - 4.3L V6 - 4Spd Auto Tranny