2001 GMC Sonoma Crew Cab 4X4

GMC knew exactly what it was doing, sending me a Sonoma Crew Cab during the holidays. It is the newest edition to their truck lineup, but it could have been the oldest as far as I was concerned. I had trees to pick up, children to ferry, deliveries to make. A four-door pickup was perfect. Which tends to tilt the critical odds in its favor. I prefer to think of it simply as thorough testing. I definitely put this Sonoma Crew Cab 4X4 with SLS trim package through frantic seasonal paces, and it obliged with efficiency and good cheer. An elf of a truck if I ever saw one.
THE GOOD NEWS
This Sonoma Crew Cab 4X4 is about as versatile as they come. First, you have four full doors and an interior nice enough to impress even your visiting relatives. For a compact pickup, it does a pretty good job of being a sedan. Then you have a four-foot six-inch cargo bed for reasonable workload hauling. It comes with a factory-installed bedliner to accommodate a maximum payload of 1111 pounds on the 4X4 model. Trailering is 5200 pounds.

Beneath the hood is GM's Vortec 5300 V6 laying down 190 horses and 250 pound feet of torque. It comes only with four-speed automatic. This powertrain is more than adequate on this light truck, resulting in acceleration that is quick but not jumpy. Four-wheel drive uses the Insta-Trac system, a push button setup that lets you switch from two-wheel drive to four-wheel and from high to low range for challenging terrain. A locking rear differential is a $270 option, which mine had. Extra rugged suspension and four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock are all part of the package, making this truck as willing off-road as it is on-road. Its handling manners also impressed me, especially its agile turning radius. Very maneuverable.

The SLS trim package includes everything from heated outside mirrors and overhead console with compass and temperature gauge to air conditioning, four power windows and AM/FM/CD/cassette sound system. While you couldn't call it plush, it's darn uptown for a pickup. The only options on my truck were that locking differential and a cold climate package.

THE BAD NEWS
If your mother-in-law is coming to visit this year and is over 5-foot 5 and/or has bad knees, you probably want to put her up front. Even though the four doors and full back seat make this a far more passenger-friendly ride than most compact trucks, rear legroom is still at a premium. On the other hand, maybe she won't always want to go along for the ride… Ditto for the somewhat stunted cargo bed. It's not as generous as compacts with lesser cabs, but it's not a square box like Ford's SportTrak either.

GAS MILEAGE
EPA rated at 15 mpg city/18 highway

PRICE
Manufacturer's base, $24,443;
As tested, $26,003

IS IT WORTH IT?
Gosh, that sounds like a lot of money for a compact pickup. But consider that you're getting family transportation, off-road capabilities, a lot of nice extras and a bed for hauling, all rolled into one vehicle. The practical perspective can make the price seem far more reasonable. Needless to say, this little GMC Sonoma 4X4 Crew Cab and I got along just fine.