v6 4.3 vortec is great for getting up on the highway in a hurry and good to show off with. the truck looks good and with the highrider package its even neater.

The interior could be a little neater but i dont care its a truck. i like the lights and grills of the newer models better than my model.

This truck is great for someone still in highschool. You cant fit too many people in it and it has a great engineand looks great.

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none.

Solid frame compared to other 85's, very extremely reliable, Doesn't burn any oil at all, and the body is in pretty good shape

There is a little bit of rust on the passenger side rear fender above and below the tail light, and the guy I traded for it hit a fence post on the front driver's side fender.

I've had my little pickup for about a month or so, and it's great. In the first 2 weeks I had it, my father and I moved an entire house of furniture to another home, and it didn't have a speck of trouble. It's a 2.5 liter Throttle Body Injected 4 cylinder that's great on gas and good for gettin where I have to get. The only problem I've found is that the hydraulic clutch has a leak in a gasket, but it's getting replaced this weekend. Overall GREAT TRUCK.

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My uncle had an 89 chevy s-10, 4.3liter V6, X-cab, and my 85 4cyl. is just as good or better than his was.

Reliability, Power

Small cab, Goes through starters like tic-tacs, Interior trim items

This is one bulletproof truck. I have the 4.3l engine with an automatic and this truck won't die. I have almost 300K miles and the exterior still looks good. Chevrolet makes the worst interiors, I have been breaking door panels, handles, and glove box covers for years (who needs that stuff anyway). I have seriously abused this truck and have had only minor repairs, it still had the original fuel pump until 6 months ago. It's easy to work on and the parts are readily available at most salvage yards.

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My dad had a mid-90's model S-10 and replaced the automatic transmission 3 times. Only buy an 88 or 89 model, Chevy screwed up the Vortec after that.

Zippy four cylinder engine mated with five speed manual transmission. No problems varying highway speeds from 50-70 mph in fifth gear - didn't feel like I needed to downshift.

Can be started in second gear - carefully - without too much chugging. Convenient for rolling starts, merging into traffic from yield lane, etc.

Gearbox and shifter placement felt right to me - not quite as carlike as the mid-1980s Mazda trucks I'm familiar with, but close. Better than the Ford Ranger shifter.

Clutch is light and easy to get accustomed to - should be a breeze for most novices to manual trannies.

Upshift light indicator - fine for novices.

Gauges instead of idiot lights - from left to right: oil pressure; temperature; speedometer with illuminated blue LED digital odometer and trip meter (not visible when key is off); fuel gauge; battery voltage meter. All are properly oriented to 12-o'-clock OK position for at-a-glance verification.

ABS brakes.

Power steering with wheel tilt adjustment.

Driver and passenger side airbags, on/off switch for passenger side clearly visible on driver's side, operated by ignition key.

Comfortable fabric covered bench seat with fixed headrests on driver and passenger side. Easier than average to slide forward and back whether seated or outside vehicle. Seat back tilts forward to allow access behind seat for tire jack and the usual tiny amount of storage space for the odd shotgun or deer rifle, jacklight and a few sticks of dynamite for fishing convenience. (Yes, I am joking...as far as you know...)

Good size glove box, map compartment, candy receptacle, whatever you use that thing for.

Center floorboard mounted console, forward of the shifter, seems conveniently located to me, altho' reaching down for a cup of coffee may be a bit of a stretch.

AM/FM/cassette stereo sounds fine, tho' I'm no car stereo freak. Good thump in the bass, clear enough highs in the treble. Controls are convenient for no-look operation.

Standard rear bumper has threaded opening for trailer mounting ball, hidden beneath a removable plastic cover. Can support tongue weight up to 200 lbs and towing capacity up to 2,000 lbs. (You'd almost certainly want the manual transmission if you plan on towing a boat or anything else.)

Haven't had this truck long enough to spot any real weaknesses, tho' I believe I'm being fairly objective since I regard the vehicle as a necessary tool and not an object of lust (don't get me started on sailboats tho').

Shifting to reverse is a bit tricky with the manual transmission - takes a bit of practice to avoid stalling. Engine is so quiet it can be difficult to determine when it's revved up enough to feather out the clutch. Seems strange to call that a weakness, tho'.

Be nice to have a split bench seat, which I think is optional on slightly higher priced Sonomas.

Steering wheel tilt adjustment release lever isn't intuitively placed, but works fine once you know where it is.

Like on other recent GM vehicles the button to reset the trip odometer or shift to the odometer is located where you'd be tempted to reach *through* the steering wheel while driving. GM should relocate this button since it's just an electronic control now and not a mechanical device. Meanwhile, don't reach through the steering wheel while driving. That could be dangerous.

No tachometer with base model.

No indication of what gear you're in - this feature could be useful to novices to manual transmissions.

First gear seems to top out rather quickly requiring almost immediate shift to second gear. No problem for experienced drivers but could require a bit of practice for novices.

Overall favorable impression based on just a few days unladen driving in dry conditions.

Body integrity, fit and finish seem very good. Truck interior on this base model is suprisingly nice - fabric covered bench seat with headrests; attractive plastic moldings and fittings on doors; dash is very similar to higher priced models. Floor board is all black plastic/vinyl, which is fine with me. Floor mats can be bought inexpensively.

This truck is equipped with the Tiger Paw tires that other reviewers here have noted exhibit good wear at the expense of traction. With only 14,000 miles at time of purchase on this used truck the tires have little wear and they do indeed slip a bit during takeoff on unpaved roads or roads with sand or gravel residue (typical in my rural area).

I suspect slippage would be less with an automatic transmission. But this peppy four-banger wants the five-speed manual transmission. Just take care feathering that clutch/accelerator.

On the washboarded curves in my area there was a bit of side hop but only at speeds a bit faster than I'd normally drive. You want sports car handling, buy a sports car. I recommend the Pontiac Sunfire (read my review elsewhere on this forum).

Highway handling is very good overall - call it excellent for a pickup. Same for rural road handling. Absorbs potholed, bombed out, cratered and otherwise ridiculously neglected roads with aplomb - roughly comparable to a Mercedes sedan, which is the best handling passenger car I've driven on bad roads (once you get used to the recirculating ball steering).

I'm no Car & Driver expert so I confined my "skidpad" test to a large unpaved parking lot. What can I say - it handles nicely doing circles and figure eights, forward and in reverse at moderate speeds. Again, you want sports car handling...

Interior is plenty comfy for my 5'11" 190 lb frame. Looks like there's enough room on the fabric covered single bench seat for both my grandsons, including the car seat the little one still rides in - tho' the fellow in the middle may have to watch my elbow during shifting.

No squeaks or rattles in this gently pre-owned, low-mileage sample.

Don't know the specs on the five-speed's gear ratios but reverse is roughly comparable to something between first and second gears - takes a bit more feathering than first to avoid stalling out or chattering.

Braking seemed very good to me despite some complaints from other reviewers. ABS brakes do take some getting used to, and vary considerably from one make of vehicle to another. Unlike ordinary brakes the best method with ABS is to just stomp down on 'em as hard as possible and let the electronics do their job. None of the annoying chattery feel of earlier ABS brakes on other vehicle types.

I've given this truck 5 stars for overall value based on our cost for a low mileage three-year-old sample; and 4 stars overall based on limited experience as the current owner.

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Overall very comparable to the mid-1980s Mazda and Nissan trucks I drove as a salesman for those dealerships. Better than the Ford Ranger. I'm referring to the driving experience and not longterm reliability, cost of maintenance, etc. Despite the statistical evidence that Japanese brand trucks are more reliable, we went with the Sonoma because we've been pleased overall with a longterm relationship with one particular dealership and, especially, their excellent service department.