At writing, that Tacoma, as well as competitors like the Nissan Frontier and to a lesser extent the Honda Ridgeline, were getting old. Even a brand spanking new copy of one of these was engineered and designed a decade ago. And the Canyon, albeit having been on sale overseas for a few years, is hoping some of the fresh, modern and new bits it has to offer will help to steal some of the pie from the limited selection of mid-size trucks available here, now.

Does being the newest truck on the block make the Canyon the best? Maybe so, maybe no. But, being a new model does enable the promise of great fuel efficiency with the most modern powertrain lineup in the segment at the moment. Direct injection, six-speed transmissions and variable valve timing are all on offer, in all models. Get the 3.6L V6 for 305 horsepower, and you’ll leave the output of the same model-year Toyota and Nissan V6 engines, which are bigger in displacement, in the dust. Torque is at or near the top of the field, too.

Canyon also offers hazard-detection safety systems yet unseen elsewhere in the mid-size segment, and OnStar, and connected-car technology with Smartphone control, to the same effect. If it’s 3 am and you’re worried about your Canyon’s tire pressure, you can check it on your iPhone. Or, start your Canyon in the Park N Fly the second your plane lands. Or look up a cool attraction on your phone and send it to the truck’s navigation system. Slick.

Like selection? Pick two or four wheel drive, two or four doors, four or six cylinder power, several bed and body combinations and a bunch of trim levels to fine-tune beyond that. And when you’re done with those decisions, there are accessories as well.

Helping you with truck-guy things are features like the torsion-rod equipped tailgate, which opens without slamming or making nearby folks think you’re angry, and without accidentally whacking your clumsy offspring in the noggin. The rear bumper has integrated corner steps, easing the climb into the box when you’ve got truck-guy things to do back there. And, if your truck-guy things involve towing, Canyon can haul up to 7,000 pounds.

Ahead of the box, the tester’s second seating row offered up adequate room for two adults, and some extra floor space and shallow storage bins beneath with the seat bottoms flipped up. The area beneath the seat bottoms is shaped awkwardly, seems to waste a fair bit of space, and made your writer wonder why it’s not just flat, like, say, a Honda Ridgeline.

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