Up front, for the driver, the cabin is trimmed nicely, offers a bit of stitching and displays some upscale materials for a touch of sophistication. The seats look fantastic with a faux carbon-fibre weave and “All Terrain” embossment. There’s a touch of high-tech flare too, thanks to the full-colour touchscreen display in the centre console, the premium-looking climate controls with integrated digital readouts, and the smaller full-colour driver computer display in the instrument cluster. In fact, the Canyon has something largely missing in its segment: a fancy colour interior.

“Hey, guys?? Should we use Medium Grey #1 for the dashboard? What about Medium Grey #2? And what about the seats? Medium Grey #2 as well?” said the folks designing the currently-available Japanese mid-size pickup cabins some years ago. “Well, we used Medium Grey # 2 on everything else, so we better not screw around. Just do everything in Medium Grey #2”.

There’s also a boatload of storage on board for your things of all shapes and sizes: gloves, wallets, pens, change, beverages, sunglasses and pocket-sized technology of all sorts. Numerous charge ports, USB or otherwise, were in immediate reach, and, in what’s probably the best feature ever seen in a pickup-truck ever, there’s a card holder just behind left side of the steering wheel for your Timmies coffee card so you never lose it. You’ll love this feature, and you’ll love the remote start that pre-heats the seats for you when it’s cold, too.

How’s she drive? First, you sit upright in the Canyon, with your legs below you, which is in contrast to the toboggan-like driving position of the Tacoma on account of that machine’s shallow floor.

The tester’s All Terrain package saw a suspension calibration that’s tough and rugged and feels like it’s giving potholes a punch to the jaw: drive over even really rough roads, and it feels like the road is getting the lousy end of the deal. On smooth highways, the suspension is relaxed enough, working with the long wheelbase and commanding driving position for a comfortable confidence. If you’re checking out a model with the All Terrain package, be sure to test-drive it on the roughest roads you can find, confirming that you find the ride to feel tough and solid, not jarring or uncomfortable.

Steering is weighted nicely, especially for use on snow-covered highways: it’s heavy and slow enough to make locking confidently onto one’s line, and making gentle inputs, easy. It’s not razor-sharp or ultra-precise, but the directness to the Canyon’s steering is refreshing compared to so many older-school pickups that use their steering system more as a suggestion box. And in parking lots, even the tested lengthiest-possible version of the Canyon was maneuverable enough to get around with minimal worry of paint swappage.

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