Several suspension packages are available for uses ranging from suburban cruising to climbing every mountain, giving you a chance to tailor your truck to its intended use. But even the most aggressive off-road package is fairly civilized.

On rough road surfaces, with the cargo box empty, our Sonoma did occasionally let us know that it was a truck, not a Cadillac. However, its overall ride comfort was as good as any truck in its class, and better than all but one or two.

The power-assisted steering was tight, with virtually none of the on-center slop common to so many trucks - another big improvement that came with the ?94 redesign. It?s quick, too, giving the Sonoma a sporty feel.

That feel can be a little deceptive, though. The Sonoma was reasonably agile, but the driver who thinks this is a sports car will find that there are definite limits that are easy to find.

In particular, the tail of our 2WD test model was easy to wag during hard cornering, especially on low-traction surfaces such as gravel roads.

Depending on your motoring perspective, tail-friskiness can be either entertaining or terrifying. In either case, think of it as Mother Physics offering a little warning that some restraint is required when driving a nose-heavy pickup.

Our test truck had the version of the 4.3-liter V6 that GM calls "enhanced." In GM-speak, it appears that enhanced actually means wow. Even with a 4-speed automatic, it offered nearly instant response and strong acceleration.