The thickly upholstered bucket seats feel good to sit in on both long and short rides and offer plenty of support. The driver side bucket was powered allowing for quick adjustments.

The S-10 Xtreme came with the extended cab and sporting an optional third door on the driver side. The third door makes it very easy to throw items you want to keep out of the elements in the back of the cab - which proved convenient for keeping our luggage dry from the airport to our hotel during a rare late-winter downpour in LA. In the extended cab you can normally fit up to four people in the S-10, but instead of a bench seat the S-10 comes with side-mounted rear jump seats. The rear seats are pretty cramped even for short trips unless you are under 10 years of age. With the optional rear door you lose one of the jump seats but you gain extra room for a third passenger and additional storage in the side of the door.

On the outside the S-10 comes with two bed options - standard fleetside or "Sportside". Our truck had the curvaceous "Sportside" option but you pay a price for style because unlike the fleetside bed, which is as wide as the truck's cab, the Sportside box can't haul as much stuff as the regular bed can. We don't expect people who buy the Xtreme with the Sportside bed to worry too much about the decreased cargo capacity.

The Victory Red paint job fit the Xtreme's personality beautifully. It's not so much a 'fast as a speeding bullet' red like a Corvette as it is a 'hey, pay attention to me' red - perfect for cruising Santa Monica or Hollywood Boulevard. The color nicely complements the stepside looks and carries over to the body-color grille, bumpers, and special Xtreme front air dam (with integrated fog lamps).

Five spoke 16" aluminum wheels unique to the Xtreme in the S-10 lineup round out the sport truck looks.

On the Road

The Xtreme's optional 4.3-liter engine proves as sporty as its appearance. Making 190 horsepower at 4400 rpm and 250 lb.-ft of torque at just 2800 rpm, the Vortec 4300 ensures the sport truck?s performance matches its looks. A four cylinder engine is standard but we won't even comment on putting that engine in this truck. The Xtreme begs for the six.

Part 5