Chevrolet offers two transmission choices - a five speed manual or the 4L60-E four-speed automatic. We would have loved to try this truck with the manual but even with the automatic transmission engine performance was very responsive. When combined with the excellent suspension we never felt as if engine control was a problem, even on the winding roads of the Pacific Coast Highway that demand quick braking and rapid acceleration.

The Xtreme is built on S-10?s ZQ8 suspension, which is two inches lower than the base truck's suspension. Before the Xtreme customers would buy a stock S-10 and then have it lowered somewhere else. Unfortunately, some might have fallen victim to lousy conversions and voided their warranty. The S-10 offers a factory-warranted solution.

NVH levels in the Xtreme were also very good. The S-10 was somewhat noisy at highway speeds but otherwise it was quiet around town. There was one noise that did drive us up the wall though and that was the left hand turn signal. When you indicated to the rest of the world you were about to turn left the 'clicking' of the indicator seemed to originate from the far right side of the cabin. The suspension adequately dampened all but the largest speed bumps and potholes, but be careful when pulling into steeply raked driveways as the low ground clearance can cause the front air dam to scrape the pavement.

Gas mileage averaged around 17mpg during combined highway and city driving. Considering the mixed conditions we had the mileage was still lower than we expected but the 4.3L V6 also has quite a bit of displacement which makes for a hungry truck. It's a tradeoff of performance for fuel economy.

Summing it Up

Unlike other factory hotrods like the Ford Lightning, Chevrolet's consumer strategy with the Xtreme is to offer a factory customized truck but not forget the budget conscious buyer. And unlike aftermarket conversions, you can get a stock truck with some great features, and it?s all rolled into the vehicle?s financing.

Depending on the options you choose, the S-10 Xtreme is a great piece of resonably priced entertainment. Perfect for driving the roads of Southern California.