I drive the 4cyl canyon as a work truck everyday, not a bad little truck. The rears do get grabby after a rain, just like the s-10 did. I didn't need to get my pads/shoes changed until 85-90k. Had a abs sensor ring on the front hub come off (intresting to say the least), transmission went at 120k (4L60E) same thing happened in the s-10. Other than that I've had no problems and I'm approaching 140k after 3years of driving.

As far as towing goes, I would also consider what sort of elevation changes you are going to encounter. I know for a fact my s-10 would not have made the tow from Tampa to Road Atlanta, just didn't have the balls to get up the mountains. The colorado/canyon are also available with a V8 if I'm not mistaken, which might be a better choice. Like a previous poster said look at a full size trucks too. You can get a reg. cab short bed 1500 and have almost the same room as the x-cab canyon. Not to mention would be better towing with the bigger V8.