Introduced last year, the Chevy Avalanche is an impressive concept vehicle that made it all the way to production. One thing that surprises many people is the size of the Avalanche. It doesn't look that big in photos, but it's big, three inches longer than a Suburban. Yet it feels tight and surprisingly nimble on mountain roads.The Avalanche is essentially a modified Chevrolet Suburban; the two vehicles share fully 85 percent of their parts. So like the Suburban, the Avalanche is built on the same superb platform as the Silverado pickup. GM's engineers created the Avalanche by lopping off the rear roof structure and quarter windows of a Suburban, and redesigning the back end. When the Avalanche's rear seats are in place, there's a 5-foot 3-inch bed, which is long enough for most tasks. When that's not enough it converts into an 8-foot bed by taking over the rear seats. The bed is protected by a well-designed lockable cover rated to support 250 pounds. You can walk all over it, and the cover keeps your cargo dry, clean, and safe from thieves. Fold the Midgate down and you can fill the bed with drywall. Close the tailgate and drive home in a downpour without any fear of seeing your drywall turn into wet wall. The Midgate, tailgate and portions of the cargo box are made from a composite material called PRO-TEC. This material is exceptionally durable, and resists dings, scratches and dents. Two Top-Box Storage compartments on either side of the cargo box provide a combined 3.5 cubic feet of lockable storage space. These compartments have drains, so they can be filled with ice and used as coolers. The edgy front styling of last year's Avalanche gave it a unique look among Chevrolet's full-size light trucks. For 2003, Chevrolet has applied the same look to the Silverado pickup (but not the Suburban and Tahoe), so the 2003 Avalanche doesn't look quite as different as it did before. However, the Avalanche is still distinguished from the Silverado by its more exaggerated fender flairs, and by its extensive body cladding. The composite cladding, which is darker in color for 2003, does serve a purpose: It is as tough as iron and impervious to flying gravel.
This year, the Chevy Avalanche interior benefits from extensive improvements GM has built into all of its 2003 full-size trucks and SUVs. Multi-zone manual climate control is now standard on all models. A new instrument cluster promises better readability.
Safety improvements for 2003 include dual-level air bags with an automatic passenger-sensing system. Other improvements for 2003 extend to things you can't see, such as a new electrical system architecture. The standard alternator now produces 145 amps, and an automatic battery-protection system shuts off the lights 10 minutes after you turn off the ignition. New entertainment options for 2003 include a DVD player and XM Satellite Radio. The 2003 Avalanche offers a new family of radios with RDS (Radio Data System). A six-speaker CD system is standard with bench seating; order the bucket-seat option, and you can get premium Bose speakers and a six-CD changer. Most of the interior features of a well-trimmed Suburban are found in the Avalanche. That means a comfortable cabin for passengers and good ergonomic design for the driver. The seats in the Avalanche are identical to the first two rows in the Suburban. The Avalanche comes with a coffee warmer, and the ultimate in sun visors. Map lights are available; in fact, Chevrolet has provided generous illumination throughout the cabin. Flush-mounted cargo lights in the bed rate very high on our coolness scale and can make a big difference when loading cargo at night. Of course, the most interesting feature on the Avalanche is the Midgate, which allows the Avalanche to convert from a five- or six-seat SUV with a 5-foot, 3-inch cargo box, to a two- or three-passenger pickup truck with an 8-foot, 1-inch box. The Midgate works similarly to a folding rear seat in a wagon or SUV. Flipping the seat bottoms forward and folding the seat backs and Midgate down provides flat cargo space and access to the cargo bay behind it. Instead of carpet, however, the Midgate is backed with a tough composite material impervious to gravel or anything else you can throw at it. But there's more: The rear window of the cab can be quickly removed and stored out of harm's way. The bed cover comes off in three pieces and slides into a nice fabric bag; these pieces attach to the side of the bed to minimize the space they take up. Now you have a fully functional pickup with an open eight-foot bed. You can park an ATV in back, with the front tires and fenders where the rear seat was moments before. Of course, this results in an open-air driving experience; there's nothing separating you from the open pickup bed. But wind noise is minimal, with no buffeting. Only a slight breeze reminds you that your ATV is sitting on the back seat. GM engineers achieved this through extensive tuning in the wind tunnel, and a pair of flying buttresses that also add structural rigidity and can be used as tie-downs. Alternatively, you can fold down the rear seats but leave the Midgate in place, which leaves cargo space inside the cab; there's nearly 54 cubic feet of interior cargo volume with the rear seat folded and Midgate in place. The new-for-2003 Driver Convenience Package ($717) includes power-adjustable pedals, which move up to 3 inches closer to the driver. That's a real boon for the vertically challenged, who won't have to sit as close to the steering wheel (and air bag) in order to reach the pedals. The adjustable pedals have a memory function, making it more convenient for mixed-height couples to share the same truck. The Driver Convenience Package also includes an eight-button, steering-wheel-mounted control system that the driver can program to access trip-computer functions, as well as OnStar and entertainment systems. Dual-zone automatic climate control also comes as part of the package. XM Satellite Radio ($325) offers 100 coast-to-coast digital channels, including 71 music channels (more than 30 of them commercial-free) and 29 channels of sports, talk, news, and children's entertainment. Chevrolet claims that XM's sound quality is close to that of a compact disc. An optional rear seat entertainment system ($1295) includes a DVD player with a flip-down screen to keeps rear-seat passengers entertained. It comes with two sets of wireless headphones, auxiliary audio/video jacks, a remote game plug-in, separate audio controls for the rear compartment, and a mute button. Dual front and side-impact air bags are standard equipment. For 2003, Chevrolet has added a smart system that measures the weight in the front passenger seat, as well as seat-belt tension, and automatically de-activates the air bag if a small child is sitting there. The bag re-arms when an adult sits in the seat. Also new for 2003 is a dual-level inflation system that expands the bags less forcefully in a less-severe impact. LATCH child-seat anchors are provided in the front passenger seat, and in the center and passenger-side positions of the rear seat. |
