The Chevrolet Avalanche began as an impressive-looking concept vehicle for the auto show circuit and made it all the way to production, with most of its innovative features intact. One thing that surprises many people is the size of the Avalanche. It doesn't look that big in photos, but it's big, almost three inches longer than a Suburban. Yet the Avalanche feels tight and surprisingly nimble on mountain roads.Avalanche led the way for Chevrolet's edgy new truck styling now seen on the Silverado and Colorado pickups. Still unique to the Avalanche, however, is its extensive lower body cladding, made of a dark charcoal-colored, practically bullet-proof composite designed to protect the rocker panels from years of flying gravel. The cladding has a practical benefit for drivers who spend a lot of time on gravel, but the Avalanche sometimes looks classier without it. We recently glanced at a black Avalanche without the cladding and for a moment mistook it for a Cadillac Escalade EXT, Avalanche's upscale sibling. In other colors, the Avalanche looks cleaner, if a bit plainer, without the cladding. Best of all, it can be deleted for a $600 credit. For 2005, Chevy has released an exterior trim package ($635) for the LS that adds bright accents to the door handles and mirrors, plus stainless steel assist steps, making the base truck look a little richer. The Avalanche is essentially a modified Suburban; they share about 85 percent of their parts. Like the Suburban, the Avalanche is built on the same superb platform as the Silverado full-size 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 behind them, 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. Quite an achievement. The most interesting feature of the Avalanche is the Midgate, which allows this clever conversion. Avalanche has a folding rear seat like a wagon or SUV; the Midgate is essentially a folding bulkhead behind the seat. Flipping the seat bottoms forward and folding the seatbacks down, and then folding down the Midgate, provides flat cargo space and access to the cargo bay behind. Instead of carpet, however, the Midgate is backed with a tough composite material impervious to gravel or anything else you can throw at it. In fact, 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. 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. We hauled an ATV down dry dirt roads in the high desert of Southern California and minimal dust came into the cab. Only a slight breeze reminds you that your ATV is sitting on the back seat. GM engineers achieved this through extensive tuning in a wind tunnel, and with a pair of flying buttresses that also add structural rigidity to the chassis and can be used as tie-downs. Alternatively, you can fold down the rear seats but leave the Midgate in place, which creates 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 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. 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. Everyone likes a truck that's serving ice-cold drinks.
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 some nice features, including a coffee warmer and the ultimate in sun visors. Map lights are provided and there is generous illumination throughout the cabin. Flush-mounted cargo lights in the bed rails make a big difference when loading cargo at night. Multi-zone manual climate control is standard on all models. An automatic battery-protection system shuts off the lights 10 minutes after you turn off the ignition. Optional power-adjustable pedals move up to 3 inches closer to the driver. That's a real boon for shorter drivers, who won't have to sit as close to the steering wheel in order to reach the pedals. Because the airbag is mounted in the steering wheel hub, the adjustable pedals become a safety feature for women of average height or shorter. The adjustable pedals have a memory function, adding convenience for mixed-height couples. Avalanche comes with a six-speaker CD stereo, and you can order premium Bose speakers and a six-CD changer. XM Satellite Radio is a real feature when traveling because the stations don't change as you drive across the country and you can stay in touch by listening to FoxNews, CNN and other 24-hour news and sports stations. It's nice to have around town for listening to your favorite music (rock, country, classical, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, whatever). The optional rear-seat video system includes a DVD player with a flip-down screen to keep munchkins entertained on long journeys. 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. OnStar is well worth having for safety, security and convenience. It works well as a navigation system and there's nothing to program: Simply press the blue button and a human operator responds through a speaker, ready to provide directions and other assistance. OnStar always knows the location of your vehicle. The staff will notify authorities of your location if your airbag goes off and you do not respond to their calls. Or you can press the emergency button and they'll send out the troops. They can unlock your doors if you lock your keys inside. They can direct you to the nearest gas station or help find a good restaurant or motel. If your vehicle is stolen, OnStar can pinpoint its location and direct the authorities to apprehend and recover. |
