Base price: $35,865
As tested: $40,220
320-horsepower, 5.3-liter Vortec V-8
Fuel rating:
11 city / 15 highway
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You don't name a truck the "Avalanche" because it's compact. And Chevy's extended cab pickup truck lives up to its name, with room for five adults and a queen size bed in the back. Whether you are out for a night on the town or hauling eight-foot timbers to a construction site, you will be pleased with the physical attributes of this versatile hauler. Sitting high on beautiful 17-inch rims, the Avalanche transcends its full-cabin fraternal twin -- the Chevy Suburban -- and thanks to some great cargo cover moldings, takes on a seriously sporty attitude.
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Chevy kept the road manners of the Avalanche more in tune with a touring automobile than a waste-hauling pickup truck. The surprisingly supple interior appointments pamper the driver and passengers. Our tester came optioned out with a DVD system, XM radio, rearview parking assist and navigation system. The oversized leather six-way adjustable power front bucket seats are built like your favorite recliner. Easy-to-read analog gauges and temperature controls fall right where you would expect them to. When it's time to use the Avalanche for some manly hauling, the rear seats easily fold down, the rear window pops out and the payload length increases over three feet. This bad boy takes the sport utility trend to a whole new level.
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Our tester came equipped with GM's fine 5.3-liter V-8, just more than 300 horsepower and a more than adequate 335-pound feet of torque -- enough to tow a 7,000-pound trailer. Environmentalists won't be doing back flips over the Avalanche's low fuel rating, although we averaged on the high side of the published numbers. The V-8 delivers a smooth if not overwhelming response to your right foot. You can get a 6-liter power plant if you want to increase performance, but you will still be fighting the laws of physics moving this 5,700-pound sled. The Chevy's forgiving suspension offers more than nine inches of ground clearance which should take care of any city potholes and most off-road ditches.
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If she likes macho guys with a sensitive side, she will be head over heels for the Avalanche.
-- Chad Doering |
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