CNNMoney.com: Avalanche--Big Truck for the Real World

[Steel4ring]

Chevy Avalanche: Big truck for the real world
It's a compromise between an SUV and a truck but the redesigned Avalanche gets a lot just right.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
July 28 2006: 3:18 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Let's get this fuel economy issue out of the way right off: The Chevrolet Avalanche is not a vehicle I would recommend to anyone who really wants to save gas.
But if you're on the fence between a pick-up truck and an SUV, the redesigned Avalanche offers most benefits of both while getting about the same fuel economy as the smaller and less usable Honda Ridgeline and Ford Explorer Sport Trac. (With a 5.3-liter V-8, it gets an estimated 20 mpg on the highway and 15 in the city compared to the same for the smaller V-8 or V-6 Sport Trac and one mile better for the V-6-powered Ridgeline.)
As a group, they're called SUTs, for sport-utility trucks. The Avalanche is a bit more expensive than those trucks, but it's also bigger and, in other ways, offers more utility. My top-of-the-line LTZ test model, which had everything including a rear-seat DVD player and navigation, cost about $47,000.
When looking at SUTs, a category that would seem to offer a lot to those with light-duty truck needs but heavy-duty families, the Avalanche takes the high ground.
The recent redesign makes the Avalanche genuinely handsome, too, and adds ride and handling qualities that make it a pleasure to drive. There are times when one wishes for a bit more power, but it isn't a lumbering beast, either. The ride is smooth and even with enough road feel to maintain a sense of real control.
The Avalanche's interior - its entire body except the bed, in fact - is shared with the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV. That's a good thing. The fake wood trim on my top-of-the-line LTZ tester looked better than some real wood trim I've seen.
Yes, it's big and rear visibility can be a problem as with any large truck. Fortunately, my test truck had the optional rearview video camera. Frankly, I wouldn't get one of these without it both for ease of parking and safety.
From its birth in 2001, the Avalanche has been one of those rare vehicles that built its success on what seemed like a gimmick. The Avalanche comes, standard, with a three-piece hard, water-tight cover that latches down over the bed. The real trick, though, is that the back of the passenger compartment folds down, allowing the bed to stretch straight into the cabin.
You can open the bed and the back of the cabin creating a huge open space stretching from the tailgate to the front seats. Or you can leave the bed cover on and just fold down the bottom half of the cab wall, creating a big enclosed space.
Most of the time you would just leave the bed cover on and the five-seat cab closed and use the truck bed as a mammoth lockable trunk that's accessible from either end. The tailgate is kind of heavy, though, and lowering the cab wall requires some lifting, as well, so this isn't a vehicle for the weak.
Of course, regular SUVs have plenty of cargo space, too. The downside, though, is that that cargo is housed behind glass, available for anyone to see and think about snatching. A neighbor who works for a beer distributor eyed the Avalanche as a replacement for his SUV. He's had problems with thieves breaking in to take cases of samples.
Also, some cargo just isn't nice to have in your passenger compartment. (Bags of fertilizer or pieces of greasy machinery come to mind.) The Avalanche's bed is covered in a tough plastic lining, easily hosed out or just left harmlessly filthy.
The Avalanche has always offered a truck that works the way most people actually use trucks. Other than the obvious "comes with the territory" issues -this is a big vehicle - there really isn't anything major wrong here. It might not be your cup of tea, but it's well-brewed and worth taking a sip if you're in that end of the market.

[shadams]

Well I have to say, my dad just bought an LTZ Avalanche with all the goodies except Nav and it is very very nice. A big improvement over last years, and a HUGE improvement visually from the first Avalanche.

[wtgkb8]

Glad to see they mention the similar fuel economy estimates for the smaller, less usable competitors are basically the same as this Suburban sized SUT. I laughed one time I was at a honda lot and glanced at the sticker of a FWD Ridgeline (247hp/245tq 3.5L V-6...epa 16/21) and saw it got similar mileage as a RWD Tahoe (320hp/340tq 5.3L V-8...epa 16/22). And that is w/ tahoe's supposed acient 4-spd auto vs. honda's 5 spd auto.

[rsbaker]

I love that "smaller and less usable Ridgeline comment". Ridgeline has gotten a free ride in most automotive press. I have never seen it seriously compared to real trucks, be those trucks full or midsize domestics or other Japanese trucks from Toyota or Nissan. Ridgeline can not do what all of those other trucks can do in terms of power, towing or off road capabilities, and that in-bed "trunk" is a dumb idea if you ever carry anything in the bed of the truck. You will than have to remove it just to open this compartment.

With respect to the Avalanche it is and has always been the first truck I would consider if I were in the market for a truck. I really liked the body cladding of the previous model. I hope Chevrolet will offer a similar more aggressive looking off road or sport model.

[VibenPontiac]

Originally Posted by rsbaker

I love that "smaller and less usable Ridgeline comment". Ridgeline has gotten a free ride in most automotive press. I have never seen it seriously compared to real trucks, be those trucks full or midsize domestics or other Japanese trucks from Toyota or Nissan. Ridgeline can not do what all of those other trucks can do in terms of power, towing or off road capabilities, and that in-bed "trunk" is a dumb idea if you ever carry anything in the bed of the truck.

That was pretty sweet! Kind of brings up an interesting point. If truck and SUV buyers are now the people that truely need this kind of vehicle (as we're been told almost every other day) then Honda is screwed! The Ridgeline can't do anything close to what Chevy, Ford, Dodge, hell even Toyota (sorry) offer so the only market is for people that don't really the full capabilities of a full size truck - customers that don't even exist anymore if you believe the talk.

[JonCR96Z]

Seems to be an unbiased and informative review. It was compared to comparible vehicles, something that doesn't usually happen in automotive news.

[JM9777]

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1/TOC01ARCHIVE

I think this link has been posted before, but I bet the Avalanche can also go faster than 55 mph when it tows a 4000-lb load. And it would probably beat the Ridgeline's real-world 9.27 mpg when towing.

[chevygurl72]

i read in a previous car and driver and they gave it a bad review, when the avalanche came out they really had nothing to say bad about it.

[Boiler]

Originally Posted by JonCR96Z

Seems to be an unbiased and informative review. It was compared to comparible vehicles, something that doesn't usually happen in automotive news.

I guess that's what happens when your stock goes up.. haha