Chevrolet Avalanche Truck Review
Truck Reviewer
The Chevrolet Avalanche has been around since 2002 but it certainly isn’t showing signs of age. This handsome truck owes much of its good looks to great SUV design and its Suburban roots. Chevrolet did an excellent job when they turned it into a pickup, retaining all the comforts you would expect and then cleverly adding the Midgate. This gives it incredible load-lugging flexibility. Standard you’ve got 5 feet, 3 inches of cargo bed. Midgate down and rear window removed you have 8 feet. With tailgate and cargo cover locked you can have one very big, secure box. There are other combination but you get the idea. The Chevrolet Avalanche will carry up to 1,598 pounds any way you like! It will haul too – over 8,000 pounds depending on model. We wouldn’t want you to get the idea it’s some big ungainly beast though. It steers surprisingly quickly for a 3 ton vehicle and is decently rapid too. When you’re done with the hard work for the day you’ll be quite happy to hose out the back (the high-friction plastic coating makes this particularly easy) and then take the family out to dinner at your favorite restaurant. The smart Chevrolet Avalanche certainly won’t look out of place in sedan company.
The current Chevrolet Avalanche is available as 2 or 4-wheel drive. There are three trim levels, LS, LT and LTZ, all sharing a rumbling 5.3 liter V8 that puts out 335 foot pounds of torque and 320 horsepower. Power meets transmission through a six-speed auto box that’s slick and has well-judged ratios. It’s big but it’s no slouch. As for what you get as standard, even the base model Chevrolet Avalanche has deeply tinted rear glass, side steps, powered driver seat, dual zone air conditioning, CD stereo, USB, Bluetooth and more amongst its comprehensive specification. In fact If we listed all you get we would simply run out of room here! The LS gets more goodies, with premium Bose sound, rear parking assist and a more advanced navigation system, while the range-topping LTZ adds beautiful 20 inch polished alloys, leather seats (the front are ventilated and heated) and even a rear-view camera. There’s an additional – and very popular – option of an off-road package called the Z71. In addition to uprated shocks and springs there’s a skid plate and high-capacity air cleaner. The looks are also more purposeful, with fender flares, modified front fascia and tubular steel side steps.
None of the models are short on the things you expect, and there are a few you might not. Standard safety features include driver and passenger air bags, traction control and ABS. There are still more options available for those who want to build themselves the perfect, versatile all-rounder. If you are looking for a truly flexible vehicle that can be workhorse one day, entertaining SUV the next and comfortable family car the next then it’s difficult to see where you will find a much better choice than the remarkable Chevrolet Avalanche.
(4 Users voted, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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