2005 Chevrolet Avalanche Preview

Mixing Up the Truck Market

Chevy isn't known for radical thinking but with the new Avalanche, which combines the best aspects of a SUV with those of a pickup, they get it right.

From The Driver's Seat

Because the Avalanche won't go on sale until early June, Chevrolet asked that journalists not discuss its on- and off-road driving characteristics. But since the Avalanche is largely a Suburban, we will tell you what we think of that. The Suburban is one of the most tractable full-size SUVs on the market, largely due to its precise steering and an excellent, five-link rear suspension that isn't at all truck-like. The reason for this is that it doesn't use leaf springs, the kind of bouncy suspension that dates back to covered-wagon days, yet is still used on most pickups today.

In addition to the Avalanche's suspension, its drivetrain and 285-horsepower, 5.3-liter V-8 also come straight from the Suburban, and again, although we can't tell you how they work in the Avalanche, know that in the Suburban they perform ably -- shifts are smooth and precise, and low-end torque is excellent.

Now that you've read between those lines, the real skinny on the Avalanche is that it's like a rolling Swiss Army knife, a tool that seemingly can do everything.

For example, if you have a tall load, you can remove the accordion-like tonneau and fold it up. Straps are included to cinch it into the truck bed. Once you take off the cover, the bed of the Avalanche can carry tall loads, like a washing machine, which gives it advantages over both SUVs and pickup trucks with permanent bed caps.

Chevy also looked back at old-school innovations like built-in tool boxes over the rear wheel wells, which for decades had been common on pickup trucks. The Avalanche has these, and Chevy also created drain holes for them, so you can dump wet bathing suits or snorkeling gear into them after a trip to the beach -- or fill them with ice and use them as coolers.

Chevy even created a stacking system for a variety of loads: In the side wall of the bed are notches that accommodate three, 53 3/8-inch two-by-fours. Slot two boards into place horizontally at the front and rear of the bed and drop dry wall or plywood on top of these -- instantly the bed is divided like one giant two-shelf bookcase.

On the bottom shelf (the rubber-matted floor of the truck bed) you've got more than a foot of elevation for cans of paint or groceries (that third two-by-four slots into place about a foot into the tailgate to stop groceries from sliding forward). On top of the building materials, there's room to stack even more -- and all of these things are protected from the elements by the tonneau.