Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 Overview

Chevrolet's Avalanche is the most innovative truck sold today. Chevrolet has figured out a way to stuff an eight-foot pickup bed and seating for five people into one truck. It combines the comfort of a five-passenger Suburban with the hauling capability of a Chevy Silverado long-bed pickup.

It does this with an ingenious device called a midgate that allows the owner to convert the truck from a cargo hauler to a people hauler within a couple of minutes. With the midgate secured, the Avalanche can carry five people in comfort along with a load of cargo in its 5-foot 3-inch bed. Grab a load of dirt or gravel without any worries of messing up either the luxurious interior or the bullet-proof bed. Lower the midgate and carry a stack of 4x8-foot sheets of plywood; and that's with the tailgate up. Your plywood will stay dry inside the covered bed. Or you can always park an ATV back there.

The Avalanche is an impressive concept vehicle that made it to reality. It solves an age-old practical problem. Easily overlooked, however, is the attention to detail seen everywhere: flush-mounted cargo lights that illuminate the bed, foldaway tie-down hooks, footholds and handholds for climbing up onto the cargo cover. The list goes on and on. The Avalanche is big, slightly longer than a Suburban, yet it feels tight and surprisingly nimble on the road.