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2002 Chevrolet Avalanche Large Sport Utility Truck
Chevrolet Avalanche Sport-Utility Truck Brings A Modular Cab
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Price Range: $30,965 to $46,000
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Engine: 1500: OHV 5.3-liter, V8; 4WD 2500: OHV 8.1-liter V8
Configuration: Front Engine, Rear 2WD and 4WD; Power 4-disc Brakes,/ ABS/TCS, 4WD: Autotrac; Power Steering, recirculating ball
Dimensions: Wheelbase: 130.0 inches, Overall length: 221.7 inches
Maximum Trailer Towing: 1500 2WD: 8300 pounds; 1500 4WD: 8100 pounds; 2500 2WD: 12000 pounds
Fuel Efficiency: 1500 2WD: MPG 14 city / 18 highway, 1500 4WD: MPG 13 city / 17 highway
Safety Features: Driver, passenger and side airbags; ABS, standard
ANZA BORREGO DESERT, Calif. -- We're trucking over rivers of sand that wind through California's bleak Anza Borrego Desert, all tires scrambling for traction on an unusual vehicle that contains the abbreviated bed of a pickup plus the big cabin of a sport-utility wagon with four passenger doors and two rows of seats for six.
It's the bright new idea for a multi-purpose vehicle that functions as both SUV and truck. That explains the tag of Sport-Utility Truck, or SUT, from designers at Chevrolet, who call this clever machine the Avalanche.
Derived from Chevrolet's super-size Suburban wagon, Avalanche discards Suburban's boxy rear bay in favor of the shortened bed of a pickup truck.
There's a husky V8 engine under the hood, a four-wheeling traction mechanism that automatically channels torque to all wheels, and a heavy-duty automatic transmission to manage so much power.
But Avalanche has yet another feature that sets it apart from other vehicles: The back wall of the cabin also works as a door. It folds down flat after the back seat tumbles forward and forms a generous extension of the truck box, which grows from 63 to 97 inches.
This back gate -- dubbed by Chevrolet as a Midgate -- consists of three parts that include a window at the top, a mid-level brace and the composite lower panel.
You can drop the panel, leaving glass and brace in place and creating a horizontal portal 49 inches wide to accommodate long and thin loads like tubular poles, lumber or 4x8 sheets of plywood. A three-piece rigid cargo cover tops the truck box and seals bed and contents from weather. You may also detach the window and stow it in a special slot on the panel, then fold the panel with attached brace to completely open the rear space. That enables Avalanche to carry bulky items, such as a stack of sacks filled with building material like mortar, or a portable generator, a couple of dirt bikes, even a big snowmobile or personal watercraft. Or you could leave the Midgate locked in place but the rear seatback folded down to make a water-tight compartment stuffed with fragile goods while the truck bed in back carries other wares not sensitive to the weather.
And since the seatback of the rear bench divides 60/40 in sections, you might even carry a person as well as cargo in the rear quarters.
All of these configurations come about because of the Midgate on Avalanche, and Chevrolet packages the concept exclusively under the banner of a Convert-a-Cab System.
It translates to extraordinary flexibility for adapting Avalanche into a myriad of shapes to handle so many combinations of cargo and riders.
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