Test drive Chevrolet Avalanche 2001 - 2006 SUV

Chevrolet Avalanche and the world of the future

Where, it would seem, General Motors is another pickup? The corporation is already ahead of the planet all over the production of these light trucks.

But the fact of the matter is that the GM wanted to release a pickup, which only looks like a truck, and in fact a completely comfortable SUV, only with the body appeared almost simultaneously: Chevrolet Avalanche, Lincoln Blackwood and Cadillac Ext, turning the river back. Before them, almost all American SUVs were built on pickup platforms, and these, on the contrary, were designed and made on the basis of SUV. The basis for Blackwood was given by Navigator, Avalanche Tahoe/Suburban, Ext Escalade. With the exception of the cargo compartment and elements of external decoration, they repeat their ancestors in almost everything, except for the image. After all, even the most elegant Cadillac Escalade and the most courageous Chevrolet Suburban do not carry in their appearance that cowboy courage that is present in the most simple pickup. Actually, this is one of the reasons for the appearance of pickups based on full -sized and luxury SUVs. However, our current Chevrolet Avalanche object stood out even more such a futuristic appearance in pickups, no one has yet seen.

The performance of the Chevrolet Avalanche occurred in 2000 at the Detroit Auto Show. The audience accepted the novelty enthusiastically, and a year later the pickup occupied the upper lines of industry hit parades. Avalanche was not like any of the tracks produced to him, and in terms of the degree of transformation of the useful space, he surpassed everything that was on the market, except, perhaps, full -sized Van. Its concept, later used in the design of Cadillac Ext, turned out to be so successful that it forced the production of the chief competitor Chevrolet Lincoln Blackwood, which was just a beautiful comfortable pickup, and not a beautiful comfortable pickup with a highlight, like Avalanche or Ext. The Chevrolet Avalanche style has repeated with some changes in the new GM pickup line of the younger series: Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. True, the original decisions of the transformable body remained the prerogative of the initiator of the style.

The Chevrolet Avalanche of the 2002 model year, which had undergone the first version, fell on our test some changes. They touched the drawing of the front part, circuits and the location of lighting devices, in particular fog headlights, which are now multi -reflex. The PICAPA power unit is the V8 gasoline engine with a working volume of 5.3 liters, with a capacity of 290 liters. With. and the maximum torque of 441 nm. In addition to this, Avalanche motor is installed by a 4.8 liter V8 and a grandi V8 with a volume of 8.1 liters with a capacity of 340 liters. With. With a crazy torque of 617 nm. However, our engine version is recognized as optimal and most universal. CHEVROLET TAHOE of the last generation has exactly the same motor, so there are no problems with the service or spare parts in this area. As they are not with the chassis, since the transmission, drive and suspension exactly repeat those on Tahoe/Suburban.

At the heart of the Chevrolet Avalanche are the strongest hydraulic -formed staircase frame, an independent torsion front suspension on double transverse levers with a stabilizer, and a backdrop five -leaf with a traction of Panar. Only an automatic 4-speed transmission and Autotrack Active 4WD, which is controlled by buttons on the front panel, where the main Auto 4WD, using the Torque ON Demand system, is installed on pickups. The absence of an interdess differential, thus, almost does not affect the driving along slippery routes, although it affects a little controllability in critical modes. Because of her, Avalanche is reluctant to enter the turn under the traction. It is worth dropping gas and the pickupian becomes obedient, like a traveled horse. According to all the laws adopted in modern automotive, the car has more or less pronounced insufficient rotation. The remaining drive modes correspond to the classic 2H, 4H and 4L. The transition to a complete drive can be made on the go at any speed, but to activate the lowering, you need to stop and turn on the neutral. In a reduced transmission mode in the handout of the box, the on -board computer stretches the accelerator pedal, as a result of which you can move much more smooth than without this option. Nevertheless, on a soft melting, due to the thaw of the snow, to tear the wheels into the slip, it turned out to be simple, yet the craving of the motor is very great. Touching from the place when the straight transmission of the hand -box is on the engine makes the engine noticeably strain, but reduces the likelihood of self -repacting on the very first millimeters of movement. Unfortunately, the pickup was equipped with universal rubber, and therefore we were more dragged from side to side, which allowed us to enjoy the flights of snow virgin lands. The sliding out of the rut is very dangerous due to the large wheelbase and developed plastic steps. Due to the first, it is difficult to maneuver, and the second is fraught not only with damage, but also with a thorough stake, they are painfully low.

The Chevrolet Suburban is close to the Chevrolet Avalanche dimensions. The same length of the wheelbase is 3300 mm, the length of the car is 5570 mm and a width of 2020 mm. However, thanks to the convex expanders of arches, a huge relief overlays on the sidewalls of the pickupa looks more energetic and lean.

In the Avalanche salon, such an egregious continuity reigns that the author of the design himself will probably not be able to distinguish its interior from, say, the same. Familiar six shots of the instrument panels, the distributor buttons of the distributor box to the left of it, the machine gun poker sticking out in the parking mode for half a second, everything is well familiar. The same can be said about chairs. The second row is formed in the proportion of 60:40, and in order to throw back the back, you must first raise the pillow. Behind the back we find another pen. With its help, a standard pickup can be made by almost a main semi -trailer, increasing the length of the body from 1600 to 2500 mm. Actually, the transformation procedure is quite laborious, if you do everything alone. Together, we turned Avalanche into a kind of shanda in a couple of minutes. The rotary handles alternately unfasten three panels of the body cover, then the partition is removed between the body and cabin, glass and beam are removed, to which the partition and glass are attached. Now in the body you can load a small sports boat or ATV, bike and several bicycles or twenty bags of potatoes ...

Avalanche patency, and there is nothing unexpected in this, is at the level of full -size Chevrolet SUVs. This is a heavy machine with great inertia, not the best geometric patency in the world and a burdened engine, when piloting of which, in the crossed area, it is necessary to remember the two potentially vulnerable places in the thresholds and the fragmentation. The latter is included in additional equipment, and if you do not need to carry something, then it is better not to put it at all, it clings to any noticeable fracture of the relief on the road. By the way, thresholds can also be removed, they are installed on almost decorative, albeit quite durable, brackets. From below, the pickup is generally not bad. Steel shields cover the radiator and motor compartment in front, as well as a handout. In our car, most of the engine from below was closed by a thick aluminum slab, obviously non -Water origin, although, however, not artisanal production. Despite the defense, traveling off-road should be carefully, because, as one of the fathers of the Russian off-road said, no defense can withstand the blow of a two-ton sledgehammer. If you do not jump on stones, then plastic on the sides and metal from below will be quite sufficient measures. That's what plunged us into confusion is an unusable plastic tank of liters at 120. Of course, it is hidden in a frame and even fenced from a cardan shaft, but still somehow it is wrong, especially since his defense could be turned on In an optional off -road package, as always offered GM on other SUV.

So, Chevrolet once again invented a pickup, endowing it this time with the qualities of a comfortable SUV. And it positions it GM on the market that way. Now it does not seem that only farmers, hunters and adherents of extreme sports, although they, too, can own a car of this kind. It’s not a shame on such a car in a suit with a tie, and in jeans and Cossacks! Preserving glorious traditions and supporting modern trends, Chevrolet Avalanche, most likely, will become the founder of the new direction in Picapo Building and, judging by the latest models of leading automobile companies and their conceptual developments, has already become.

Applications

Full -size American SUVs are traditionally easy to reach the most diverse tuning.
And although the Chevrolet Avalanche is released relatively recently, it is already elevated, engines are already elevated, they are used with might and main for occupation, as well as they lower the suspension, set spoilers, increase the engine power and install nitros, getting almost racing machines.
Recently, whale complexes for off-road tuning have developed and began to produce the most solid manufacturers: Rancho, Skyjacker and Procomp. For example, to install the most popular wheels of 35 inches for roads/off -road use, Procomp, offers an Avalanche suspension elevator at a height of 6 inches. The kit costs (in the USA) $ 1348. The price is rather big, but, given the fact that the front independent suspension is very difficult, quite understandable. He installed it in the workshop in one or two days, and all to the wild, in pampas!

Almost simultaneously with the Chevrolet Avalanche, Lincoln Blackwood appeared on the American market, which was based on Lincoln Navigator, and Cadillac Ext, which was the style base for which was Cadillac Escalade. All of them were positioned as luxury pickups, and Ext was technically almost identical to Avalanche. In terms of comfort, they exactly repeated their basic models, surpassing them in practicality.

From the point of view of the universality of the General Motors model, Ford Motor Company pickups were better, which were also a mixed from the Ford F-150 Supercrew Cab, part of the body and Navigator salon. Blackwood appeared as a concept traffic first, back in 1999. For all its originality, Lincoln did not attract enough attention to win in the market fight against GM, and after the fall of demand in 2001 was discontinued. Cadillac and Chevrolet are successfully sold now, giving an incentive for the development of the topic of pickups luxury.

Text: Igor Gubar

Source: Magazine 4x4 [01/2005]