Chevy Avalanche..... your opinions, please

[Claudia1]

DH is thinking about trading in his truck & car for one vehicle. He rarely uses the truck but still does not want to go without one. He drives quite a bit in his car and prefers a smooth ride (he has a Honda Accord).

Please tell me anything and everything about the Avalanche. Thanks!

 

[sunkissed212]

Personally I don't like the look of them. I just don't think they're very aesthetically pleasing. However, that doesn't really matter now does it.

A friend of mine has one and she says that it has been very reliable and has a very smooth ride. I'm not sure how good or bad it is on gas but she hasn't been complaining any more than the rest of us so it must not be too bad!

Good luck.

 

[ckret01]

I love those trucks. If I could afford one I would have gotten one a long time ago. These are so awesome looking. I promised myself my next vehicle will be that one. Good luck with the decision.

 

[wvrevy]

Gas just topped $2.60 a gallon, and the Avalanche gets about 14 miles a gallon in the city. Something you might want to think about...

Oh, and analysts are predicting that number could be $2.75 a gallon by the end of the week.

 

[Christine]

Gas just topped $2.60 a gallon, and the Avalanche gets about 14 miles a gallon in the city. Something you might want to think about...

I didn't think they did that well on gas. My co-worker has one (well, her husband does). She says they haven't been driving it much since the gas prices went up. I thought she told me that got about 10-12 mpg puttering around town.

 

[DVC-Don]

Buy gas stocks.

 

[mudnuri]

its on the same frame/suspension as the silverado's are. If your looking for an accord type ride- that wont be it.

There is way toooooo much plastic on that truck for my taste. We had one for the weekend before my X bought his Duramax and all I could think of was in 2 years of vermont pot holes, everything on that truck would be falling off because its all plastic, and attached with the single use clips.

Brandy

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Not all of them have the plastic ground effects. That is an option.

We have one and love it. I think it rides a lot better than my Beetle.

 

[dejavu]

its on the same frame/suspension as the silverado's are. If your looking for an accord type ride- that wont be it.

There is way toooooo much plastic on that truck for my taste. We had one for the weekend before my X bought his Duramax and all I could think of was in 2 years of vermont pot holes, everything on that truck would be falling off because its all plastic, and attached with the single use clips.

Brandy

You can buy a LT trim level that does not have the plastic- as far as it being built on a silverado platform I seriously doubt it- we traded in a silverado heavy duty on a 2004 avalanche LT and there is a HUGE difference, the avalanche rides better than my trailblazer very smooth and lots of room inside, I don't know if you can compare the ride to an accord because I've never driven one go test drive one to see-we do not have a 4X4 so we do get a little better GM but still it is a truck so you won't be getting 25 miles to the gallon but we do get 16-17. We love ours.

 

[mudnuri]

You can buy a LT trim level that does not have the plastic- as far as it being built on a silverado platform I seriously doubt it- we traded in a silverado heavy duty on a 2004 avalanche LT and there is a HUGE difference, the avalanche rides better than my trailblazer very smooth and lots of room inside, I don't know if you can compare the ride to an accord because I've never driven one go test drive one to see-we do not have a 4X4 so we do get a little better GM but still it is a truck so you won't be getting 25 miles to the gallon but we do get 16-17. We love ours.

You traded a HD,,,,,thats heavy duty, built for towing, plowing an hauling!...thats not the same suspension or frame as a regular 1/2 ton silverado.

I owned an Envoy for 1 1/2 years, and those ride nothing like a silverado...my X still has his HD...but i will tell you that the avalanche we drove, rode just like the Z71 1/2 ton we had....

This is coming from a die hard GM owner.....so I'm not in any way bashing the Avalanche, or the Silverado, or heck even the Envoy....but if your looking for a ride like a car, your not going to find it in the Avalanche...maybe the Escalade car/truck...

Brandy

 

[wdw4us2]

DH is thinking about trading in his truck & car for one vehicle. He rarely uses the truck but still does not want to go without one. He drives quite a bit in his car and prefers a smooth ride (he has a Honda Accord).

Please tell me anything and everything about the Avalanche. Thanks!

Well, we had wanted one for the past two years and finally purchased one last month. DH has also had a truck for the past 13 years and didn't want to give it up.

There are several reasons why we like this vehicle. First, we like having a truck because you need one if you own a home. Second, our children are taller than average and we needed the extra room for the four of us to be comfortable when we travel. Third, it was available with a small V-8 that gets better mileage than the larger engines. Yes, we call it the gas hog because it doesn't get the mileage our old truck does, but that was a V-6 with no power. If you drive responsibly (no jack rabbit starts, coasting to traffic lights, etc.) you will find that you can get 16 mpg in city driving, and 20-21 on the highway. We have been able to achieve this, there is a Driver Information Center on the dash that tells you your MPG. Fourth, we like the way the Avalanche looks, but only without the body hardware. The body hardware is hard to keep looking good in the Florida sun. We also like that the vehicle has higher ground clearance than our truck - comes in handy after tropical storm/hurricane rains!

All of the reports I read about the Avalanche before we bought it were positive, except regarding the mileage. I don't think you will find a full size SUV/Truck that gets good mileage. We didn't consider a smaller SUV/Truck for the reasons I stated above.

Will you still have a car if you buy the Avalanche? If you do, just drive that around town when possible and drive the Avalanche the other times. It has worked out well for us, so far.

Now is the time to buy the Avalanche - before the GM Employee Pricing deal ends. We were not going to buy one until next year, but we went ahead and bought now and saved $10,000 with that and the rebate. We also were able to use $1,200 GM Card savings, too. It was too good to pass up!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

P.S. - Tell your husband that Chevy has finally solved that turning radius problem - it makes tight turns!

 

[wdw4us2]

its on the same frame/suspension as the silverado's are. If your looking for an accord type ride- that wont be it.Brandy

That is not true. It is not on the Silverado frame, it's on the Suburban frame. It has an excellent ride, noticeably better than the C1500 Silverado that we have now.

 

[drakethib]

DH is thinking about trading in his truck & car for one vehicle. He rarely uses the truck but still does not want to go without one. He drives quite a bit in his car and prefers a smooth ride (he has a Honda Accord).

Please tell me anything and everything about the Avalanche. Thanks!

I had one for about 9 months. It was a good truck but there was a twitch in the electrical system that the local Chevrolet place couldn't get right, so I traded it in.

I would see no problem with buying another, but they love gas.

 

[mcnuss]

Just for the heck of it, I used the fuel cost calculator to figure out what my commute would cost if I owned one of these SUV monsters. Based on a 67 mile round trip, and using $2.59/gallon as the fuel price, my commute would cost $12.67 per day in an Avalanche vs. the $6.50 per day it would cost in my minivan (Toyota Sienna, 2001). I actually take a bus and I think I'll quit whining about how much it costs!!

In any case, I guess I fail to see how the "conveniences" can be worth such a tremendous cost. Further, this particular vehicle does not get stellar safety ratings (http://www.automotive.com/2005/12/chevrolet/avalanche/safety/ or http://www.safercar.gov/Index2.cfm). For the kind of money you're talking about spending on this vehicle, I think you can do better both in terms of efficiency and safety.

 

[dejavu]

Just wanted to say that the escalade ext and the avalanche LT are the same. The cadillac has a higher trim level & options offered (obviously). I too have 5 chevys in my garage right now and I can tell you that in the past we have owned, suburbans, tahoes, trailbalzers, silverados and the avalanche drives less like a truck than my silverado and my suburban ever did. We drive it everyday, we have taken on road trips, we have hauled a small trailer behind it and have never had a bad ride- you are doing yourself a disservice to not consider this truck. Just MHO

 

[mudnuri]

Just for the heck of it, I used the fuel cost calculator to figure out what my commute would cost if I owned one of these SUV monsters. Based on a 67 mile round trip, and using $2.59/gallon as the fuel price, my commute would cost $12.67 per day in an Avalanche vs. the $6.50 per day it would cost in my minivan (Toyota Sienna, 2001). I actually take a bus and I think I'll quit whining about how much it costs!!

In any case, I guess I fail to see how the "conveniences" can be worth such a tremendous cost. Further, this particular vehicle does not get stellar safety ratings (http://www.automotive.com/2005/12/chevrolet/avalanche/safety/ or http://www.safercar.gov/Index2.cfm). For the kind of money you're talking about spending on this vehicle, I think you can do better both in terms of efficiency and safety.

When you already drive a truck, gas mileage doesnt really come in to play...at least I think. I know my Envoy didnt get the greatest gas mileage, but that wasnt the main reason I got rid of it. The OP already has a truck, so if she goes with a smaller engine than the one she has now, chances are, she'll get better gas mileage. Of course, that Honda she spoke of blows away any SUV/Truck out there...

Brandy

 

[mudnuri]

Just wanted to say that the escalade ext and the avalanche LT are the same. The cadillac has a higher trim level & options offered (obviously). I too have 5 chevys in my garage right now and I can tell you that in the past we have owned, suburbans, tahoes, trailbalzers, silverados and the avalanche drives less like a truck than my silverado and my suburban ever did. We drive it everyday, we have taken on road trips, we have hauled a small trailer behind it and have never had a bad ride- you are doing yourself a disservice to not consider this truck. Just MHO

LOL could you be my twin? Change your list to GMC models, Suburban,(prior to the yukon XL) Yukon, Envoy, and Sierra, and we've had em all . The X did go with a Silverado on his last truck, but I stuck with GMC's.

I think the OP should consider this truck, I'd pick it over another makes, if it came down to this truck, a Dodge Crew and a Ford Crew, but if it came down to this, and a Silverado or Sierra, I'd go with the "real" truck. I know the Duramax Crew that my X has, sure felt like it was a cut off Suburban. Eliminate the 3rd row and It felt like the front and back seat were the same size as my Suburban's were. I think it was like 2 inches shorter in the cab....but the leg room, head room etc. felt the same to me. We have taken all of them to Florida at one time or another, and honestly, that Silverado was my favorite to drive that distance. Might have had something to do with the Diesel engine, I sorta felt like I was runnin with the "big guys" Or maybe it was the 23mpg?

Brandy

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Add us to the list of Avalanche owners! We are on our second. We had one of the original 2002...build date of July 4, 2001 and now we have a Southern Comfort 2005. This truck is just wonderful! The Silverado is on a coil suspension while the AV is on a leaf spring suspension giving it the smoother ride....same as the Caddy, Suberban and YukonXL. As long as they still make the AV, there will be one in our drive.

For those of you with AV's or would like a TON of info....go to www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com We post there as MrsBubba and WVBubba. In order to see what is happening in your area, you need to log in, but it is ALL FREE, so don't hesitate!

We hope to see you there! Mrs Bubba

 

[wdw4us2]

For those of you with AV's or would like a TON of info....go to www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com We post there as MrsBubba and WVBubba. In order to see what is happening in your area, you need to log in, but it is ALL FREE, so don't hesitate!

Thanks for the link - I set up an account with the login LT1 Lisa. See you there!

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Lisa, glad you joined us! We have met a TON of people through the car club and it is SO much fun! The national get togethers are a blast! Don't hesitate to post and see you soon!