Booth & LaDuke Motors

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Driving Impressions

The ride and handling of the current Avalanche is remarkable and a big improvement over the pre-2007 models. It benefitted from a new front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, which transformed directional stability and responsiveness. Fully boxed frame members increase strength without adding bulk, giving the suspension a more solid base from which to manage ride dynamics. It all works.

Steering is more crisp than casual. Occupants suffer little head toss over moderate pavement heaves. Body lean in corners is nicely controlled.

The brake pedal feels firm and delivers controlled stops, even when a green light at an intersection seems to jump directly to red, compelling a hurried stomp on the pedal with nicely limited nose dive.

There's less wind buffeting in the open-air configuration than you'd expect. For this, credit those flying buttresses behind the cabin, which channel most of the bluster back to the rear out over the bed.

The Avalanche is a workhorse for routine hauling. The bed is designed to take abuse and offers a 1,408-pound payload rating.

Tow ratings for the 2008 Avalanche are 8,200 pounds for 2WD, 8,000 pounds for four-wheel drive. This latest-generation of GM trucks make superb tow vehicles. We've found they feel extremely stable at highway speeds with a 20-foot enclosed car trailer.

The engines deliver adequate acceleration, very linear. This is a heavy truck, however, weighing over two and half tons, empty, and we wouldn't call it quick. The transmission changes gears smoothly, although kickdowns for merging onto freeways or overtaking slower traffic were sometimes slow.

The 5.3-liter iron-block V8 is rated 320 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque. Its equipment code is LY5, which is important only to distinguish it from the LMG-code engine, which is a no-cost option with identical output ratings but is designed to offer flex-fuel capability to run gasoline or E85 ethanol.

The 5.3-liter V8 in the 4WD Avalanche has an aluminum block to save weight. Coded LC9, it is flex-fuel capable but rates a marginally less mighty 310 horsepower and 335 pound-feet of torque.

The L76 aluminum-block 6.0-liter V8 is optional for LT and LTZ models with 2WD or 4WD, rated 366 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. It is not flex-fuel capable.

All three engines feature Active Fuel Management, which electronically shuts off four of the eight cylinders when they are not needed. A good idea in theory, but a truck as heavy as the Avalanche needs all eight cylinders nearly all of the time. In our test time with the Avalanche we covered around 300 miles, about evenly between interstate and local surface streets; and the telltale in the dash information display indicating cylinder de-activation appeared only on downhill grades or while coasting, most often to a stop. And this was without ever towing anything, or hauling anything heavier than a week's groceries. Running entirely on gasoline (we had no access to ethanol), our 4WD Avalanche averaged 14.4 mpg.

2008 EPA fuel economy estimates are 14/20 mpg City/Highway for either 5.3-liter engine with 2WD, 14/19 mpg with 4WD, 12/17 mpg for the 6.0-liter with 2WD or 4WD.

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