2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LT

The Avalanche would be just another four-door pickup if it weren't for the folding partition that separates the passenger compartment from the cargo bed. So, although the news for 2007 is that it's now underpinned by GM's new GMT900 full-size-truck platform, the stuff that makes it an Avalanche remains. That center partition is called the Midgate, and it also has a removable rear window. Also returning is the three-panel, hard-plastic cover that turns the 63.3-by-50.0-inch truck bed into a lockable trunk. These pieces - the window, the Midgate, and the bed cover - can be removed or folded independently, which makes for several cargo-carrying possibilities. For example, when the rear seats are folded, the Midgate, which is hinged at the floor, can be opened onto the rear seats, thus extending the length of the pickup bed. Drop the Midgate, but leave the rear window and bed cover in place, and you have a rather large, lockable storage compartment. Or you can remove only the bed cover and haul large dirty items without soiling the cab. Or you could remove the rear window - it stows on the inside of the Midgate - to haul especially bulky items. We could go on, but you get the picture.

Like the original Avalanche that debuted in 2001, the bed is layered with a high-friction plastic that keeps things from sliding around but is still smooth enough for easy garden-hose cleanups. Also returning for 2007 are the lockable storage compartments - complete with drain holes - in the sides of the bed that can serve as handy beverage coolers.

Thankfully, the tacky plastic body cladding that marred the original won't be returning, and the new truck is as handsome as the old one was garish. Dimensionally, there's not much to report. The '07 truck is fractionally shorter and narrower but a smidge taller, which translates into a bit more interior headroom.

It probably sounds as if the Avalanche simply got a reskin, but that notion fades when you open the door and see the new dash and center console that look tidy and well organized. The interior is handsome and offers such features as a navigation system, satellite radio, and a rearview camera for backing up.

The biggest change, however, is how this nearly three-ton brute goes down the road. It's still sort of a lumbering beast that feels big and grips the skidpad at only 0.71 g. But a quicker steering ratio added a bit more liveliness, and the improvements in refinement and ride quality are palpable. The front portion of the ladder frame was stiffened so there's none of the front-end jiggling over washboard surfaces that plagued the old truck, and the ride is now as good as a Cadillac's.

Under the hood of our test vehicle was the familiar 5.3-liter V-8 coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission. Now with 320 horsepower - 25 more than before - this setup never seemed to breathe hard but didn't make the new model any quicker. The sprint to 60 mph still required a merely adequate 8.3 seconds.

There is an optional 355-hp, 6.0-liter V-8, but you can only get it in the top-of-the-line LTZ that starts at a heady $40,125 for the two-wheel-drive model. We tested a two-wheel-drive mid-level LT that had few option boxes unchecked and rang in at $39,829. That's a pretty stiff price, but the base LS model is $32,690, or about three grand more than a similarly equipped Chevy Silverado conventional four-door pickup that doesn't have the cargo cleverness.