The Avalanche is essentially a modified Chevy Suburban. Fully 85 percent of its parts are the same. GM's engineers created the Avalanche by lopping off the rear roof structure and quarter windows of a Suburban, and redesigning the back end. When the rear seats are in place, there's a 5-foot 3-inch bed - long enough for most tasks. It's built on the same superb platform as the Chevy Silverado.The Avalanche comes standard with a lockable hard bed cover rated to support 250 pounds. You can walk all over it. Fold the midgate down and you can fill the bed with drywall, close the tailgate, and drive home in a downpour without any fear of seeing your drywall turn into wetwall. PRO-TEC composite material is used for midgate, tailgate and portions of cargo box. The composite material is exceptionally durable, and resists dings, scratches and dents. Two Top-Box Storage compartments on either side of the cargo box provide a combined 3.5 cubic feet of lockable storage space; the compartments have drains, so they can be filled with ice and used as coolers. The Avalanche is the first to feature Chevrolet's edgy styling for upcoming full-size pickups and SUVs, starting with the 2003 Silverado. Another styling element that distinguishes the 2002 Avalanche is its extensive use of body cladding. The cladding does serve a purpose: it is a composite material that's tough as iron and is impervious to flying gravel. Standard wheels are 16-inch cast aluminum; 17-inch wheels are optional. Two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive models use the same suspensions and have the same ground clearance.
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