The seats are new. The relocation of the shoulder belt anchor from the outboard side of the seatback to the B-pillar allowed a slimmer, lighter and more secure seat assembly, and we appreciated that. We thought the bucket seats could use more thigh support, however, and they felt more bench-like than sporty.

The rear seats offer adequate and decently contoured space for adults, even those a few inches taller than six feet. Rear seatbacks don't recline, nor do they fold all the way flat with the head restraints in place, unless, that is, the front seats are moved almost all the way forward on their tracks.

The fit and finish impressed us. Tolerances between panels were tight. The wood grain trim didn't quite pass the authenticity test, but it added at least a hint of upscale. The optional leather upholstery and other materials favored durability over luxury without looking or feeling cheap.

Outward visibility is about what's expected from a full-size pickup. The hood drops away fairly steeply from the base of the windshield. The flying buttresses hamper quick lane checks, although the large outside mirrors compensate somewhat. When deployed, the roof-mounted, rear seat video screen for the optional entertainment system pretty much fills the middle portion of the inside rearview mirror.

In all but one measure, those aforementioned five or six occupants enjoy as much if not more room in the '07 Avalanche as in the '06. Front seat hiproom, for instance, grows by more than two inches, rear seat headroom by more than an inch. Rear seat hiproom drops by an infinitesimal two-tenths of an inch. It's like sitting in the first two rows of a Chevy Tahoe. The new Avalanche also equals or marginally betters the interior dimensions of the most comparably configured competition, the Ford F-150 SuperCrew shortbed.

The midgate is what separates the Avalanche from other pickups. First, with the midgate and bed cover in place, you get a four-door truck with a huge, lockable trunk. Fold the seats down and the trunk gets even bigger. Lift off the bed covers, fold the seats back up, and it's a pickup with a short bed. Think of it as a Chevy Tahoe with a short pickup bed. Finally, fold those rear seats and the midgate and remove and stow the back window and bed cover, and it's transformed into an open-air hauler with room for all sizes and shapes of cargo, from regular-size sheets of plywood to a brace of off-road motorcycles or an ATV.

Folding the midgate but leaving the back window and bed cover in place provides 101 cubic feet of enclosed, mostly secure, contiguous storage space, about the equal of seven-plus car trunks. The bed measures 63.3 inches with the midgate in place, 97.6 inches with the midgate folded down. By comparison, an F-150 SuperCrew's shortbed is 67 inches long. The supporting structure for the bed cover is sturdy enough to support a a 250-pound man. This can be a useful feature. We've walked on the cover and found it quite stable. The cover incorporates two, lockable storage bins on each side just forward of the tailgate, but the height of the bed's walls make them hard to reach by anybody shorter than five-foot-eight. On the other hand, they are water tight and fitted with drains, making them usable as coolers. This last feature can make the Avalanche the center of activity at a tailgate party.

We found converting the Avalanche from SUV to pickup to be a fairly easy process once learned for the type of people who buy full-size pickups. But it does take some time, patience and even a little strength because the panels covering the bed weigh 20 pounds a piece and can be awkward to handle. It's best to leave them at home when not being used. Also, the rear glass panel must be carefully snapped into a holder when removed. Don't let your buddies do this for you. All of this takes a few moments of unhurried activity to perform. It's serious car stuff, sort of like putting up the top on an old convertible, but not as serious as trying to put the soft top back on an old Jeep.

Driving Impressions

Chevy did more than merely re-skin the Avalanche for 2007. Substantive and substantial work under the hood and to the underpinnings has delivered a new Avalanche improved in virtually every respect.

Most remarkable is the upgraded ride and handling, with especial emphasis on the handling. A new design for the front suspension coupled with rack and pinion steering, replacing the somewhat archaic recirculating ball system Chevy has been using for decades, has transformed the Avalanche's directional stability and responsiveness to steering inputs. Fully boxed frame members increase stoutness without adding mass, 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 much less than in last year's Avalanche. Firm brake pedal feel returned controlled stops, even when a green light at an intersection occasionally seemed to jump directly to red, compelling a hurried stomp on the pedal. At such times, a diving front end was the dominant suspension dynamic.