The ingenious Midgate gives Avalanche the unique ability to serve as a five- or six-passenger SUV or a full-size pickup. To begin its conversion to a pickup, simply lower the 60/40 split-folding bench seat. From there, the Midgate can be lowered for a completely secured cargo area, or the rear window and three-piece cargo cover can be removed for more room to transport larger items. The rear window can even be stowed in the Midgate. Avalanche may look like fun, but it’s built to work hard too. It offers up to 8,100 lbs. of towing capacity to haul big items such as a boat. Avalanche doesn’t sacrifice ride quality when it’s loaded up either, thanks to its coil-spring suspension. Avalanche packs the right combination of horsepower and torque to handle bigger payloads. The standard Vortec 5.3L V8 engine puts 320 horses to work along with 335 lb.-ft. of torque. That means Avalanche has the power under the hood to take what’s inside or behind it where it needs to go. The 2011 Avalanche continues to offer an all-encompassing approach to safety, including head-curtain side-impact air bags and front seat-mounted side-impact air bags. These are in addition to the standard dual-stage frontal, driver and right-front passenger air bags with the Passenger Sensing System.
