Driving Impressions: 2003 Models

[BgBlkAvalanche]

2003 2500 HD
2003 1500 HD with 4W steering
2003 H2

OK, I have had the privelage to drive some of the new 2003 trucks and compare them to my 2002 Avalanche. Here are my likes & dislikes of the "new" ones:

2500HD & 1500HD QS4:
1) both have cloth bucket seats & power, but no lumbar or power recline
2) Stereo's with Bose speakers: Nice radio controls, not the sound quality I expected from Bose though
3) The "reminder" chime is LOUD, blaring out the speakers
4) window switchs are utterly dumb: reverse of what you think, and near impossible to avoid the express down feature
5) I like the new console, but the rubber tray mat ends up on the passenger seat every time the lid is opened
6) At night, the high beam indicator in the IP is blinding bright
7) The rubber floor mats are nice
All the buttons on the IP and steering stalks have removed the wording, and now have signs: they make no sense!
ie: traction control is a cross section of a tire with TC lettering. How many people know what the cross section of a tire looks like?! 4WD is now 2 & 4 with arrows up & down?
Since both are LS models, the dash has a button with a little light shining down, but it is the cargo lamp, not fog lamps like I assumed.
9) The 1500 has a button for ride control, a tire going over a bump kinda looking sign. Nobody I ask can figure this one out.
10) I like the new steering wheel design
11) The QS4 is cool, but very vague in the manual of the difference between 4WS & tow mode. Had to figure it out on my own,
12) There is a plastice panel /cover next to the gas pedal on the hump/carpet. I catch the side edge of my shoe on it all the time.

H2 Hummer:
1) Only one problem: I want one.... in Black!

More later as I get more miles on each one

 

[Skidd-au]

2) Stereo's with Bose speakers: Nice radio controls, not the sound quality I expected from Bose though

Is it really bad or just that you expected it to be really good?

 

[SJProwler]

I expected a bit more low end from the Bose but all in all, it's not bad for a factory installed system. It doesn't have any distortion no matter how loud you like your music.

The window controls at first are confusing and I didn't understand why GM would install such an animal until I saw the same type switches on both a Lexus and a Honda. After you are used to their operation they're ok.

On my Av' the rubber mat in the console lid is attached and has never fallen out. I do like the console in the '03 much better than the '02's I looked at but that is a personal preference.

The "drive by wire" throttle pedal could use a bit more tension, doesn't feel like the standard GM Accelerator. It's a bit too "light".

 

[TexAv]

My console rubber mat isn't attached and does fall out. It will be attached as soon as I find that doublesided tape though.

Agree about the throttle. It doesn't have enough resistance but is ok once you get used to it.

Happy Trails

 

[MagicMtnDan]

2003 2500 HD
2003 1500 HD with 4W steering
2003 H2

OK, I have had the privelage to drive some of the new 2003 trucks and compare them to my 2002 Avalanche. Here are my likes & dislikes of the "new" ones

So if I understand your post, you own a 2002 and you've put some miles in 2003's, and you've given us the highlights of your experience? (for examlpe, the center console rubber mat fell out of the one you drove).

I don't understand the point of sharing your brief experience in 2003's from someone who doesn't own one or live with one. I'm sure you're giving your perspective as a 2002 owner on the new 2003's but what's the point really.

How about if I drove a 2002 for a while and gave you my opinion on it since I'm a 2003 owner. I'm sure I could come up with a whole list of things that "bug me."

I'm not "offended" by your post or your list. I'm not trying to "defend" the 2003 Av - it doesn't need it. I'm just wondering what value there is in picking those nits.

By the way, if you really like the H2 (you didn't mention what you like about it) you must not have spent any time inside it. If the quality of the interior was anywhere close to the quality of the 2003 Av that I own, I would've considered buying an H2. The interior of an H2 has more plastic in it than a pickup truck's bedliner - there's acres of ugly, cheap-looking plastic panels and parts.

In my opinion, there is no comparision of the interior of the H2 vs. the 2003 Av. For $53,000 it should be at least as nice as the Av's - heck for that price, it should be as nice as the Cadillac's interior.

 

[OldRed]

Hello:

Yesterday I drove home a Victory red '03 Avalanche. I must commend all you "old time" AV owners, you've shown your smart and have great taste in 4D wheel vehicles. I am a long time owner of SUV's (since '84) and have had 2 pickups and assorted other vehicles. I must admit the AV seems to be a different breed than even I am used to. I was a Mopar man,
Ford Man and since '92 have been a Chevy Man. I jumped to
Chev as soon as they went to the new body style of 4 WD in late '91 early '92. I had 3 Ford Bronco's preceding that and always liked them. Chevy proved to be the better vehicles, in
my preferences anyway. This is my first 4 door, I'd always had the 2 door Sports. This AV rides like nothing I've had before, very much a large limo type ride--but handles much crisper. A real eye opener. The seats on this vehicle are also a large cut above anything else I've had, truly impressive comfort. Since I am far from an Avalanche expert about all I can offer is the fact that this vehicle seems to offer more of the good things from the car and truck worlds rolled into one complete machine than most of the other available "rides" out there. But then I guess most of you have known that far longer than me!!

 

[Nightshark]

Congrats and welcome.

You have seen the light!!!! ?The Av is the ultimate in all purpose vehicles!!!

Yes, you are very smart. ?I commend you on your high intelligence. ? You also have very good taste in trucks. ?

Sorry, I am tired and rambling......

Seriously, welcome to the club. Hope you have money set aside. The modding bug spreads fast 'round here...

 

[OldRed]

Thanks for the kind words. To be truthful about money being set aside.......How about I am Broke!! Just completed a big home addition and now this (won't even mention some other of life's little throw in's). I have already ordered running boards however, due to the fact that I have a short wife and some very old bones that don't take well to stretching out on some days.
Since I am an older American (love those new stereotypes) I 've
already had my days of major modifications back in the hey day of the muscle cars and can now resist the urge much better.
To say nothing of suffering from that dreaded American disease
LackofFundus. That's always the biggest problem. But to the others I say...Keep truckin, upward and onward as far as your ingenuity and yankee $$$$ can take ya.

 

[Biggie_hayward]

CONGRATS ON THE NEW TRUCK AND WELCOME TO THE SITE

 

[Skidd-au]

Hey congrats Old Red, glad that you like it.

 

[blanchtheavalanche]

Welcome OldRed,
You will enjoy this site and your AV even more!

Enjoy

Rita

 

[Rltturn]

Well, I got my AV in December. Sales rep tossed me the keys and said take it home for the weekend. Left my Dodge Truck at the dealership. I wasn't even on the freeway before I realized that the old Dodge rode like a piece of crap! Have learned a lot from this site about my Dark Gray Metallic purchase and dealing with water spots and keeping it bright and new looking. For the price, there is not a better all purpose truck to be had. As for the Hummer. My B in law got rid of his after four weeks. Gas milage sucked and other things too. Real story is my son. "Why are you gonna buy something like that at your age? Geez Dad!" Has borrowed it four times to haul stuff since. I suspect just to drive it. "Damn, Dad. It rides and handles better that grandmom's Caddy!" Yup!!!
I agree about the accelorator pedal but wondering if that may not be an adjustment problem with the acc pedal and brake pedal adjustment features on the driver's door. Gonna experiment with that. Very happy AV owner so far. And name for the truck? Avy of course! Not very origina or masculine I admit. But, I mean, I can't very well ask my wife are you going to take the Dark Gray B**** from hell to the store? And, as for the granddaughter, Pop Pop's truck is the THING to ride in. Love it!

 

[danlwil]

Welcome Old Red to the AV Xperience

Happy Modding!

 

[midlifecrisis]

Welcome OldRed!

I love my 02 Av so much I seriously considered getting a second one to replace my car recently and become a 2 Av family. But when I fill up the Av at the gas station and get 14 mpg, I just can't justify getting a second Av. So I ordered a 04 Grand Prix instead.

The Av continues to exceed my expectations. We just reached 15,000 miles last weekend on a camping trip. The Av tows our camper effortlessly. And we loaded up six people in the Av to drive around in, and everyone was comfy inside.

So far the only problem I've had is moisture in one fog light, and I've been too busy to get it to the dealer to fix. Honestly, I was waiting for other things to go wrong so that I could get them all fixed in one trip. I'm still waiting......is this really a first year model?

 

[PaulP]

First let me say, this is not a personal attack on anyone. I don't understand how we can complain about things that work just fine but there not exactly as we expected or were use to. Sometimes we get use to something and when it is different on a new truck we complain about it. I could complain that everytime I get into my new Av I reach down for my old B&M floor shifter and it's not there(old habbits die hard). The feel of the gas peddle is not a problem. Feet and legs can be controled and move at any speed you like. Some may like it to be stiff and other's may like it softer but either way it's not a problem. I know the Av is such an excelent truck that we need to nit pick but seriously the gas peddle or power window buttons etc Again not a personal attack just my two cents.

 

[colonelmotox]

Rlttrn- my 24 year old son came home to visit and found the Av in the garage- with every mod imaginable including engine. He drives s fiberglass modified firebird 6 speed and races cars for an avocation so imagine my surprise when he said, "dad, can I just move into your truck and livein there?". Now I am really glad I did not purchase the Hummer II like I wanted [decided against it since cannot haul anything]. I have been very impressed with this Avalanche and still could not have survived without the kind help and guidance of the brilliant people who read these threads and participate. I know how you feel with your son's remarks. Makes you feel great! [as if the Av did not already do that].

 

[OldRed]

Just a comment on the PaulP comment. Right ON! Perhaps not
all on this forum are old enough to remember when purchasing
a new vehicle (we are talking 60's and 70's here) you could easily compile a list of 10 to 20 things that outright didn't work or were defective from the get go. Now we get peeved when things don't work exactly as we expected. Any chance we are all getting just a mite spoiled these days.?? Just a thought.

 

[TXAVy]

2003 2500 HD
2003 1500 HD with 4W steering
2003 H2

OK, I have had the privelage to drive some of the new 2003 trucks and compare them to my 2002 Avalanche. Here are my likes & dislikes of the "new" ones:

I like comparison tests, but I suggest you compare apples to apples instead of driving 2003 HD Pickups and comparing them to your 2002 1500 AV or a H2 SUV. If you can't get your hands on an '03 AV you'd be better off driving the 2003 Suburbans instead.

2500HD & 1500HD QS4:
1) both have cloth bucket seats & power, but no lumbar or power recline

How does this compare to the same level cloth seats on your '02 AV or the '03 Hummer? Is there an option for upgraded seats on any of those vehicles?

2) Stereo's with Bose speakers: Nice radio controls, not the sound quality I expected from Bose though

How does the radio compare to the '02 AV or the '03 H2 radios?

3) The "reminder" chime is LOUD, blaring out the speakers
4) window switchs are utterly dumb: reverse of what you think, and near impossible to avoid the express down feature

The window switches are definately different, but very intuitive once you realize that you're pulling up on the lever to raise the window, and pushing down to lower the window. They've been used on several foreign cars for years now.

5) I like the new console, but the rubber tray mat ends up on the passenger seat every time the lid is opened

Hmm, mine has never moved except when I pulled it out to clean. Perhaps the one you drove was not attached properly or fit badly?

6) At night, the high beam indicator in the IP is blinding bright

It is pretty bright, there's a thread on the board about how it can be adjusted by the dealer though. Waiting for a reply on how it worked out.

7) The rubber floor mats are nice

Aha! You DID say you were going to post things that you liked and disliked. I was beginning to think you didn't like anything.

All the buttons on the IP and steering stalks have removed the wording, and now have signs: they make no sense!
ie: traction control is a cross section of a tire with TC lettering. How many people know what the cross section of a tire looks like?! 4WD is now 2 & 4 with arrows up & down?
Since both are LS models, the dash has a button with a little light shining down, but it is the cargo lamp, not fog lamps like I assumed.

Every vehicle made by every company is going more and more to graphical depiction of controls instead of textual. Some controls don't lend well to graphical depiction, but you can become familiar with all of the indicators with a brief glance at the owner's manual. A number 4 with an arrow up or down was pretty intuitive for "4-High" and "4-Low" to me. I guess if you didn't know that 4-wheel drive vehicles normally have a choice between the two and what those meant you could be confused though. The dash should have two buttons for Cargo and Fog lamps and the picture is different for each, but since they're both lights it's difficult to have significantly different pictures.

9) The 1500 has a button for ride control, a tire going over a bump kinda looking sign. Nobody I ask can figure this one out.

AVs don't have this one, but it or something like it have been on several other vehicles for some time. It normally lets you adjust the amount of rebound damping in the shocks to give either a slightly softer more comfortable highway ride, or a stiffer, "sportier", better cornering setup.

10) I like the new steering wheel design

Yay! Another feature that you liked. Seems that lots of '02 owners are curious about the steering wheel controls and mods on how to get them. I like 'em too.

11) The QS4 is cool, but very vague in the manual of the difference between 4WS & tow mode. Had to figure it out on my own,

This would be very difficult to describe to anyone who doesn't do enough towing to know why there should be a difference. My understanding is that in both modes the back tires turn the same direction as the front tires at higher speeds (over 40 or so) to reduce body roll, trailer whip, and chance of sliding the rear end in low traction conditions. When going slower in 4WS mode the back tires turn OPPOSITE the direction that the front tires do so that your cornering radius is decreased. When going slower in Towing mode I think the rear tires are either fixed and don't turn, or turn less than normal. This helps keep you from jacknifing the trailer when backing up. You can of course choose whatever mode you want if you really need the super tight maneuverability while backing up with a trailer.

12) There is a plastice panel /cover next to the gas pedal on the hump/carpet. I catch the side edge of my shoe on it all the time.

H2 Hummer:
1) Only one problem: I want one.... in Black!

You've driven an H2 and that's all you have to say? Come on, we want details! Give this comparison some meat.

More later as I get more miles on each one

I look forward to the continuation of the review and more apples-to-apples comparisons.

 

[chevyone]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth, the 2wd AV's do have a option for Ride control for '03.As for the symbols, most of GM?s (and most car company?s) new vehicles are changing over to the ISO international symbols for all dash and cluster controls, even the AC controls, such as a snow flake instead of A/C and the symbols of fog lights, instead of the text Fog Lights. I do admit that this does take a little bit of time to get use to, but I don?t really see it as a problem. The Bose stereo adds a separate amp and a good low end punch over the standard stereo. The ?02 and ?03 AV?s ride the same (no major suspension changes). The biggest difference that I like in the ?03 is the dual Zone HVAC system, this really is a great system, and if you have a better half, that always seems to like the temperature different then you, this is a big plus on long trips.

I work for GM in the Truck Engineering dept., and I have driven every one of our trucks across the country, including the Hummer H2, and I personally like the AV and the Suburban the best. I just purchased a Dark Grey Metallic Z71 AV, I think this is the most useful vehicle on the market. The AV?s ride is like a suburban (which it is built on the suburban frame), but has the usefulness of a pickup and SUV together. I really love this truck, it is by far the best truck I have owned to date. I?m glad to have found this great site, and I?m also happy to see that so many people like their AV?s. Keep up the great work on this site guys.

 

[joelis]

I work for GM in the Truck Engineering dept., and I have driven every one of our trucks across the country, including the Hummer H2, and I personally like the AV and the Suburban the best. I just purchased a Dark Grey Metallic Z71 AV, I think this is the most useful vehicle on the market. The AV?s ride is like a suburban (which it is built on the suburban frame), but has the usefulness of a pickup and SUV together. I really love this truck, it is by far the best truck I have owned to date. I?m glad to have found this great site, and I?m also happy to see that so many people like their AV?s. Keep up the great work on this site guys.

Welcome Chevyone! Good post.

It is good to know that some who really knows whats what picks the Av for their own vehicle. I couldn't agree more. I've owned over 30 vehicles in 20+ years of driving, and the Av is simply the best overall vehicle. Period.

I'd almost have to say that Chevy "got lucky" on this one.

 

[OldRed]

May I add just .01 to what Chevyone wrote. Although I have
only had the AV for a week I feel the comments are just so "right on". I keep feeling that the ride quality will just go back to that of a 4wd vehicle, but instead it just continues to impress. The AV is just another breed, a departure from what one expects a vehicle of this substance to be. Back in '92 when I made the switch from Ford to Chevy the thing that stood out was the handling. My '93 blazer (the Tahoe started out as just a Blazer) was very much a step up from the Ford's that I had driven. The AV just took the best of the handling and imported a ride to truly set it apart in the world of 4 wheeling. The comfort level is also very noteworthy, with a set of front buckets that have to rank among the best.

 

[The_Grizz]

My console rubber mat isn't attached and does fall out. It will be attached as soon as I find that doublesided tape though.

Agree about the throttle. It doesn't have enough resistance but is ok once you get used to it.

Happy Trails

I am planning on getting a small patch of velcro to hold the mat on. That way if I need to take it out to clean it would be easier then double sided tape.

 

[TXAVy]

I work for GM in the Truck Engineering dept., and I have driven every one of our trucks across the country, including the Hummer H2, and I personally like the AV and the Suburban the best. I just purchased a Dark Grey Metallic Z71 AV, I think this is the most useful vehicle on the market.

...

I?m glad to have found this great site, and I?m also happy to see that so many people like their AV?s. Keep up the great work on this site guys.

We're glad you found the site too chevyone. It's always nice to have a resource on the inside. Hope you stick around and enjoy the site and the info here with us.


Grizzz/TexAv,

I double-checked my rubber mat on top of the console container and for '03 it is not "attached" to the lid at all. It just molded rubber with a nice snug fit. If I dig at the edge with my fingers I can get it to lift up a bit and pull the whole thing off. But as long as it's clean (not armor all slippery) when I put it on the lid, it sticks whenever I open the lid and has never fell out.

Hope that helps.

 

[ASAGOT]

I have a 2003 Z71 and love virtually everything about it except possibly the brakes. Could be a little beefier cosidering the mass involved. Also, being a bit older than the average owner (56)I find that this truck along with this web site make me feel like a kid again. Every time I add a new mod my wife and kids all laugh but I don"t care because I am having fun. I don't remember the last vehicle I had that was this much pure fun. And remember guys this is not a Rolls or a Bently, its just a darn fine truck!

 

[SnowTrojan]

Hi all, I'm new here. I guess I'll add my 2 cents too...

I've spent the last month looking around for a new truck (for me to own for the first time). Admittedly I'm a Dodge lover (currently driving a 1999 Ram Quadcab). I was actually trying to decide between the 2003 Silverado and Ram, then got sucked into test-driving an Avalanche. Guess which one rated the best?

As much as I loved the Ram's ergonomics and looks, the ride was almost as bad as my '99 Ram... felt every bump on the freeway. My friend actually thought I was riding the brakes! The turning radius sucked too.

The Silverado was superior in most of the mechanics and drivability.

But the Avalanche... damn! The ride on a Z66 was smooth as silk, and the drivability was better overall. I liked it so much that I'm now waiting on the paperwork for a 2003 Avalanche in Pewter.

What sold me on spending the extra $$$ was the ultimate usefulness of it and the "Without Body Hardware" option ... no offense, but the gray plastic wasn't my taste, and it's not like I'd need it much in the concrete jungles of LA. Without the body armor, it looks almost elegant