I like the looks of both equally well.
The early ones, like mine, remind me of a cladded Avalanche with all of the cladding painted.
The newer models look more like a regular Avalanche but with a Cadillac front end.
Other than that, I consider the EXT's to just be an another Avalanche with a few performance tweaks and a few more shiney parts.
I would be more than happy to drive a newer or older Ava or EXT.
When I bought my EXT, I was not specifically looking for an EXT, but this one showed up at a local dealer and was priced in the range that I was hoping to spend.
I wanted something old enough that I could pay cash for it, but not so old it would be totally worn out.
I might have been able to get an Avalanche that was a year or two newer for the same price I paid for my EXT, but I do not regret purchasing this truck in the least.
Now that I have it, I am working to repair or replace anything and everything that is worn out, missing, or broken so that I will be able to drive it for as long as possible.
I could not be happier with my truck.