Chevrolet has iterated more than a few times it will continue to hit the ground running with special editions. While some have been awesome, others have been … let’s say a tad watered down from concept to production. Okay, we’re looking at you Silverado Special Ops.
But, rejoice pickup truck-ians. Here is something that has actually transcended concept to production quite well. Feast your eyes on the Chevrolet Silverado High Desert. After two years, Chevrolet has decided to grace us with a production version of the 2014 SEMA Show concept truck. And it looks like exactly what you think it looks like: the dearly departed Chevrolet Avalanche.
We say Avalanche because it possesses the one thing many loved about the past pickup truck: a lockable, covered cargo bed. The system installs over the roll-formed, high-strength steel bed to add dual side storage bins and a three-piece hard tonneau cover. Inside, a cargo divider can be raised to secure smaller items, or lowered to access the full length of the bed floor. So, yes, you could say it’s quite flexible.
“The High Desert package blends the capability and utility of Silverado with the refinement and luxury of Suburban,” said Sandor Piszar, director of Chevrolet truck marketing. “It’s ideal for those customers who want both the security of a lockable cargo area, as well as the flexibility of a pickup truck bed.”
If it’s content you seek, the Silverado High Desert delivers. This Silverado is the first variant of the pickup truck to be equipped with Magnetic Ride Control, the beloved setup seen on many other products within the General Motors portfolio. High Desert LT trims receive 20-inch wheels, while LTZ and High Desert High Country trims (yep, that’s what it’s called) receives 22-inch wheels.
And, LTZ and High Country trims may be equipped with the gutsy 6.2-liter EcoTec3 V8 paired to GM’s eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Rejoice yet again, because the Silverado High Desert will storm into dealers this coming fall.
Comments
I like this version of the GM trucks!
I thought the Silverado High Country Edition had Magnetic Ride Control as an option?……Oh well! This High Desert Silverado is actually quite appealing! I really liked the Avalanche and hoped GM would revive it as a special edition Silverado after its demise in 2013!
It looks good but alas it is just a fake Avalanche.
I really wish there was a GMC-exclusive successor to the Avalanche and Escalade EXT.
I think the key missing link is the Conveticab.
That feature is what made the small bed useful to so many and what they liked about it.
I suspect the bed storage may be an option on most GM trucks at some point. Still a useful feature.
On the ‘Converticab:
Exactly. That’s what I was hoping when I first read about that there was something for the Avalanche Fans. But still, the ‘bed storage’ is a ‘better idea’ and good for GM on beating Ford to the punch on this one.
Over the years very few of our customers ever used the mid-gate feature. Plus for anyone driving on grid roads, the seal seemed to leak a lot of dust into the cab, and the rubber seal was always falling down off the top of the window framing.
The Avalanche had a shorter box (5′) versus the 5’6″ box on the short box crew cab. Yeah, only 6″ longer but the same as buying a normal short box truck. What most of our Avalanche customers liked was the covered box with fender storage, remote locking tailgate, and the coil rear suspension for better ride. But the down fall of this coil suspension was limited towing and payload ratings. Many customers thought it would pull what a truck did, but like the Suburbans and Tahoes, it has about 1500-2000 lbs lower tow rating and 200-400 lbs lower payload rating due to the coil suspension.
The new trucks have a great ride. Now the Avalanche customers can have a longer box, the cover and fender storage they love, all without the mid-gate dust issues (not an issue for pavement drivers) and tow what a regular Silverado will tow (my guess is within a couple hundred pounds due to the extra box weight).
I just hope they don’t make a GMC version.
So what differences remain between this and the Avalanche?
The differences are you still cannot access the bed from the cab and you still cannot remove the back window.
High Desert High Country? Brilliant.
High Desert+High Country=High price. Pass all the way, if you want a loaded out GM pick-up, go for the Sierra Denali.
I want to like the new GM trucks (my company truck is a 2014 Siverado Crew Cab 4×4…missing rear seat A/C…go figure!) but for my money I’d buy the comparable F-150…just a nicer and better designed truck overall!
Can’t count on turbos when the going gets tough.
F150 may have rear A/c ducts, but a $61,000 F150 (Canadian) still uses regular halogen bulb headlamps whereas GM has standard HID even on base models and LED’s on LTZ and HC’s. That same expensive F150 has no rear fender liners either. This F150 has the massaging driver’s seat (yeah, that won’t put you to sleep and endanger people) but GM has their Driver Alert Seat to warn you of impending crashes, passing vehicles, parking obstructions, etc (and last time I checked, that keeps people safer).
Every vehicle has one or two things another does not. I’ve never had anyone complain about being too hot or cold in the back seat of my crew cab. But headlamps for night driving is critical.
Agree with your points. Still think though it’s at best an oversight, but more likely cost cutting, to not include rear A/C. My 02 Silverado Ext Cab 4×2 had it.
Let the Avalanche die. I’m not getting why Chevrolet would use the High Desert name for this truck. I was expecting some sort of Raptor-like desert runner. Name doesn’t fit this vehicle’s image IMO.