By Tim Plouff

Chevrolet’s new Avalanche proved that four-door pickups, especially one with an innovative and versatile bed, could entice new buyers into the lucrative segment. Based on the popular and comfortable Suburban, the Avalanche’s sales numbers exceeded expectations and stamped the vote of approval on the four-door pickups that would quickly follow.

Unfortunately, GM was late to the party that it started. Ford and Dodge debuted their four-door pickups before Chevrolet and GMC, but the GM twins have been making up ground quickly. GM branded trucks and SUV’s are now the best selling in the industry, with Chevrolet leading all rivals.

Unlike the crude, utilitarian crew cabs of the 1970s, today’s four-door pickups are luxurious alternatives for buyers who want the passenger convenience of a five-passenger sport utility vehicle, but need the everyday workability of a pickup bed. Now the domain of many an American family, the Crew Cab pickup is quickly displacing the extended cab pickup as our favorite truck.

With car-like features such as a power sunroof, power rear windows, auto climate controls, rear entertainment systems, heated leather seating with memory, auto-dimming rear view mirrors, and automatic four -wheel drive, today’s pickup truck is one comfortable place from which you can work or play. These pickups are the luxury vehicles of choice for blue-collar baby boomers that have more than a beer budget.

Despite the comfort gains realized on the inside, the manufacturers have struggled to tame the rowdiness of a typical solid rear-axle pickup truck’s suspension. Smooth ride dynamics is the goal, and the brag, of everyone. But it has proved to be an elusive success story as the competing tasks of greater towing ability and supple ride characteristics are virtually unobtainable. Burly frames, beefy leaf springs and a heavy-duty solid axle to tow big boats, long campers and heavy horse trailers mean that ride suppleness comes secondary.

Add stronger V-8 and diesel engines, extra cooling for the transmission and engine and larger frames to carry more weight, and you can also see that these trucks are adding more brawn: extra weight that taxes the suspension and creates compromises. Bring on the extra hardware for plowing snow and it’s amazing that today’s full-size pickups ride as well as they do.

The Silverado has been a segment leader in the ride category and the new Crew Cab is no exception. Ride motions are well controlled, road noise is impressively subdued and the Silverado does a commendable job of isolating its occupants from the environment outside. Still, don’t expect the big Chevy to handle like an Impala.

But then again, the Impala can’t haul a 21-foot boat or two yards of bark mulch can it?

For 2006, Chevrolet continues the path of continuous improvement while a whole new 2007 Silverado is being prepared for debut late next year. The preview of this new look, and the new features available in upcoming full-size Chevrolet trucks, will be apparent in the 2007 Tahoe and Suburban that go on sale in the first quarter of 2006.

The Silverado Crew Cab uses a shorter 5-foot-8-inch pickup to equal the overall length of the best-selling extended cab models, which use a 10-inch longer bed. Both trucks ride on a long wheelbase: 143 inches for the extended cab and 145 inches for the Crew Cab. Both wheelbase lengths are longer than the total size of a Mini Cooper.

With this extra room devoted to the interior, the Silverado Crew Cab presents more useable rear seat space. Riders get their own full-size door, windows that go down, ample legroom, and a seat that won’t penalize you because you drew the last straw.

The Silverado continues to offer a wide array of engine choices for all of the cab and weight configurations that are available. Crew Cabs get the 5.3-liter 295-hp V-8 standard, while a new 1500-series Heavy Duty Crew Cab allows you to order the 345-hp 6.0-liter V-8. Unfortunately, the hybrid powertrain is not available in the Crew Cab.

The 5.3-liter Vortec has many virtues. Eager and smooth for an old-fashioned push-rod design, the 5.3 V-8 gives owners some of the best fuel economy of any full-size pickup. With a locking rear differential, AutoTrac four-wheel drive and a four-speed automatic, my sample ride returned an impressive 19+ mpg with occasional mileage exceeding 20-mpg. This from a new truck with negligible break-in mileage. With reasonable restraint, and some more miles on the odometer, this truck should easily eclipse the EPA mileage estimates all of the time and surpass 20-21-mpg in highway driving.

I was disappointed to see that Chevy doesn’t offer a spray-on bedliner or the multiple anchoring points in the pickup bed that Nissan’s Titan brings to the table, plus the Crew Cab’s large low-speed turning radius means you must really plan ahead for any parking maneuvers.

On the plus side, you have to love the heated leather seating with memory controls, the fabulous Bose stereo with XM satellite radio and the ready information from the comprehensive trip computer/driver information center. Not only do you get average fuel economy, outside temperature and conventional trip data, but oil change interval info as well as engine hour usage.

In the Silverado HD end of the business, buyers get more power from a revised Duramax diesel engine, plus a new Allison 6-speed automatic transmission to go with the 6-speed manual gearbox. The Silverado SS is now available in 2WD and the Silverado Hybrid will be available everywhere in the country. Ten are slated to make it to Ellsworth.

Fuel prices have risen. Yet many people buy pickup trucks because they are a “lifestyle choice,” the vehicle that best meets their needs. The manufacturers will continue to push the ball forward and improve these profitable trucks so they continue to lead the market.

The Silverado is the second most popular vehicle sold in America, far ahead of any competitor’s car volume. The 2006 Silverado makes it easy to see why these trucks are still so popular all across the country.