Overview
For over two decades Chevrolet has tried to find the sweet spot in mid-sized sedans. As it entered the 1980s, Chevy's money was on the rear-wheel drive Malibu, which gave way to the front-wheel drive Celebrity, which was later replaced by the Lumina. For 2000 Chevy revived an old name when the company bet its mid-sized stake on the front-wheel drive Impala, an entry that shares its architecture with the two-door Chevy Monte Carlo as well as the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Century/Regal.
The Impalas of the 1960s may not have been as great as we seem to remember them now. But does the current Impala live up to the legend? No doubt, the modern Impala has fans:
If you are an auto company and you have to give a lot of cash back to the customer, why not start with a rich sticker price? The tester for this article had a sticker of $24,650 before $635 for destination charge, which puts it in within a grand of the base price of the slightly smaller but more expensive
The Impala's exterior neither offends--nor excites. The same design might look better if the car was an inch or two wider, even though, at 73 inches, the Impala is as wide as a
While the $25,000 tester was reasonably well-equipped, it wasn't loaded to the gills. Twenty five grand on the sticker gets you a fabric interior, manual front passenger seat and a power driver's seat with a manual lumbar control. This car didn't have a sunroof, killer stereo (just a "premium" sound system that plays a cassette or single CD) or side curtain airbags (only front airbags for the driver and front passenger). If you want GM's OnStar communications system add $695; add another $325 for XM satellite radio. Load up an Impala LS with leather, power passenger seat, a power roof and an exterior trim package and the sticker is in $30,000 territory, which is not all that different from a maxed-out Honda Accord.
GM's pushrod 3.8 liter 200 hp V-6 comes standard with the LS, and that's the car's most admirable feature. Think of the 3800 as a decades-old building that has been updated with high-speed network access, modern ventilation and a state-of-the art security system, but underneath it is still an old building. The 3800 makes the LS plenty peppy, but it comes at a price--a rental-car-sounding drone from the engine bay during acceleration.
The LS delivers 19 miles per gallon in the city and 29 on the highway, according to the EPA mileage test. A V-6 Accord is slightly better, at 21 and 30, respectively. While the 3800 is the top-of-the line Impala motor for the 2003 model year, this fall Chevy will offer the 2004 Impala SS. The SS will have a supercharged 240 hp version of the 3800 and other handling upgrades. Then again, the Accord V-6 already gets 240 hp, so how much more will Chevy charge for that SS name and no-better-than-Honda horsepower?
From The Driver's Seat | Should You Buy This Car? | Specs
From The Driver's Seat
General Motors continues to make progress on its interiors, but so has the competition. Until GM can escape the vicious cycle of heavy incentives and reliance on fleet buyers, the company is going to be challenged to keep every penny of cost under control yet deliver perceived value to the buyer.
The driver's seat in the Impala isn't likely to seduce prospective buyers. This seat has inadequate side support and a manual lumbar control that was hard to adjust to a comfortable position. The LS has dual climate controls up front, but they are manual, not automatic. The option list on the tested included a power trunk release, heated outside mirrors, tire inflation monitor, anti-lock brakes, traction control and a theft deterrent system.
The tester had a big gap between a dashboard panel and the driver's door. Although most controls are well-placed, the foot pedal for the parking brake is too close to the driver's door, so it is easy to mash the lower speaker on this door every time one needs to set the parking brake. And why is there a storage compartment on the back of the driver's seat, but not the front passenger's seat?
The biggest dress-up item in the LS interior is a horizontal band of fake wood that runs the entire width of the dashboard. To its credit, the center fold-down armrest is well-placed and has two useful cupholders. The center console also has a generous storage area underneath. The peripheral controls located on the Impala's doors are well-lit at night, and switches have a decent tactile feel. Another plus: key gauges are visible when the tilt steering wheel is moved to a comfortable driving position.
The Impala competes in the same segment as the Ford Taurus and, on paper, has better interior dimensions than the Taurus. Nevertheless, the up-front accommodations in the Impala feel claustrophobic. On the other hand, the Impala's trunk is huge, with 18.6 cubic feet versus 16 for the Taurus.
In a market of great sedans the interior of the LS is below the median even though it is put together with more attention to detail and materials than GM family sedans of the recent past. In short, the Impala is a stopgap effort in GM's quest for better interiors.
While it is not a car for enthusiasts, average drivers will probably be thrilled with the Impala's pickup (0 to 60 miles-per-hour in 8.3 seconds), and satisfied with the Impala's ride and handling. Then again, the overall ride is a bit firm--perhaps too firm for a car that is perceived as a family sedan. Our tester also had a weird little crick-like sound emanating from the steering column.
Overview | Should You Buy This Car? | Specs
Should You Buy This Car?
On its own, the Impala LS is an agreeable mid-sized car that is a notch or two better than basic transportation. Sometimes a vehicle can overcome some shortcomings if it has other great qualities--such as terrific performance, superior handling, and an extra-long warranty or is a compelling value for the money. But the Impala's lively performance is not enough to compensate for the overall blandness of the rest of the package.
The other problem: the competition. The Impala gets gang tackled by such tough competition it's not hard to see why GM needs to sweeten the deal just to keep this car rolling off the lot. In order of sales (through the first six months of 2003) those top-five competitors are the
A consumer must have true-blue Chevy blood coursing through his veins to pick the Impala over cars like the Accord and Camry, vehicles whose strong reputations are reflected in their terrific resale values.
Overview | From The Driver's Seat | Specs
Specs
Manufacturer: The Chevrolet Web site
MSRP: $24,650 (before $650 destination charge)
Color Options: Black, Berry Red Metallic, Bronzemist Metallic, Cappuccino Frost Metallic, Galaxy Silver Metallic, Sandrift Metallic, Superior Blue, Victory Red and White.
Suspension Type: front, independent MacPherson struts; rear, independent MacPherson struts
Acceleration: 0 to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds
Engine Type: pushrod 3.8 liter V-6
Horsepower: 200 @ 5200
Torque: 225 foot-pounds @ 4,000 rpm
EPA mileage: 19 city; 29 highway
Overview | From The Driver's Seat | Should You Buy This Car?