The new Impala feels like a big luxury car when compared with a Ford Crown Victoria or Toyota Avalon. The Crown Victoria feels unrefined when you drive the cars back to back. The Toyota feels bland by comparison.The view out of the Impala is good, and particularly helpful are the small quarter windows that split the rear pillars. The creases on the hood give you a good perspective for judging where the front of the car is, handy for parking a big car in compact spaces. The rear decklid, however, seems high, so care is required when backing up.
Handling is surprisingly quick and sharp in the Impala. This is not the wallowing live-axle barge from the 1960s. One reason is the use of a huge aluminum engine cradle subframe to hold the drivetrain, thus isolating vibrations and making the car more rigid. A monster dashboard bulkhead made of light and strong magnesium adds to the rigidity, which gives the car a robust feel.
The Impala uses suspension and mounting structures that are different than the Grand Prix's, as are the driving characteristics. The LS we tested felt particularly good, with its quicker steering ratio. Both models, however, get a strut brace in front, as well as anti-roll bars front and rear. This hardware is usually found only on sports sedans. The engine cradle and dashboard structure lock the steering shaft down rigidly, so there are no excess wiggly movements. Chevy says a new link between the steering column and the steering gear contributes to better on-center feel at the wheel. On the road, the steering feels good, better than the Toyota Avalon.
The brake pedal feels firm and responsive. Braking is smooth and steady, and we applaud Chevy's decision to use discs at all four wheels, even on the base model.
Acceleration is brisk, though there's still an ever-present reminder that this is a front-wheel-drive car: Torque-steer rears its head during hard acceleration, especially with the more powerful 3.8-liter engine, felt as a slight tug on the steering wheel whenever you stomp down on the gas pedal.
Since you can get the big 200-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 as an option in the lower-priced base model, the Impala becomes the least expensive GM car powered by this gutsy pushrod engine. Chevy claims it will accelerate to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds, which is quick for this class.
The police package cars will get the higher-ratio gearing from the Grand Prix, and should be quicker still. Police may learn to like this car, even though front-drivers are still looked upon with trepidation by America's men in blue. The front steering knuckles for police versions of the Impala are made of steel instead of weight-saving aluminum, though Chevy says the aluminum knuckles -- as well as the rest of the car -- exceeded durability tests. Off the record, Chevy's engineers said the new Impala passed tests that projected its life span at 400,000 miles. These tests included curb hopping, which is not normally part of a new car's durability cycle.
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