Loaner Car Review: Chevrolet Impala LT

[KillerMRK]

My father was recently rear-ended on the LIE on his way back from work, so his 2005 Mazda 6 is currently in the shop having that all worked out. So, at the rental lot, he had the choice between a 1) Cobalt LS sedan(free) 2)Nissan Murano ( 7 dollars a day extra) or 3) A Silver Impala LT (3 dollars a day)


Well, obviously he chose the latter-most; and drove off the lot in a 2007 model with 8K-odd miles.

Sitting down in the car I noticed these things immediately that I didn't notice in the SS and LTZ models at the LIAS:

1) Thinly padded front seats (In comparison to the 6's seats, almost any car short of my fathers Acura TL feels this way)
2) No On*Star

The interior was actually very inviting, with the ebony dash/seat combo, and a nice faux wood veneer running its length. Very classy. The headunit was very high quality my father and I prefered its blue glow to our Mazda's orange, and we appreciated the DIC, something not found on our 6, or our TL. My fathers evaulation of the switch gear "Substantial enough, better than the last Impala I owned" (A 1969 hardtop coupe. )

The back seat, despite profound protest from my younger sister, I found very comfortable,(if a little squishy) with plenty of room behind my 6'1" dad.
A complaint or two from my dad, however was the lack of a rear center armrest, and no glovebox light, and the lack of markings on the console shifter.

The plastics, while hard, were grained nicely, and fit well.

From the passenger seat, the car seemed to have pulled pretty well, and had plenty of pep with the 3500 under the hood. It rode very well, and my fathers testimony on the driving quality was that it wasn't as sporty as he likes (Something that would probably not be a factor in the SS) but felt secure during normal driving.


Overall, I give the Impala a 8.5/10.

[Kennyboy]

Good writeup. It seems the rental agency give you a stripper model.

[ksr]

The Impala is a nice car. I have some rental experience in them. Retail sales have picked up a lot too.

I know that the Malibu is considered the direct competitor, but Impala is a very good alternative to a Camry.

[1969CamaroSS350]

The Impala, since its redesign in 2006, I felt has always been a solid car. The interior is attractive looking, unlike the previous gen, and the V6's while "outdated", get great gas mileage for such a large car. I would take a base Impala LS over any other base sedan in it's price range.

[MelvinJ]

They often delete OnStar in fleet vehicles. They probably don't want rental clients screwing around with it.

[member12]

How are the Impalas as far as reliability?

You can pick up a loaded LTZ a good price. It's a very, very tempting buy. The only obvious fault that it has is resale value. I am not sure of reliability.

The car isn't too "chick" for a young guy to be seen in it. It's roomy and comfortable. It gets decent mileage, and it seems to have done very well in crash test. I can see myself buying one over a Camry or Accord just on those attributes alone.

[BusyBody]

Overall, I am really enjoying my Impala. Its true the plastics are hard, but the fit and overall finish is very nice (my interior has the brushed metallic finish). I really like the simplistic design of the interior. I get alot of compliments from passengers about my Impala.
Likes
Ride - very smooth and comfortable
Interior space - can't beat it for the price
Fuel economy
Features for the$ - Onstar, XM radio, stabilitrack, active fuel management. I love the Hands free calling feature. Personally, I hate wearing headsets so I wouldn't want Bluetooth anyway.
Comfort

Dislikes
hard plastics on dash
remote start - can't turn on my heated seats until I get in the car and turn the key - my thought is - what is the point?!
Interior colours - wish there were more options
Interior lighting - since I have a sunroof, I have to reach behind my sunroof for an interior light, which provides no light to the front area of the cabin. Its a small detail, but it is an annoyance that should be dealt with. I wonder if all GM cars with sunroofs have this situation?

Overall, I agree with the original posters opinion. Its a great family sedan.

[MelvinJ]

Originally Posted by BusyBody

Likes

Fuel economy

So what have you been averaging for city and highway mileage??? I've always thought the 3.9L wasn't as bad on fuel as its reputation.