I was checking out the MotorTrend website today, and I saw up their review of the 2006 Impala from the October issue of the magazine. Just for entertainment sakes I read it and came away impressed and then perplexed, recalling this was the same magazine that trashed the Impala in the COTY06 issue of the magazine.
Compare and contrast
This review was from the October 2005 issue:
With a layout essentially identical to the 5.3-liter version of the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, the turned-sideways V-8 is a tight fit, nicely executed. Yes, there's torque steer under acceleration, but it isn't, say, Saab Viggen torque steer. The V-8 has displacement on demand, and it's moderately seamless. You can feel something happening, but it's hard to tell if it's the four cylinders leaving or rejoining the party or the clunky torque converter. A dash display indicates how many cylinders are working and when. Fuel mileage is improved up to eight percent with DOD, Chevy says: EPA for the V-8 is 18-mpg city/28 highway. Premium fuel is recommended to achieve the full 303 horses, but not required if you can get along with fewer.
Inside, the redesigned interior is well done, even on the base LS model. The LT is the next step up, and the only one offered with the 3.5 or 3.9 engines. The LTZ has only the 3.9. The SS, which Chevy figures will account for about 10 percent of Impala sales, has the all-aluminum 5.3 plus a stiffer suspension and P235/50R18 W-rated radials. The 3.9 has P225/55R17 tires, and the 3.5 has P225/60R16s. All rubber is Goodyear. The SS's suspension is the stiffest of the Impala quartet, but considerably less stiff than its V-8-powered cousin, the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP.
As before, six adults can fit in the Impala, but five would be happier, and four downright cheerful. A flip-down center console makes the front bench seat seem like a pair of buckets. The neatest interior update: Rear-seat bottom cushions tilt forward, minivan-like, and the seatbacks fold flat. That space, opening to the 18.6-cubic-foot trunk, makes for an enormous storage area--or a great dog run...
The 2006 Impala is less expensive than the 2005 model, with the LS starting at $21,990. The SS starts at $27,790 and, with every option, tops out at $31,450. A Dodge Charger R/T starts at $29,995.
Is the Impala SS as much fun as the Charger? No. But it's a lot more fun than it used to be.
Then there was this article in the 2006 COTY issue which said that the new Impala was like a "water buffalo", and then proceeded to compare it to a Charger complaining that an FWD sedan doesn't handle like an RWD sedan does. Then it goes on to bash the interior as bland and boring. To top it off it complains about the fact that the car has a V8 and follows the traditional muscle car model of taking a family car and putting a big engine in it.
What changed in those two months to take the Impala from a competent competitor to "a water buffalo".
Compare and contrast
This review was from the October 2005 issue:
With a layout essentially identical to the 5.3-liter version of the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, the turned-sideways V-8 is a tight fit, nicely executed. Yes, there's torque steer under acceleration, but it isn't, say, Saab Viggen torque steer. The V-8 has displacement on demand, and it's moderately seamless. You can feel something happening, but it's hard to tell if it's the four cylinders leaving or rejoining the party or the clunky torque converter. A dash display indicates how many cylinders are working and when. Fuel mileage is improved up to eight percent with DOD, Chevy says: EPA for the V-8 is 18-mpg city/28 highway. Premium fuel is recommended to achieve the full 303 horses, but not required if you can get along with fewer.
Inside, the redesigned interior is well done, even on the base LS model. The LT is the next step up, and the only one offered with the 3.5 or 3.9 engines. The LTZ has only the 3.9. The SS, which Chevy figures will account for about 10 percent of Impala sales, has the all-aluminum 5.3 plus a stiffer suspension and P235/50R18 W-rated radials. The 3.9 has P225/55R17 tires, and the 3.5 has P225/60R16s. All rubber is Goodyear. The SS's suspension is the stiffest of the Impala quartet, but considerably less stiff than its V-8-powered cousin, the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP.
As before, six adults can fit in the Impala, but five would be happier, and four downright cheerful. A flip-down center console makes the front bench seat seem like a pair of buckets. The neatest interior update: Rear-seat bottom cushions tilt forward, minivan-like, and the seatbacks fold flat. That space, opening to the 18.6-cubic-foot trunk, makes for an enormous storage area--or a great dog run...
The 2006 Impala is less expensive than the 2005 model, with the LS starting at $21,990. The SS starts at $27,790 and, with every option, tops out at $31,450. A Dodge Charger R/T starts at $29,995.
Is the Impala SS as much fun as the Charger? No. But it's a lot more fun than it used to be.
Then there was this article in the 2006 COTY issue which said that the new Impala was like a "water buffalo", and then proceeded to compare it to a Charger complaining that an FWD sedan doesn't handle like an RWD sedan does. Then it goes on to bash the interior as bland and boring. To top it off it complains about the fact that the car has a V8 and follows the traditional muscle car model of taking a family car and putting a big engine in it.
What changed in those two months to take the Impala from a competent competitor to "a water buffalo".