A while back I wrote about my long-term experiences with a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado that had been assigned to me at work. The article ended with my disclosure of having been promoted and the resultant assignment of a 2008 Chevrolet Impala.
The last sentence of the first comment, by editor Jim Klein, was highly prescient:
May your new-to-you Impala perform as well, although I have every confidence that if it doesn’t, you will wheeler-dealer it off in short order.
It makes for a terrific lead-in to what did ultimately happen as that Impala stuck with me for only about two weeks.
I had been around that particular Impala since it was new. While it only been assigned to three people in its service life, thus never having to endure being a pool vehicle, it still presented mechanical foibles unusual for an Impala. Upon taking delivery I noticed it was quite doggy when taking off from a stop and after a few miles of driving the engine speed would quickly jump up and down, evidenced by a tachometer needle that kept bouncing by 200 rpm when at highway speed.
Paying closer attention, I realized it was taking off in second gear. Upon informing the fleet manager it was given a physical that revealed a dying transmission. As it had 130,000 miles it was decided to simply sell it and order me a new ride.
As an aside, this car brought $3,800 at auction. I was surprised, but remembered how W-body Impalas are the preferred sedan of Missouri and much of the Midwest.
To tide me over, I was given this 2010 Impala from the pool. Pigmented something much nicer than white, it was free of any vices except for one isolated incidence of taking off in second gear. For reference, this particular Impala has nearly 140,000 miles.
Early in September my supervisor and I scheduled a visit to one of our satellite locations to make the employees breakfast. She had loaded up her car the day before and asked me to drive upon our very early departure. Knowing it was a 2016 Impala (fleet version) with the 300 horsepower V6, I was excited. Starting it revealed a completely new sound in a very familiar car.
We didn’t get very far. This is the aftermath of annihilating Bambi’s mother upon her running in front of me. I had been driving 65 mph (on a four lane, 70 mph section of US 63) and was down to about 40 mph when I hit her broadside.
It was a weird experience, my first ever collision; the loud “THWUMP!” had happened but the deer vanished and I could see no damage from the driver’s seat. As luck would have it, a coworker who was headed to the same place was behind us and witnessed the sausage making. I immediately pulled onto the shoulder to learn I had knocked that doe a good ten feet into the air and she spun around twice before landing in the ditch.
Having left my mark on three Impalas (and a deer) by this point, one of which required a cutting torch to repair, I figured the fourth new car of my career would devolve into a Schwinn. Thankfully it didn’t.
So what did I get?
The fleet manager and I discussed what was on the bid sheet, a document that is a multi-award bid for every class of equipment (passenger car, SUVs, CUVs, pickups by weight rating, etc.). My preference was for a sedan and we wanted to keep the cost around $20,000.
While I won’t say where I work, let’s just say the concepts of “retail” and “sticker price” are nowhere near applicable. We bid it all out and get darn good prices, which are all approximately quoted below.
My first candidate was a 2018 Ford Fusion. It would have been equipped with the base 2.5 liter four-pot and everything the good folks in Dearborn decided to bestow upon it as standard fare along with whatever color I desired. The price was noticeably under $18,000.
My second candidate was a 2018 Ford Taurus. The bid price for the 2017 Taurus was about $20,000 yet Ford would not honor that price for 2018, hoisting their price to $23,000, which is right at the retail price I included in this picture from the build and price section of Ford’s website.
Scratch the Taurus.
My third candidate was a 2018 Impala. Doing the opposite of Ford, GM dropped their prices $3,000 for 2018 (at least where I work), netting a 303 horsepower, 3.6 liter V6 powered Impala, in my choice of color, for the same price as a 2017 Taurus.
So when given a choice, this Ford homer gleefully chose the Chevrolet Impala.
Like poison ivy, pictures don’t reveal the extent of the insidiousness
This picture of a Fusion’s interior is insight into what killed my enthusiasm about them. The murder weapon is intrusive, obnoxious, corpulent, and an utter waste of space. That is now two Fusions Ford has not sold due to this as I had shopped for a new one in 2014.
I’m not looking a gift-horse in the mouth, but I was given a choice. For the record, I had never even sat in an Epsilon based Impala, let alone driven one, yet I was willing to gamble it had less invasive interior accoutrements than the Fusion. The only insight I had was having driven a Cadillac XTS a time or two.
Several years ago Paul wrote about his experience with a new, 2014 Chevrolet Impala. His was a rental and by virtue of its purpose, his time with it was short. On the flip side, I will likely have this Impala for many years.
Upon taking receipt the last Thursday of September, it had 143 miles on the odometer due to having been delivered from a dealer in Kansas City. I’ve put 1,200 miles on it as of October 13, with many more to come.
So what’s my take on it?
For starters, despite the ridiculous and inane fad of consoles the size of some eastern states, GM has mastered the art of making them. I’ve said it at least twice before (here and here), so I’m not working from just one data point. It’s better than the one in the Taurus, mentioned only due to their being direct competitors, but that is still faint praise for GM’s genius in building consoles that address the call of faddishness while not making the driver feel encapsulated in petroleum based solids.
A thought while writing: Has anyone ever noticed that it seems as if the size of consoles has grown in direct correlation to the popularity of crew cab pickups? And, how the sales of sedans so laden have dwindled in that same time period?
I digress.
This Impala appears to be in base LS trim, however examination of the window sticker (advantageously left in the glove box) reveals it as being an “Impala 1FL”. It’s doubtful this car is unique as so many of these Impalas are being sold to various fleets as discussed here.
There is a certain sad irony that the best Impala ever will ultimately be the poorest selling.
But what a car it is. Built on GM’s Epsilon platform, shared with the Cadillac XTS and Buick Lacrosse, the Impala is a sheer delight to drive. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say it’s one of the most overall pleasing full-size cars I’ve ever driven – and I’ve owned and driven a slew of full-sizers in my time such as this, this, this, and this.
Having now driven it on a variety of roads, the Impala consistently delivers a smooth, non-floaty ride without injecting any harshness from bumps into the occupants. Curved ramps are a delight; it takes what is given with calmness while remaining flat-footed. It’s also quite capable of traversing curves well above the posted advisory speeds. It’s a very well balanced platform and the accolades given this generation of Impala upon its introduction in 2014 are not unmerited.
The 3.6 liter engine, the sole option on this Impala, is a delight. Smooth and powerful, the engine does not have the need to rev very high to provide abundant power to most any situation. With peak torque of 264 ft-lbs at 5,200 rpm, it appears the engine has a delightfully fat torque curve.
It seems some cars quickly become lethargic with multiple people aboard; I’ve not discovered that with this Impala.
As a comparison, a coworker has a 2014 retail Impala with the 2.5 liter four. Rated at 197 horsepower and 191 ft-lbs of torque, he told me his Impala will sometimes struggle to get out of its own way. While it would be great to correlate that to curb weight, GM is pretty secretive about such things as this tidbit of information has yet to be found on either their website or several others with automotive specifications. However, I’m guessing it to be 3,500 to 3,700 pounds.
Some car reviews talk about the quality and ease of use in the connectivity and entertainment systems found in the car. Being a person who couldn’t care less about such things, all I can offer is GM gives all new Impala owners three months of free satellite radio and the car is its own mobile hotspot via their MyLink system.
I have yet to use the hotspot and listening to a wide variety of programming is great but I rather doubt I’ll miss it come December. It has three USB ports; only one has been used and that was to charge a cell phone. To be perfectly candid, I have little positive to say about such infotainment centers as it usually results in being a distraction, with distracted driving still growing as a formidable contributor to driver error in car wrecks.
Perhaps this equipment only perpetuates a well documented problem; perhaps I’m being grumpy as some outcomes are avoidable. Simplicity can be quite elegant and it appears simplicity has taken a sabbatical.
The bluetooth has been used but only when parked.
Am I happy to have chosen the Impala? Yes! For carrying people it is superior to the most outrageous fantasies of any W-body, a car in which the commonality of name is about the only similarity. This 2018 Impala is a car that is eager to please and quite forgiving of minor transgressions.
In life we will all experience a few long term automotive relationships. This Impala will indeed be providing me one of them and I’m quite excited about it. It’s not often a person gets so much say in what they get to drive at work and I’m pretty darned happy on how things are turning out.
First PN and now you – it would appear that this Impala is the real deal. I have never driven an Epsilon nor a 3.6 V6, but it sounds like one of these could make my short list should I ever be ready to consider a sedan. It is good to see that The General might be coming out of its 30 year malaise. A fleet car that drives like a car that should sell at retail is better than the other way around, which had been the GM Way for a long time.
It is an overall attractive car, too. I am not sold on the overabundance of side sculpting (a common problem these days) but thankfully it is not so visible at all angles and in all kinds of lighting. Life is good when you get to drive a car you don’t hate, and it looks like you are in this club.
The dark color really does help reduce the appearance of the side sculpting. The one element about it that does take some adjustment is the line for the trunk lid going through the rear fender. One day the trunk lid was up and seeing it in profile gave a fastback look, reminding me of the old Fleetline Chevrolets from the 1940s and early 1950s.
It is good to see that The General might be coming out of its 30 year malaise.
I think that happened in 2009. Something to do with a bit of restructuring….:)
Seriously, GM has been making massive profits for years now, has a very healthy profit margin, and its stock has done much better than Ford. Not much malaise anymore, regardless of whether one likes the products or not.
I’ve looked at this car to lease…. maybe. Good rating in Consumers Report. It scores 84 overall. GM has come a long way.
She very puuurrrdddyy! Congratulations on the new ride in anything but Fleet White! That color works extremely well on the car.
I do generally consider myself a Ford man as well, but history shows that when it’s time to pull out my wallet, GM has a better record than Ford (although my money has only gone to one new one of each, most were used).
The newest GM’s that I’ve experienced are generally excellent vehicles, with far more attention apparently being devoted to their drivability and usability than before. Huge strides.
For the majority of the driving I know you do, this has to be one of the best choices as regards comfort, fuel economy, overall ability and durability. (I do feel bit sorry for whatever poor guy ends up with the old Impala for what will probably be at least $5k and in need of a replacement transmission but would have thought that non-motor-pool fleet Impalas would last longer than 130-140k with their regular maintenance.)
The visible part of the sticker shows a 2.5l engine with stop/start as standard. Does the V6 end up being an extra cost option or do they throw it in on the right (non-visible) side and is it also stop/start (how is that?) I also see that two maintenance visits are included, do you guys take advantage of that or do it all in-house?
Anyway, kudos to you and your new ride, may it serve you well until at least your retirement eligibility date! Hopefully you can provide an annual update, this’ll make a good long-term tester.
Jim, the other part of the window sticker is attached. Again, the sticker price is irrelevant but you also know where I work. The V6 is standard as per the way our specs are written, so in essence it’s a mandatory option for the selling dealer to include. It isn’t of the stop/start variety, or at least not that I’ve discovered. The push button start has thrown the service attendant for a loop; he keeps it gassed up for me and he’s cussed it every time he’s got it in.
Notice the $67 fleet maintenance credit. We do all our work in-house; even the Impala I used to go deer hunting was fixed in-house.
There have been a few ’08 Impalas with transmission issues. No apparent rhyme or reason and the one I had was gently used by the two prior people to whom it was assigned.
Ah, very interesting, thanks for including that! I was interested to see how they are specced out, who knew you could get a maintenance credit (and interesting at what they value it at, presumably whichever dealer it would have been used at gets to claim that amount as a warranty or whatever reimbursement).
Maintenance credit???!!! But my new car came with FREE maintenance. How can you get a credit for something that’s free??
If you do it in-house. This car will never see a dealer for any maintenance work.
I’m guessing the bid request was for a “large V6 sedan”. Which brings up the question was the Charger on the list or did no Chrysler dealer bid on “large V6 sedan or did the “company” say not to bother with that model.
I know the local “company” requires a test vehicle to determine if it is suitable or not before approving it for use.
My local “company’s” current contract prices
2018 Fusion $17,757
2018 Taurus SE $21,721
2017 Impala Limited LS $22,396 but the cut off date was 3/23/17
2017 Charger 21,505,77, orders cut off but units available for immediate delivery (plus $200 for in-stock vehicle)
The Fords are just up a tick at the successful bidder.
2017 Fusion S $17,606.66
2017 Taurus SE $21,080.67
Wow, strippo fleet specials ain’t what they used to be!
This one has half vinyl / half cloth seats and steel wheels so it hasn’t ignored its roots.
It’s not called vinyl anymore, us (former) coastal elites know it as “Vegan Leather”. 🙂
“Vegan leather.” I love it. You in marketing?
I have a 2014 LT with 61k miles. Drive the speed limit and get 32 mpg. She’s got big hips but manual select a proper gear and one can hussle curves. Trunk is huge and swallows my bike. Ready for a tire change and shock swap. Stay with 3.6, ignore the four pot.
My MKS, which has the base 3.7-liter, has never gotten higher than 22 MPG average. It could be that it weighs 4,300 lbs for no good reason.
Under that MKS body lies a Volvo platform. It’s built like a tank.
I have a feeling its the electronics that are responsible for widening center consoles. It could also be the rear AC ducts that seem to be the trend these days.
I remember looking at a 2013 Ford Escape Titanium and wondering why the passenger seat didn’t have power functionality. So I looked under the seat to find a box labeled “Ford SYNC.” Guess all the brains that power the infotainment systems in our cars can’t go behind the dash 100 percent of the time.
Indeed. Like many companies, modern GM cars—which is everything on the Global A electronics platform, or everything introduced in or after 2010—have a faceplate with an interface on it, and the the actual brains are placed somewhere else. The brain box could be behind the dashboard or they could be elsewhere, but the point is that it doesn’t include the screen / controls and is more-centrally integrated into the car than the swappable double-DIN units that we used to see. GM calls this brain box the “silver box”.
The one for my 2015 Golf SportWagen was in the glovebox. On that same box were the CD slot and both SD slots, one of which was for the navigation data. I have seen this placement on other Volkswagen Group vehicles, such as the Bentley Mulsanne.
The one for my grandmother’s 2014 Soul, which does have the navigation unit, is under the seat. I think it’s under the driver’s seat, but it might be the passenger’s seat. I’ll have to check.
Some older navigation systems have their brains in the trunk.
Ed’s explanation for widening consoles is probably THE explanation, but I wonder if another reason is that with “bucket” seats in the front of such large cars as a Fusion, Taurus, or Impala if designers are instructed to fill the space as completely as possible? Many buyers could get the idea a manufacturer is skimping when there is a noticeable amount of empty space.
I suspect that “fill the space” is the motivator for wide/high consoles in wide interiors.
Fill the space between the buckets as much as possible. Leave enough of a gap to drop a cell phone in, but not enough to reach a hand in to recover said phone. I’ve never owned a vehicle with a true bench seat (non-split) but I kinda miss them now ….
Everything a full size sedan should be.
I know here in NM the old W-Impalas were priced very very cheaply (well under $20,000) for fleet duty.
One of the last of the Ws was purchased by my school district in 2012 for the use of the Director of Special Education but since then 0 sedans.
I noticed the last fleet purchase included GMC Terrains in SL trim with 4 cyl and AWD.
It is nice to hear Generous Motors Corp. is finally getting back on track .
I hope you’ll post fuel economy follow ups .
-Nate
Finally? I think that happened some years ago.
I wasn’t sure based on the endless GM bashing I read here .
I shoulda bought GM stocks when they were cheap but I wasn’t in the $ position to do so .
-Nate
Really, Nate? There’s a big difference between rightfully criticizing GM’s poor decisions in past decades – which we do here – and bashing GM’s products of the past few years, which I haven’t seen here at all — witness the favorable reviews posted here on the CTS, XTS, Malibu, Cruze, etc.
Contrast that with “the other site”, which I stopped visiting because of the pervasive anti-GM sentiment in the comments section (and also because my favourite author left, natch). Seems all the commenters with more balanced, reasoned arguments gravitated over here though, which is good. I can understand why people are skeptical of GM but I think the commentariat here gives the company a fair shake.
It gets a little tiresome hearing about alleged “GM bashing” on here when that’s just not the case. As a lifelong GM fan, I’d be the first to notice. Now if you’re talking about Cimarron bashing and Aztek bashing and Citation bashing, well, we’ve done that here. But for damned good reason. And I think we’re all quite capable of presenting a balanced take on even the most turgid of GM’s past offerings.
Please to remember : I’m a GM fanboi too .
-Nate
These Impalas are great cars, I like them as rentals. But, I’m always glad to get back in the more airy cabin of our 2012 Accord. The Impala makes me wish I had ticked the “V6” box on the Honda…it moves!
You know that large console simply means that when you drop something between it and the seat you’ll never find it again. That thing is so wide you could strap a baby seat to it. The one in my Versa is much smaller. But…I want a quieter, better riding car for highway travel and if a 2014 Impala with low miles fell into my price range, I would be interested.
What happened to column shifters anyway?
Column shifters disappeared for the most part when bench seats did. Even into the 90s, cars that had front bucket seats swapped their column shifters for console-mounted ones.
But trucks with bench seats still have them. As well as GM’s entire full-sized lineup of trucks and SUVs, bench seats or not.
Ditto for police-interceptor versions of just about everything.
Also, there are the monostatic column shifters that Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz use.
Yep, column shifter are a dying breed. We have a 2013 MB E350 BlueTec with a pretty slick one and I’m still not used to it.
I would absolutely love to own a new Impala, but being retired, that will never happen.
Fortunately, my 2012 Impala LTZ is a wonderful car and for me at least, a delight to drive. With just over 117,000 miles, it isn’t going anywhere.
I have driven the new Impalas and they are simple grand. As far as I’m concerned, they are the most beautiful Impala since the 1972 models, with a nod to the 1977 Impala coupes.
Nice Ride. U2 is trash though.
“U2 is trash though.”
Thank you!
I had a ’69 Impala, and she was a humdinger. It was my grandfather’s and he got Alzheimer’s, and so I got the car in ’75. I had it repainted at Earl Scheib in L.A. for not much more then $29.95 and got complements from gas station attendants all across the country while driving it to college on the east coast. 12 years earlier, when I was 6 years old, my father bought a ’63, special ordered in “Off White”. The delivery, with the unusual color special ordered, meant a long 3 week wait for the glorious experience of getting the new Impala as the family car. For years now I have been trying to train myself to call it “Im PAL (as in buddy or friend) A” instead of “Im PAULA.” My father must have used the latter definition, making it definitive for me. I know GM itself uses the former pronunciation. Could someone please weigh in on this question?
Congratulations on your new ride. Given the pricing, I suspect GM didn’t exactly make much money on building this one. 🙂
You have to keep in mind that GM isn’t subsidizing 0% interest/$X,000 cash back or $500 for military, first responder, educator, college grad on fleet vehicles.
It is the dealer that takes the slim margin on these kind of fleet orders. On the other hand they know they are the “company’s” only source of Chevy product the year they win the bid, so only making $2-300 per vehicle for punching in the order and $ delivery and prep fees add up when they are going to end up selling the company 100 or more vehicles over the course of the year.
So GM probably didn’t loose much if any money on this vs a retail version that will carry several thousand of GM’s cash on the hood.
This was a single unit purchase. The multi award bid went to about six Chevrolet dealers and their price deviated considerably. Then there was another bid tab for full-sized Fords, awarded to about another six dealers.
The multi award bid works great for all classes, especially pickups, as optioning them provides a distinct difference. Then the best value is chosen, not necessarily the cheapest.
Yes but was that a bid sent out for this purchase and only this purchase or can someone at some other location order a car off of this bid next week or until the posted expiration/last order date of the bid?
Don’t those same dealers often end up bidding on all classes of vehicles that they deal in? So sure it was one Impala this week but next week it might be a pickup or two and maybe a Suburban or Bolt the week after that. Assuming of course they are competitive in that other segment.
Another location may order from it or they may not. Any particular dealer may bid only on one class and nothing else. There are no guarantees we’ll be buying anything from any given dealer as needs fluctuate and we don’t buy until the need exists.
Also, with the best value bid, there is going to be a degree of regionality in what is purchased. If I’m in St. Louis, does it always make sense to buy in Kansas City?
Not that long ago I was the one making these purchases so I’ve got some unique insight into the process.
Thank you. I suspect you are right on the puny profit from this one.
The Impala is high on my (short) list of cars to consider should I need to replace my Crown Victoria for some reason — this write-up moved it a notch or two higher.
In addition to being a seemingly good value and a good-driving car, I like the appearance as well. I find the pseudo-fastback look well executed on the Impala, and it’s devoid of many of the annoying faddish features that are so prevalent in new car designs (like angry-looking grilles, or silly xtreme accessories).
Just keep the deer away from it!
I’m 6’5” and had a Crown (sales car). Big outside, small inside. Trunk short but deep. Never really comfortable and long drives made my lower back sore. But hey everyone thought I was a cop and hussled to the right lane.
The Epsilon platform is much better. Bigger back seat, comfortable all day driving, back seats fold down, better mileage. Saying all that, it does sit lower and has a higher belt line. I think the new Traverse seems to be the elevated station wagon version of the Impala.
Does your Impala have Black sideview mirrors or body colored ones? I kind of like Pepperdust Metallic, but I imagine that is an extra cost option.
My best friend’s 2017 Volt is in Pepperdust Metallic. It’s a gorgeous color that looks brownish, greyish or even blueish depending on the light.
Great account Jason, and good for you getting such a car for your work.
It’s always interesting to read how people choose, and being Curbivores we don’t just chose on colour. Accounts such as JP’s Fit and Paul’s van were good in that respect (and others) too.
$18000 for Fusion with a2.5 litre? That’s value for money – here the Focus starts at £19600!
I already told you, Jason, that I snuck a peek at this. I’m glad to read you’re enjoying the Impala. It’s funny to think your last impala was felled by a deer.
I wonder how many of these are actually sold with the 2.5. Frankly, that’s too little engine for too big a car, and GM does the same thing with the new GMC Acadia. They really should just swap out those two 2.5s for a couple of 2.0 turbos.
These Impalas are just… nice. Their styling is ageing well, their interiors look good, they’re just, well, nice.
Only things that turn me off are the lack of a proper manual shift mode (correct me if I’m wrong, they still use that stupid plus/minus button atop the shifter) and the lack of all-wheel-drive. It seems like GM is trying to insulate Buick from Chevy as both of those features are on the LaCrosse. The frustrating thing is, the old LaCrosse was 8/10ths attractive but hampered by an uncomfortably high beltline, and the new LaCrosse is just… there. It doesn’t do much for me. While the Impala’s beltline is a bit high, it has better styling than either generation of LaCrosse.
The Taurus is looking like a worse and worse value each year. Considering how the Police Interceptor Utility has very much overtaken it in sales, I wonder how much longer the Taurus/Interceptor has left in this market. Ford seems to have no intention of bringing over the Chinese Fusion-based Taurus. A pity. The Taurus was a cool full-size purchase say, 4 years ago, but now it’s a poor value against the Fusion. And I’m not as bothered by console sizes, but the Taurus’ interior is so cramped and claustrophobic and a lot of that is due to the huge console and narrow footwells.
It’s too bad we don’t get the CD4-based Taurus. The closest thing is the Continental, which is significantly more expensive. However, with the full-sized segment dying out in general, Ford was smart not to bother.
The Taurus pretty much has until Ford decides to stop making this current version, and then that’ll be it. They already killed the MKS, the Explorer and MKT replacement (likely to be called Aviator) are rumored to be going RWD, and the Flex is on its way out. So the entire D3 / D4 platform’s days are numbered. Which is just as well. Its origins are 90s Volvo.
I wonder if Chevy also offers a 2FL and 3FL which would be equivalent to an LT and LTZ?
Best of luck with you new ride and enjoy it in good health! After driving a rental 2 years ago, I too was convinced that this Impala is the real deal. As fleet manager back in 2013 I selected to turn-in my 2008 Pontiac G8 GT for a new rig. Could have been a bad move but I wanted the new Impala (this was before the rental experience). After sticker shock our leasing co. found me a 2013 silver Charger R/T with 6 miles on the odo for less than an LT1 package Impala. I never looked back ( except in the snow where the Imp would be much better with FWD!)
Last summer, my wife and I rented a V6 Impala for 10 days, and it was hands down one of my favorites. Plenty of room and plenty of smooth, unobtrusive power with great handling and fuel economy. A great improvement over the GM products I remember from my youth, and on my short list of potential cars to buy.
Good choice, Jason. I am far from a GM fan, but I like these.
The console in the Fusion is a lot easier to live with than it would appear- I don’t feel encroached upon at all. I think the bigger issue for you would have been the 2.5L four. It’s not slow, and it gets fantastic fuel economy, but it takes a bit of prodding to get it to move briskly.
Enjoy, and watch out for those deer!
Among domestic manufacturers, I’d generally choose Ford over GM, but in this size class I’d agree the Impala has the measure of the Taurus.
I came late into a job that provided a car, so it was in a senior management role where to was more of a perk. My choice was the first-ever manual shift car in our fleet (and my first brand-new daily drive), a 1995 Taurus SHO. Kept it for over 120,000 miles, despite the objections of our fleet manager. It was succeeded by an ’03 Maxima SE and later an ’07 Infiniti G35S, both also manuals. I certainly had no complaints about company cars!
Jason, congratulations on the promotion and new car – an excellent choice.
I was in the market for a new sedan two weeks ago and spent some time at the Chevy dealer looking at the Impala. I have rented this generation of Impala several times before on business trips and have been very impressed with its room, comfort, ride, handling and performance, especially with the 3.6 liter V6. Before I even inquired, the salesman offered to knock 25% off the MSRP on selected 2017 models (the Premier package) and gave me the impression that there was still room to negotiate on top of that.
In fact, I was so impressed that I recommended the Impala to my sister as her company car two years ago (she called me for help, having only one hour to decide between a new Impala, Malibu, or Equinox). She has been very happy with her 2015 LS over 45,000 miles of mostly interstate and rural highway driving, and the car has proven very reliable.
Despite these enticements, I went the opposite way from you and ended up with a heavily-optioned 2017 Ford Fusion SE. I rented a Fusion hybrid over a 10-day vacation on the East Coast this summer and was impressed, but went with the optional 2.0 liter turbo for its smoother, more powerful and quiet character. The console does not bother me in the least and the car overall is very comfortable. The size is more maneuverable than the Impala in parking garages, and I find the ride/handling compromise to be closer to the VW Passat that this car replaced, although the Impala is no slouch.
Best wishes for a long and happy “ownership” experience.
I’ve never been a GM fan but I did like this Impala since its’ debut. It’s a very attractive car and given its position as a flagship the styling is fairly restrained and will age better than the rest of the lineup. I think the large center consoles of today’s bigger cars are because the alternative, oversized bucket seats, would look twice as unusual as a large console and not much more useful.
I have always liked the Taurus, however, so it saddens me that the current car has had no updates since the 2013 refresh and will likely be the last of the nameplate.
It is unfortunate that recent flagships from several companies have been their most competitive in years (Continental, Impala, Taurus, RLX, Avalon to name a few) and yet the dying sedan segment as well as the mid-to-full size overlap within model lineups have made them go by virtually unnoticed.
The plus side is that these cars will therefore most likely be great bargains used 🙂
“Posted advisory speeds”. I thought they called them SPEED LIMITS.
On/off ramps as OP described are posted in black on yellow: recommended or “advisory” speed.
I’m glad to read that a vehicle as handsome as this is also a properly good car. For mine – which means, here enter the Zone of Subjectivity – GM did a bloody excellent job of the styling.
You sound vaguely apologetic about criticising the modern world of the UltraDistract interior, sold by manufacturers as connectivity. Don’t be. You’re quite right, and we all see the results on the road daily. It will only make safe sense when autonomous driving is a reality.
Enjoy your ride. Isn’t sold in Oz, so a bit jealous, particularly as the Commodore (and any local GM) ends forever literally tomorrow.
Great write-up. Jason always has great articles! Few days late here, but here goes. As I work at a somewhat large Chevy dealership (over 300 units per month), I have, while not intimate, a familiar knowledge of these newer Impalas. Let’s start by saying I think they’re okay, but the dashboard lines are too many, and too busy. In addition, the rear package shelf is much too high. And I hate center consoles, but I better get used to them. The 3.6 powerplant is quite peppy, but in my lead footed opinion, the base 4 banger is adequate and would keep me out of trouble. My only gripe with the 4 cylinder is the auto-stop feature. It was not a feature on the 2014 models, but was introduced n the 2015 and later models. It only added 1 mpg to the EPA city estimates. The V6 does not have the auto stop feature; however I can’t recall if it has active-fuel-management (deactivating cylinders as conditions allow). Of all the new Chevys, and I’ve driven them all, it is my favorite, save for the Silverado, which only offers a console as a rare option. Let me qualify by saying I personally owned a 2008 Impala LT for nearly 2 years (with the 3.5 V6), and I sincerely regret trading it for my current 2012 Grand Cherokee (what the hell was I thinking?).. I drove it up and down the east coast, and found it to be a comfortable, peppy cruiser; I just didn’t like “limbo-ing” my fat butt in and out of it. I noticed all of those fleet Impalas Jason had were LS models, as evidenced by the hubcaps versus allow wheels. For future reference folks, the 2014-up older body style, only available to fleet purchasers (can’t recall seeing a 2017 or 2018 model) are properly called, “Impala Limited”. I also have no use whatsoever for the “connectivity” features of newer cars, but I fell in love with my satellite radio in the 2008 Impala LT. Can’t live without it, now. By the way, one of the selling points on my 2008 Impala was the column shifter. No console! Some have it, some have the console shifter. Again, why did I trade away that car? One more thing, I can’t recall where I saw it, but an article somewhere rumored that Chevy was dropping the Impala from the line-up, as well as the Sonic, due to weak sales? The Sonic I can understand, but we sell a fair number of Impalas, not as many as the Malibu, but we move quite a few. To balance out CAFE averages if the Sonic is droppped?