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Not defending GM for not including them but side impact tests were good with out them on the 2005 so I would expect the same if not better for the 06. If side impact is 5 star with out them then I would say they are not really needed.
At least curtains are standard though, thats certainly more than Camry.
I don't think you close to a point where you need a new car yet. A computer module is an easy thing to change.
GM's Oshawa plant builds great cars and the car should be fine once they fix the module. Better you caught it early rather than on a 500 mile trip.
It's cool! It's comfortable, it's fast and the more I drive it, the more I like it. In short, I'm glad I bought it! I'm REALLY glad I didn't get the Ford 500! They are simply not equal cars.
We need to remember, the Impala is Chevy's answer to the Camry, Accord and Altima. It's interior is equal or better than the others, it's over all size is equal, etc., etc. However, when one shoe-horns in a small block V8, all bets are off.
With that little addition, the Impala is head and shoulders better than a lot of other (good) cars. Does it approach the relm of equality of the 300C? Honestly, now that I've had it a few days, I'd say: Yeah!
Admittedly, it not as fast perhaps, but it's so close, my "butt dyno" doesn't care! And, I'll concede, the Impala SS doesn't carry the same "bling" factor as a 300C, but maybe that's a good thing.
One odd observation though....
When driving at low speeds in city traffic, if left in 4th gear, the trans seems to wander a little. By driving the car in 3rd gear in city traffic, the trans seems to have more intuition about what to do. It runs smoother and the wandering sensation seems to go away.
However, from a dead hang, if one starts in 1st and shifts at 5,100 rpm intervals, the car turns into a budget priced rocket! It's reeal fuuuun!
Bottom line: I like it!
We have a '00 Impala and I think its time to upgrade. Our '00 does real well on gas however, 30 miles on the highway running about 70....imagine what it would get at 55, guess I'll never know LOL.
Any sites or reviews you guys can turn me on too would be appreciated!
I am attempting to reply to the person who asked about the 45-50,000 miles per year question.
Thought that the Malibu fills that role. How about the 500, Maxima, Avalon and Azera. In that camp the 500 is pleasant but plain (sort of like the Impala, but with poorer engine choices), much better in the styling department (IMHO) than the Maxima (which I think is like the strangely ugly big sister to the great looking Altima), less sophisticated and more down scale (again IMO) than the Avalon or (probably) the Azera.
It is a great improvement over the earlier Impala, however, especially since the platform doesn't look all-new to me. I personally like the durability and gas mileage of the GM OHV engines--I have the 3.5 base engine in my Maxx, and it's nice to have a V8 in there if torque steer can be controlled.
BTW-- Why is this still listed under future vehicles?
Also, check out this month's Car and Driver (The one with the new Z06 on the cover.) See page 72. There is an article talking about the new Impala. It retiterates the zero to 60 times at 5.7 secs and confirms who the competing cars are.
I'm not exactly sure who the Malibu is targeted at... I assume the Corolla and the Sentra.
As far as why we are still talking about future cars in this thread, I'm not sure. Maybe because the cars have just hit the showrooms so recently that these postings are the first waves of feedback to be posted...sort of hot off the press stuff.
A week later they called him, asked him to drive it and see what he thought. Although they replaced the axles etc. it still vibrated. They told him to go out on the lot and pick out another truck, which I thought was real decent of them. The one he picked out was $900 dollars more then the original truck but they let him have it for the same price, even though he bought the other one for "employee price"
This has little to do with your problem just shows what a dealer can do if they want. As far as Onstar and XM, if this drags on too long they could/should make an adjustment and prolong the free period.
Good Luck
Then what about the Cobalt? The Azera and Avalon are better appointed than the Impala, so in that sense you could maybe say that they're aimed at the next level. The 500 aims directly at the Impala and the Fusion goes up against the Malibu. I came from a large compact (Elantra) to the Maxx and they don't compare at all and (I think) the Elantra is significantly larger than the Corolla and the Sentra in interior space. The Malibu (especially Maxx) and Sonata are both classified as large cars in the next EPA step above the Camcord, although I'm sure the Japanese competition will catch them when the new platforms come out.
The people who have a poor or biased view of American cars like yourself will be a tuff sell, but the truth be told, the Impala is more than capable of competing with Camry and I can't wait to see some comparisons in the moto mags.
I like the Impala for lots of other reasons, but styling isn't one of them. I would say, if anything, it looks very generic...certainly not like a first generation Intrepid (or any other Chrysler product).
We checked them out this past saturday.
Not too bad of a car, although I will not buy a first year Impala after the engine cradle fiasco of our 2000 Impala LS
Tony
Ok.. I will give you the HHR to some degree but... The Solstice is SOLD OUT for this year. Fiero baggage, ya right? GTO looks like a Grand Am? I guess if you are looking at the Pontiac grill only it does? Don't see any resemblance of the Intrepid in the Impala unless I blur my vision in which case all cars look like it. As for the Malibu, it has sold strong and growing numbers since it's release competing well with Camry?
Have you even sat in a 2006 Impala? Sounds to me like you are just doing a dump on GM.
PS: I just looked at an Impala 2005 - IT HAD BENCH SEATS. What is this 1978?
Um... I think that's a ridiculous blanket statement. The reason there are so many different vehicles produced by a variety of manufacturers is that people have different wants & needs in a vehicle. Just because it's not your cup o' tea doesn't mean it won't suit someone else to a T. If bench seats don't blow your hair back, don't buy an Impala.
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No the Impala is not the most exciting car on the road but it's meant to be a bread and butter sedan, that's what the masses want (hence the success of Accord, Malibu, Camry and Altima). Pontiac Grand Prix is the excitement model if you want more pizazz.
Congrats "ssroadside" on the new Impala.
You can always locate the discussion using the handy search features at the left. Thanks!
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Anyways. Ive never been crazy for american cars. At all. But this new impala is such an improvement over previous generations, in terms of quality. I dont even know where to start, but just go see for yourself. There are still things I do not like about this car, of course, and I am still considering the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE, although that one is getting outdated as well. Its getting to be almost a hard decision between the two. Whooda thunk I'd ever be this close to buying a Chevy.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
How did you find the power / acceleration of the 3.9L in the LTZ? Did the car have the wood trim or the satin alloy finish inside?
altis_jds is right. The new Impala is nothing like the previous model. You have to see it and drive it to believe it. I had a customer come in last week in his Durango who was a DIE HARD Mopar fan.They had just come from the Dodge Dealer His wife made him come in and he wanted to see what Chevy had to compete with the new Charger (very skeptical and snide) Test drove the SS . Long story short came back with eyes like a kid in a candy store. Ordered a SS will be here in 3 weeks.
Wow man. I mean i have problem with the Impala too but i don't think you would be playing the same tune had it been a toyota or honda.
The impala exterrior will defenantly grow on people. I saw one for far it was not an SS. It looks kinda meaty in person. More so than the avalon.
I believe this is how it works:
the cobalt is the corola figher (beater)
the malibu is the camry fighter
the Impala is the Avalon fighter
The impala and the avalon are TOTALLY different cars but they are in the same class and in many trim levels the same price. Impala does cost less, since the avalon is from 26-33K.
The avaon does come close to the imlas HP, but tthe interrior is just too much better than the impala and chevy may loose out on that one. would it really cost that much to put some on that wood-looking trim on the door panels, meybe where the window swiches are? And what about a NAV system? I am not even talking about HID/XENON lights.
Ford is closer to the avalon in many respoects with the Five Hundred, and will soon be in the league with hp too. They could also have done a bit better with the interrior but its better than the Impala. they also added a Nav system for 2006. Thats a good move.
I think overall GM has a very good car on its hands. Let see if in subsequent model years GM can improve feature content and interrior materials some more.
I tested several different trim level Impalas. Both bench and bucket were great.
What stands out in my mind is that Chevy made the 2006 model larger on the outside and took 1 inch of legroom away in the rear. With the front seats all the way back, I found it difficult to get out of the back seat.
For a family sedan, the Impala does not provide enough room in the back seat for adults.
I would be surprised if very many of you who drove the car, actually got in and out of the back seat more than once.
Did anyone else find the rear seat cramped?
If you call the Impala a mid size Chevy, what would you call a full size Chevy?
Well I had a 00 Impala LS.
I call my full sized Chevy a Ford Five Hundred!
On the plus side, the 500 like the Impala, I can read the radio in bright light. The Accord LX, Camry LE and Sonata GLS radio displays are completely useless in bright light. I really don't under stand the cheap LCD displays on cars.
I talked to a few cops, they hated the "new" 2000 - 2005 impalas. One of the reasons is they said it was small. If this new one really has less rear leg room, and that very important for cops, they might as well start buying German cars.
I don't think ford is too interested to sell police versions of its Five hundred but thats just me
Still like the car, this is just not very encouraging. I thought automakers were trying to find out how to maximise interrior room while minimising exterrior bulk. Go figure.
As far as the Ford 500, while it's designed with "stadium" seating, I believe it has less room in the front, by a very small amount then the Taurus.
Looked at a new SS today....pretty sweeet though wheels looked cheap.
All about the mileage now in my old age though. Anybody drove one with the new 3.5? I see it has 11 more hp then my '00 Impala 3.8. My '00 gets 30 mpg in TOWN! Yes, really.
still can't get over that '99 vintage Monte Carlo front end though like the rest of the car.....even with it's Malibu rearend
You are right though, a loaded up LT would be pretty close to looking like an LTZ.
Impala/500 (source chevy.com and ford.com)
Shoulder 58.6 / 57.6
Hip 57.2 / 53.7
Leg 37.6 / 41.3
Impala is about 3.7 inches short on leg room but has more shoulder and hip room. Of course even a base Impala has more power than the 500 and way better mileage so its a bit of give and take.
:P
What does that mean?
My AWD on my many cars since 1981 has been great.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What does that mean?
My AWD on my many cars since 1981 has been great.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
ABS and traction control on the other hand..
Friend was buying a Pacifica. He lives down a steep grade--even the salt trucks skid down the hill when salting and then work their way back up (it's a dead end street). I convinced him the mileage loss, extra parts, additional cost of car wasn't worth the return. If it's too bad, they stay home till the salt trucks have cleared the grade.
Impala doesn't need AWD just because "everybody else is doing it," --sounds like my teenager.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
but accorping to Chevy's website,the Malibu has more rear seat leg room...To me,this is the crucial dimension...more meaningful than hip/shoulder room with only one or two in back...
I think I'm more interested in the malibu...