Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Chevrolet Impala

[Fobroader]

Rusty civic?!?!?! Well yeah, in 1987.... 

[Frontier1]

Rusty civic?!?!?! Well yeah, in 1987.... 

LOL..no no, Barrie1 was stuck in 77.

[CanuckS2K]

"It is still overboosted at driving speeds, and I found it was floppy on centre."

That statement just screams classic GM.

More accurately, it screams classic autos.ca GM bashing even when the facts do not support their statement.

And your statement just sounds like classic Oldsguy "fall on the sword in the name of GM" banter. How can you tell someone what their opinion of a car theyve driven should be?? The guy drove it, steering felt sloppy, he didnt like it......wheres the problem??

Yeah, classic Oldsguy, GregB, Catseye68......all whom are the same person.  His posts haven't changed one ounce in the few years that I've been here.   

[dirtyjeffer]

looks like a decent car, but if i were in the market for a full size car, well equipped for about $40k, i think it would be tough to beat the Passat TDi...lots of space, much better fuel economy, similar in price and better resale...i'm not saying the Impala isn't good, but i don't really see why you would pick it over the Passat TDi (as an example)...this Impala is $40,745 and a fully loaded Passat TDi is $37,895...as good as the new Impala is, you'd have to be a pretty big fan of GM to shell out an EXTRA $2850 for it over the Passat TDi.

[Fobroader]

The Passat is nowhere as big and wouldnt have all the features and as for reliability.....its a VW.... 

[JRM]

The Passat is nowhere as big and wouldnt have all the features and as for reliability.....its a VW.... 

The only reliability (as well as safety) issue I'm aware of with VW in more recent years is the TSG transmission in both the TDI and gas versions.  VWs with the 2.5 with manual and 6 speed auto trannys are rated better than average by Consumer reports and some other publications.  I have it in a 2010 Golf as the most reliable car I've ever had period.

[JRM]

When I first saw pictures of the new Impala, I thought it was a great looking car.  A few months later and It's starting to lose it's appeal.  I can say the same for the Avalon.  Why do so many new cars have to adopt the Sonata high rear end and tail light treatment.  It's getting really tired.  The Chevy signature front end does not, imo, mesh with the styling of the Impala.  Otherwise, it's still a big improvement over the previous couple of gens, which were just plain terrible, especially the interior.

[dirtyjeffer]

The Passat is nowhere as big and wouldnt have all the features and as for reliability.....its a VW.... 

the Impala is larger, but the Passat isn't "small" by any means...i would bet that the Impala is big enough for most people's needs...the fact that a Passat TDi is lighter, more fuel efficient, less expensive, has a better warranty and better resale down the road might be more important to many people than "I have the largest sedan available".

as for reliability, i know several people who have VW products circa 2009 and newer and all have been trouble free.

[sacrat]

Calgary police dept ran a six month test between Chargers and Taurus to replace all the old Vic's. They picked the Taurus in the end. I admit in the new black and white colour scheme they look quite menacing.

Any cop car LOOKS menacing when it's in your rear view mirror 

[Fobroader]

Calgary police dept ran a six month test between Chargers and Taurus to replace all the old Vic's. They picked the Taurus in the end. I admit in the new black and white colour scheme they look quite menacing.

Any cop car LOOKS menacing when it's in your rear view mirror 

Cops in Edmonton have Caravans.....dont know how butch that would look..... 

[Solstice2006]

Calgary police dept ran a six month test between Chargers and Taurus to replace all the old Vic's. They picked the Taurus in the end. I admit in the new black and white colour scheme they look quite menacing.

Any cop car LOOKS menacing when it's in your rear view mirror 

That's when I let my foot off the gas, and go 10km/h under to them off, happens at least twice a week, police station is around the corner, they are always doing 70km/h to get back to the station for shift change.

[Solstice2006]

Up to a month ago in the US an Impala buyer could score the older version Impala with the 6, air, cruise, etc. ( the basics) for 20K off the curb.   Very satisfactory car for middle America.  Now the list price for the 2014 base version 4 cylinder LS is $27,500  ...... which should be never offered with a 4 banger.  Just dilutes the brand.   Like Toyota offering a Camry 4 banger in the new Avalon just to beat the price down.   

4 cylinders in that land barge...thats a great idea 

it will be offered to appease eco hippies such as myself, but nobody will buy one. All will get an LT with a V6 with prices around $38k.

and I know the old reputation is hard to shake, but these will not be fleet units...they look and feel too nice. Drive one and tell me I am wrong.

It's funny how you are always SO SURE about the future. Time will tell. I hope you are right as I like the new Impala design.
Avalon with its bullet-proof reliability reputation, despite having been completely designed built and sold in the US is not selling all that well, surprisingly. Priced the same way, one has to be a die-hard GM fan to choose the all-new GM over an all-new Toyota. So I think you are jumping to (optimistic) conclusions.

I know I may be a little optimistic about the Impala future, but honestly it is one of the best in the segment of large full size mainstream cars...and that is not coming from a GM salesman, but from someone who is looking at the segment as a whole. The Avalon is a well-built snooze-fest [I admit the last one I drove is a 2011 IIRC so it could be heaps better, but I dont see that being the case]and the Taurus is horribly inefficient interior-wise. The Impala drives well, is well put together with a nice interior [ignoring the wierd steering wheel...ugh], and is huge inside and out.

But the Toyota has something that GM hasnt had in a lifetime, a well respected brand. GM has made crap cars for such a long time that people need time to turn their thinking around, you ask anyone who doesnt give a rats ass about cars whats a reliable brand name, probably gonna go with Toyota. This think might be leaps and bounds better than the Avalon, but I betcha the Avalon will sell better and have way better resale simply because its a toyota.

A little exaggerated, some models haven't been up to the competition, like the Cobalt, or the previous generation Equinox to name a couple.  But as for as large cars are concerned, GM has competed well.  The Buick Lucerne, Lacrosse, were well designed, sold good numbers, and are reliable.  They were more GM brands on JD power & associates initial quality survey than Toyota.  The previous generation Impala may have been a fleet vehicle haven.  But it was reliable, fuel efficient, and drove well for a large car.  Styling was dated, and interior need updating a long time ago, but this one looks good.  And I bet the Impala and Lacrosse will sell more than the Avalon.  Currently the Lacrosse alone s outselling the Avalon. 

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/search/label/Large%20Car%20Sales?max-results=5

http://autos.jdpower.com/content/press-release/gcVRbAk/2013-initial-quality-study.html

[Fobroader]

What I meant by crap was vehicles made for rental fleets, not quality wise, but design and execution wise.

[sacrat]

Up to a month ago in the US an Impala buyer could score the older version Impala with the 6, air, cruise, etc. ( the basics) for 20K off the curb.   Very satisfactory car for middle America.  Now the list price for the 2014 base version 4 cylinder LS is $27,500  ...... which should be never offered with a 4 banger.  Just dilutes the brand.   Like Toyota offering a Camry 4 banger in the new Avalon just to beat the price down.   

4 cylinders in that land barge...thats a great idea 

it will be offered to appease eco hippies such as myself, but nobody will buy one. All will get an LT with a V6 with prices around $38k.

and I know the old reputation is hard to shake, but these will not be fleet units...they look and feel too nice. Drive one and tell me I am wrong.

As "armchair critics" I doubt we really know how well these will sell. When GM moved upscale in price from the Cobalt to the Cruze, some said it would hurt sales (it didn't). When Ford moved up market with the Focus, some said it would hurt sales (it hasn't). Consumers seem willing to pay more if the perceived quality and content is there...

[ArticSteve]

The previous generation Impala may have been a fleet vehicle haven.  But it was reliable, fuel efficient, and drove well for a large car.  Styling was dated, and interior need updating a long time ago, but this one looks good.  And I bet the Impala and Lacrosse will sell more than the Avalon.  Currently the Lacrosse alone s outselling the Avalon.

Those Impalas got/get about 40K on the front brakes.  Lousy power for the displacement and mileage to match.  It's a cheap car for a cheap price and it's not really a large car. As for the drive; you point it and it goes in that direction.  That's about it.

The 2014 Avalon is just out.  That Good/Bad Car US link has the 2013/2014  Avalon almost outselling the LaCross  2 to 1 in May.

I don't who brought the Avalon into this thread. 

The problem for GM is this new Impala is only going to conquest sales from Buick, namely the LaCross.   

[makuribu]

The review on Yahoo! is worlds apart from this one.

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/2014-chevrolet-impala-enigma-without-mystery-motoramic-drives-145443673.html

I'd be snapping up a 2013 with all the trimmings. If I wanted one of these blobs.

[Solstice2006]

The previous generation Impala may have been a fleet vehicle haven.  But it was reliable, fuel efficient, and drove well for a large car.  Styling was dated, and interior need updating a long time ago, but this one looks good.  And I bet the Impala and Lacrosse will sell more than the Avalon.  Currently the Lacrosse alone s outselling the Avalon.

Those Impalas got/get about 40K on the front brakes.  Lousy power for the displacement and mileage to match.  It's a cheap car for a cheap price and it's not really a large car. As for the drive; you point it and it goes in that direction.  That's about it.

The 2014 Avalon is just out.  That Good/Bad Car US link has the 2013/2014  Avalon almost outselling the LaCross  2 to 1 in May.

I don't who brought the Avalon into this thread. 

The problem for GM is this new Impala is only going to conquest sales from Buick, namely the LaCross.

Sure the previous generation Impalas were using the older 3.5L and 3.9L and it didn't match the Avalon for power and mileage, but highway mileage was still in the mid 7's when using the 3.5L.  And it was the exact same size as the Avalon. Avalon had nicer materials, but also only had 1 trim level, that was over $11k than the Impala.  Then in 2012, we got the 3.6L with a 6 speed for the same price, that smokes the 2012 Avalon numbers. 

Sure the Avalon is kicking butt now, it's been out for a few months.  I am sure your right the Impala will steal some numbers from the Lacrosse, but probably the Taurus, and 300 as well.  Sure the may be RWD, but some don't care about that. When the Lacrosse is redesigned, hopefully it will be different enough not to steal sales from the XTS.  Going to be a challenge....

[Sir Osis of Liver]

A little perspective. Previous Impala sales were primarily fleet. We'll see how it does going forward.

Large car sales are a very tiny part of the US landscape these days.

[Vanstar]

"It is still overboosted at driving speeds, and I found it was floppy on centre."

That statement just screams classic GM.

More accurately, it screams classic autos.ca GM bashing even when the facts do not support their statement.

And your statement just sounds like classic Oldsguy "fall on the sword in the name of GM" banter. How can you tell someone what their opinion of a car theyve driven should be?? The guy drove it, steering felt sloppy, he didnt like it......wheres the problem??

Yeah, classic Oldsguy, GregB, Catseye68......all whom are the same person.  His posts haven't changed one ounce in the few years that I've been here.   

Greg has been going for years and his song never changes. It's positively comical to read because he is so passionate about it. I mean, cars are fun but really, just let it be fun. What is really amazing about Greg is how he keeps sneaking back. He's been banned at least three times but he keeps on coming back!

Barrie was a real scream and I still miss his post, serious entertainment value in them.

[Solstice2006]

A little perspective. Previous Impala sales were primarily fleet. We'll see how it does going forward.

Large car sales are a very tiny part of the US landscape these days.

Very true, it's going to take a few months to see how the numbers are.  Why isn't the XTS in that chart? Luxury car maybe?