The 2000-2005 Impala was a car I only once got excited about, and that's when my father-in-law informed me that his had gotten 35 miles-per-gallon on a tank of gas on the way from Arkansas to Michigan. The relatively recent re-introduction of the SS with a 240-horsepower supercharged six got me almost interested enough to take one for a test drive, but something else always seemed more interesting.

The market had much the same reaction. Chevy traditionalists kept nursing their mid-90s Impala SS; they did not flock to the new one.

Well, for 2006 Chevrolet has turned up the heat another notch. The Impala has been thoroughly redesigned. And the SS is now powered by a 303-horsepower 5.3-liter small block V8. A small block V8 in a front-drive chassis--who'd a thunk it? It might just be enough to win over those traditionalists before they all defect to Dodge's Hemi.

Though not one of these traditionalists, I found the revised car more enticing. I drove the related Grand Prix GXP with this same engine not long ago, and found it quirky yet oddly endearing. Might the new Impala SS offer similar performance, but with a truly usable back seat?

I took the new Impala SS for a test drive to find out.

Styling

I didn't care for the previous Impala's styling (visible in the erroneous image above), especially not the slab of red plastic that graced the rear end and the sweeping creases in the fenders. But quite a few people found its mildly muscular angularity unusually attractive.

The new design is sleeker and prettier, but considerably less distinctive. In some respects it resembles the mid-1990s second-generation Lumina sedan. And the front end strongly resembles those of the current Honda Accord and the mid-90s Toyota Camry. But recently I also began to recognize the smooth round contours, low nose, and ample hindquarters of the Chrysler Sebring coupe. Coincidence? Maybe not. The man in charge of designing Chevrolet's cars at the time of the latest Impala's creation, Bryan Nesbitt, used to work at Chrysler. At any rate, rounder contours and a marginally higher roofline will lead many to perceive the new car as smaller, even though (aside from height) major dimensions remain within fractions of a inch of where they were before. All in all, an improved design that will likely attract far fewer people.

The new interior has a tidies appearance than the old one, with more precise fits and a more refined, more up-to-date ambiance. Still nothing remotely leading-edge here.

The only distinctive aspect of the design is a small bump in the instrument panel top in front of the passenger to mimic that in front of the driver. It's prominent enough to be noticed, but not prominent enough to lend character to the interior.

What I'm trying to say is that the new interior could not be more boring. And this was the SS, with leather trim. The darker leather might help a touch, but nothing inside the car suggests its sporty mission. No sport, much less "super sport."

One aspect I could not get used to during my test drive. As in many current cars, a gear indicator for the automatic transmission is located in the instrument cluster. Uniquely, Chevrolet has decided that this renders a gear indicator in the traditional location, next to the shifter, unnecessarily redundant. So there is none. Not a functional problem, as one would be redundant, but my eye kept noticing that something was missing.

Accommodations

The driving position remains much the same, and thus moderately high with a good view forward. Even the base Impala now has an eight-way power driver seat with manual lumbar. I suppose this seat, though not remotely luxurious even in leather, is acceptably comfortable. I could not tell how well it would serve on long trips. The SS has the same seat as the other Impalas, and thus could use more lateral support for aggressive driving. I suppose they expect people who like to drive aggressively in turns to buy the more compact Pontiac.

The rear seat is roomy, but lacks the cavernous quality of the rear seats in the competing Ford Five Hundred and Chrysler 300. Comfort also trails the seats in those cars owing to substantially thinner padding and a cushion location much nearer the floor. Luckily legroom is moderately generous, as this allows adults to stretch out their legs. Otherwise the low position would require a "knees-up" position.

Front and rear the armrests are hard and narrow, with cheap-looking and -feeling black plastic around the overly shallow, overly square door pulls. Passengers won't be using these door pulls to hold themselves in place when the driver gets feisty. I suppose they'll just bounce around the interior. I've noticed bare-bones door panels in many recent cars. Is it so hard to include a nice-looking door panel with real hand grips? Mazda somehow managed to with the Protege5 I bought new for $13,400 with leather, sunroof, and ABS.

The trunk and trunk opening are large. The rear seats fold for long items. A couple of storage compartments are located beneath their cushions. Unlike in the Grand Prix and Malibu, the front passenger seat does not fold.

On the Road

As in the Grand Prix GXP, the V8 provides beyond-ample acceleration, but is hampered by the wide gear spacing of the four-speed automatic. In this case the automatic cannot be used like a clutchless manual, so generally the V8 serves to provide easy thrust at fairly low RPM around town. High-RPM hair-raising thrills don't seem to be its mission in life.

If you do choose to floor the pedal and hold on until the red line, the front end gets light and squirrelly. Again, much like the Pontiac. Yet the same engine in the Pontiac manages to feel stronger and more energetic. Maybe just the effect of a louder exhaust and the more involving paddle shifters. But the Pontiac has much more of the brutish flavor (if not beastly size) of the previous V8-powered Impala SS.

The latest Impala SS, in contrast, much more strongly resembles V8-powered Impalas from the days when all Impalas were V8-powered. Then the purpose of the V8 was not full-throttle thrills but effortless driving around town. Need to move away from a light with little more than a whisper from the engine, pass another car quickly, or merge onto the highway with confidence? Done.

The V8 is mildly throaty when really pushed, but generally all you'll hear is a distant whirring from the rear of the car. For the very sensitive the latter noise might prove tiresome on trips, but more people are likely to be dissatisfied with how quiet the engine is.

Because four of the eight cylinders are deactivated during highway cruising, the EPA numbers of 18/28 are little different from the 19/27 earned by the 242-horsepower 3.9-liter V6 in the LT and LTZ. Then again, the 3.9 likely feels nearly as strong much of the time, and thus is no doubt the better choice for most people given its lower price.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, the Impala SS's handling is at best mildly sporty. The moderately firm, generally numb steering reacts more quickly than I expected just off center, such that it slightly redeems itself. Cornering is fairly flat and reasonably balanced, but bumps mid-turn upset the composure of the chassis. The Goodyear Eagle RS-A's start protesting earlier than they ought, so pushing the car even a bit is likely to attract unwanted attention.

Ride quality is just okay for a large sedan. Bumps register more than in most large and even midsize sedans these days, with an unexpected amount of head toss over patchy pavement. Though far from loud, the Impala isn't as quiet as I expected it to be, with quite a bit of wind rush about the A-pillars at highway speeds. The compact Cobalt I drove earlier the same day felt quieter, smoother, and generally more solid.

Chevrolet Impala Price Comparisons and Pricing

The SS runs about $2,300 higher than the LT. So I'd advise anyone considering it to also drive the 3.9-powered car. The extra two grand will probably only be worth it for those who simply want a V8 and/or need all the oomph available for frequent high-speed passing maneuvers.

The problem is, such people should probably dig up another couple grand and buy a Dodge Charger. The Charger is roomier, more comfortable, quicker, and handles a bit better. Or, if they want a GM product, the Grand Prix GXP is sportier and more fun to drive than either. But also considerably more cramped.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Impala:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Impala.php

Last Words

I went to the Chevrolet dealer expecting a much more enjoyable car. The SS is pretty much just a standard-issue Chevrolet sedan with a V8 under the hood. The bland interior is especially disappointing. From behind the wheel little about the car feels sporty, while quite a bit feels "rental." The sleeker but less distinctive exterior also won't win the car many sales. All in all a disappointing car that makes more sense in LS or LT trim. Domestic-brand enthusiasts will be much happier in either the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP or a Hemi-powered Chrysler.

A Note on Chevrolet Impala Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy an Impala SS rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Chevrolet Impala reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Impala SS--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Chrysler 300C review
Dodge Charger Daytona Review
Pontiac Grand Prix GXP review

Six-cylinder large cars:
Dodge Charger review
Ford Five Hundred review