Return of the Real Impala
By John Pearley Huffman
Date posted: 11-14-2005
If General Motors has a distinctive engineering tradition it's a weird commitment to V8 front-drivers. Since the introduction of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, GM has always had at least one V8-powered front-driver in its product line. Usually two.
Despite all that history, this V8-powered, 303-horsepower 2006 Impala SS is the layout's first migration to Chevrolet. Dismissing this Chevy Impala SS as a pretender because it isn't rear-drive like the Impalas of yesteryear is a lazy cop-out. It's a cop-out because those old Impalas weren't that great and how this car compares to the crusty ghosts of ancient namesakes is unimportant. What is important is how it stacks up against the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and most directly the rear-drive, Hemi-powered Dodge Charger R/T.
It stacks up well, both on the road and on paper. Although a fully loaded Impala SS can break the $31,000 mark, our Laser Blue test car, which had leather, heated front seats; a power passenger seat; polished wheels (which are a steal at $295); a Bose Premium eight-speaker sound system; and XM Satellite Radio but no sunroof, stickered for just under $30,000. (A navigation system is not available.) In the age of the $29,000 V6 Camry, we think that makes the SS a good value.
Evolutionary Fitness
Displacing 5.3 liters, the Impala SS's engine is a member of GM's small-block family of overhead-valve V8s and its all-aluminum construction means it isn't much heavier than the iron-block V6s otherwise installed in the Impala LS, LT, LTZ and 9C1 and 9C3 police packages. Its 323 pound-feet of peak torque at 4,400 rpm, however, is up 43 lb-ft from the 240-horsepower, supercharged 3.8-liter V6 used in the 2005 Impala SS.
To handle the extra twist the Impala has been reinforced. The unibody chassis design carries over but there are thicker frame sections surrounding the engine bay, and the engine and its four-speed automatic transaxle ride in a new extruded aluminum engine cradle. The suspension still uses struts front and rear, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes with standard ABS, but the gorgeous 18-inch wheels inside P235/50R18 Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires are new.
Although the 2006 edition rides on the same 110.5-inch wheelbase of the 2005 car, it's a little less than half an inch longer and 106.4 pounds heavier. That's more or less the weight of two additional cylinders plus the bigger wheels and tires minus one supercharger.
Uniquely GM
Like it should, the Impala's small-block V8 idles with a burble through its dual exhausts. There's also an immediacy to its torque delivery that can't be simulated by a V6. The automatic transmission shifts confidently and the generous torque means a 5th or 6th gear isn't necessary even if it would help Chevy's marketing.
The operation of GM's Displacement on Demand (DoD) system, which knocks out half the engine's cylinders to conserve fuel when the car is cruising under light load, is nearly impossible to detect. Despite the cylinder shut-off system, however, this is no economy car. During driving heavily weighted to freeway cruising, it returned just 18.6 mpg. In heavier stop-and-go traffic mileage slipped down to 14.7 mpg.
So it's thirsty, but it's also quick. With its traction control active you can throw a brick at the accelerator and the Impala SS will rip to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and bound through the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds at 97.5 mph. Although that's quicker than a Camry or Accord, it's about two-tenths slower than the last Charger R/T we tested.
With its traction control on or off, the Impala tracks arrow straight with no intrusive torque steer. This really impressed us. Despite the V8's ability to light up the front tires with ease, the profound torque steer in the mechanically similar Pontiac Grand Prix GTP simply isn't much of a problem in the Impala SS.
According to GM's Impala product manager Mark Clawson that's due to four things. "First, we use equal stiffness driveshafts that effectively compensate for their different lengths," he explains. "Second we have 'tripod' universal joints that ensure that constant and consistent torque is applied to each half shaft. Third, we've balanced the weight over each front wheel to be even. And fourth, our transverse engine attaches with 'torque axis' engine mounts so it's allowed to pitch forward and backward but it isn't allowed to yaw [twist] so that it would push and pull on the half shafts."
Cadillac Ride, Cadillac Handling
The new Impala SS doesn't drive like an old Impala SS. Instead it drives a lot like the 2003 Cadillac Seville STS, which is another GM front-driver powered by a V8 and four-speed automatic transaxle. And that's not feint praise.
Like the Caddy, the Impala SS feels solid and substantial. It's a composed cruiser that's agile despite having most of its mechanical load bourn by the front wheels. The Impala is and feels like a big, heavy car, but dive into a corner and it pulls through with dignity and thrust.
We like the four-spoke steering wheel and the way the steering has heft, but more road feel is on our wish list. At 62.6 mph, the Impala is actually a bit faster than the Charger R/T through the slalom (front-drive is often an advantage in that test), but all that weight over the front wheels takes its toll on braking. The Impala SS's so-so 138.3-foot stopping distance from 60 mph is more than 17 feet longer than the Charger R/T's performance.
Off the test track, the Impala can't match the Charger's chassis balance or responsiveness to steering input and the car's natural tendency to understeer at the limit can't be overcome with throttle. But it rides better, is slightly quieter and is completely confident in everyday use.
Revolutionary Elements
Where the old Impala interior was a haphazard riot of cheesy plastic that couldn't make it through quality control at Fisher-Price, the new interior is clean, logical and the materials quality is a leap forward. The dash is simple, the instrumentation is clear and there are side curtain airbags aboard to go with the ones up front. The Bose-tuned audio system features XM Satellite Radio and an iPod-ready input jack and the dual-zone ventilation controls operate intuitively. OnStar is standard.
Still, the interior isn't perfect. The SS's "Nuance leather" seats are comfortable, but there isn't enough lateral support and the console-mounted shifter flops limply between indistinct gates. A manual-shifting system like the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP's TAPshift would be great, but we'd settle for any decent shifter.
But the controversial interior element is how little room there is for a car this size. The Impala stretches 9.3 inches longer than an Accord sedan on a 2.6-inch-longer wheelbase but offers 0.3 inch less front legroom and only 0.8 inch more rear legroom. In its favor the Impala has more hip- and shoulder room than the Accord and its 18.6 cubic feet of trunk volume eclipses the Honda's meager 14 cubic feet, but this is a big car and a big car ought to have more stretching room.
Against the Ropes, Camrys, Accords and Chargers
Compared to high-line Camrys and Accords, the Impala SS offers a larger package with more personality and much more power at about the same price. The Impala SS also compares well to the Charger R/T, which shares much of its engineering with Mercedes products.
The two cars are about the same size and offer about the same accommodations, but the Impala's interior is better-looking and easier to use than the Mopars. On the other hand, the rear-drive Charger offers a better-balanced driving experience, even more power and even more attitude. Where the Impala is as understated and as confident as a Caddy, the Charger is just plain rowdy.
Tear open the space-time continuum and travel back to the '60s and you'll find the story wasn't much different back then. Both were fast, but the Charger was always edgier while the Impala SS balanced comfort and utility in a more restrained design. The more things change — and everything has changed — the more they seem to stay the same. Even when the Dodge Charger is a Mercedes and the Chevrolet Impala reminds us of a Cadillac.
