It may be too early to say with certainty, but the 2014 Chevrolet Impala could be a breakout car. I’ll count the ways.
It is the first Impala in decades that doesn’t look and feel like it was made for a rental fleet or government motor pool. An attractive design with creases and bulges in the right places gives it the look of a four-door Camaro, not something your grandfather drove. It also rides smoothly and quietly (like the Buick LaCrosse on which it is based) and handles curves and corners with a degree of grace that luxury SUVs can’t match.
Indeed, the Impala could lure drivers back to the traditional family car. And it is sure to further blur the lines between luxury cars and mass-market vehicles.
I drove a “crystal-red” example yesterday in New York City traffic and on the sweeping bends of the Henry Hudson and Saw Mill parkways, and truly enjoyed it. The Impala is not a sports car — one wouldn’t expect it to be — but it manages to be smooth, comfortable and quiet, like a traditional American highway cruiser, while still giving the driver a good sense of the road and its irregularities.
Delivering road feel is difficult for cars to do without feeling cheap and bare-bones. I’m acutely aware of the pavement’s texture, seams and potholes while driving our 1998 Subaru wagon, but driving that car long distances can approach sensory overload. The Chevy manages to provide just enough feedback — like a European luxury car. Really.
The Impala is available with all the features found in cars costing $50,000 and up, from adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance technology to air-conditioned seats. But the Chevy ranges from $27,535 for the basic LS model to $36,580 for the top-of-the-line 2LTZ. Even with nearly every option the price is below $42,000.
Of course, I can imagine Impalas eating into Buick and Cadillac sales. But car shoppers might also feel a bit silly blowing twice as much on an Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz knowing the Chevy is around.
(courtesy of Wall Street Journal)
