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Driving Impressions

James Fabin’s 2006 Chevrolet Impala Driving Impressions:
There was something familiar about the keys I held to the 2006 Chevrolet Impala, a sense that I had done this dozens of times before. But this time, one thing was different: I wasn’t standing in a rental car lot. And because I knew the Impala picked up a number of major improvements for 2006, I was excited to see how far this car had progressed. Really, I wanted to see. I’m not being sarcastic.

Adjusting the Impala’s seat, mirrors, and steering wheel to my likings was easy – the controls seemed to magically appear just where I expected them to be. At first the new Impala appeared to be missing buttons – the large dash was just too clean and tidy. But all the radio controls were present, with the climate controls stashed just below those – nothing missing here. However, taking to the road was not as delightful. While Chevrolet’s minimalist approach to interior design is nice, it went a little too far with the “delete” option by removing the gear markings from the automatic shifter surround. The large shifter clunked limply through each of its options with a fairly heavy rowing action, and the only indication of what gear was selected was on the dash below the speedometer.

Under normal driving conditions on a straight road, the Impala soaked up bumps while providing a smooth ride that wouldn’t be out of place for a luxury car. It felt solid and actually drove like a smaller vehicle, in part due to its small turning radius. The mirrors seemed somewhat small at first, but somehow they nearly eliminated every blind spot from around the vehicle. Parking the Impala was easy thanks the great visibility, and if it wasn’t for the oversized steering wheel constantly reminding you this is a large car, you’d swear this vehicle was two feet shorter than it is.

On the highway, the Impala’s 3.9-liter V6 engine felt powerful and sounded refined. The transmission was quick to downshift to help overcome slower vehicles, but upshifts were on the harsh side. With speed comes wind and the Impala allows an excessive amount of roar into the cabin – so much so that I repeatedly checked to make sure all the windows were closed and even pulled over at one point to ensure all the doors were shut tight. In addition to wind noise, too much excess highway racket is allowed into the cabin.

More aggressive drivers will find the Impala’s suspension to be too soft. Push the car into a corner and the suspension responds with excessive body lean, the tires barking in protest. The Impala has a natural tendency to understeer at the limit and providing more throttle input only provokes the vehicle to protest louder. Emergency maneuvers are not the Impala’s strength either – attempting to swerve and miss an obstacle at 40 mph will have you fighting the Impala’s suspension to maintain control. One thing any driver will like about the Impala is the brakes, which respond quickly with heavily boosted, speed erasing power.