Test Drive: 6 Notable Things About the 2014 Chevrolet Impala

Image via Complex Original

As I once heard some old person say, "This is a looker!" As opposed to the old Impalas, this car actually has some swoops and shape to it. There are creases that sharpen up the bigger body, and the angular face makes it more aggressive than the average sedan. The line over the rear wheel is a little strange, making it focus on that part of the car, even though it's FWD, but the total package is very proportional. Nothing looks bloated, the 18-inch wheels fit really well, and the roof line is appropriately placed, giving the hood a nice, long look. 

The Impala is at the very top of Chevrolet's car lineup, so it's supposed to be big. It's a little less than 17 feet long and weighs an estimated 3,800 lbs. When you're driving it, you definitely feel a little bit like it's the middle of winter and you've got your puffy coat on. For the most part, the steering was solid, but at times, it did feel just a little bit floaty, possibly because the ride was so smooth. And, of course, big means lots of space. There is no shortage of room from any rider or driver's point of comfort nor will there be any trouble hauling anything, as there is almost 19 feet of cubic feet in the trunk.

The car is already a treat to get into, with all the leather and various textures everywhere, but once you start driving you see where the new Impala really excels. It's honestly one of the most comfortable cars I've ever been in, and I'm not just talking the seats, like in the Dodge Dart. It's a nice, quiet cabin thanks to many types of noise dampening that Chevy used, and it seemed like the car was just eating all the bumps. You could still tell when you'd run over something, but it was weird, because you couldn't really feel it. When you've got passengers in the rear, sleeping and drooling all over each other, that's a very good thing.

As soon as I sat down in the Impala, I got the idea that the interior designers for Chevy had taken their pencils and notepads, wandered over to the Cadillac design center and sat in the new XTS and ATS. The biggest reason I love the Cadillac interiors is the depth and sophistication you get from the layering, and I see some of that in the new Impala. You have the multiple types of leather, you have the contrast stitching, you have the different levels of materials on the doors. And that's all wrapped together with this over-arching half circle that moves from the doors, up over the entire dash and back around the other side, sort of like a giant hug.

This is probably being really nitpicky, but there were two main pieces of the interior that really bugged me. The first was the steering wheel. Remember when I said that the car felt big? Well, the steering wheel feels enormous. It feels fat and just looks like it could have been in an Impala 10-15 years ago. The shape of the center looks untoned, and having the buttons all clustered together in those rubbery plastic pieces didn't fit with the rest of the inside.

The second piece was the ambient lighting strip that goes across the dash. Most ambient lighting that I've seen comes from underneath a layer and seeps into the cabin, but the Impala's is just a flat strip of see-through plastic with a blue strip in the center. It just kind of reminded me of an old light-up toy I'd get with 100 tickets at the arcade. I know it's a family car, but the kids aren't paying attention to the design.

Undoubtedly, those diehard Impala lovers out there will instantly be like, "Will there be an SS? Is there an SS? Why isn't there an SS? There should be an SS!" Well, there is an SS sedan in Chevy's lineup, just not an Impala SS. It's just called the SS, it's Holden-based, it's rear-wheel, and it has a ton of power. So if you want a tire-eating sedan, that's what Chevy has for you.

The model I was driving had the 3.6L, SIDI V6 with a 6-speed auto and front-wheel drive. It has 305 horsepower, which is enormously more than the 195 from the 2.5L ECOTEC engine or the 187 from the 2.4L 4-cylinder. We've read that the 4-cylinder models feel like they're really working to get going, so we're glad we had the V6. The 264 lb-ft of torque never made me feel like the car was struggling at any point. It answered when I asked it to perform. Like we pointed out, it's not going to knock you back in your seat, but it's definitely not a slouch and provides perfect power for the needs of longer trips with a family.