Had to rent from Avis because one of my relatives could use his company discount which came out to be significantly cheaper than Hertz which I always take. Funny thing -Avis guys still use what I think are dot matrix printers. Anyway back to the Meh-mpala, Boy is this thing a boat. Not that I expected anything different. It is perfect for long highways though. Vanilla AF.
Lazy-ass steering, simply wafts over bumps and potholes, and a gutless 4 cylinder that should have never been put in this car in the first place but fine once you get up to highway speeds. 2.5-liter four pumps out 196 horsepower at 6300 rpm and 186 lb-ft of torque at 4400. C&D says 0-60 in 8 secs but I say it feels like it has 130Hp and 0-60 in 12 seconds.
The passenger space and trunk are absolutely massive though, swallows an entire family’s worth of luggage, iceboxes, groceries etc for a weekend trip. Visibility except for the narrow back window was good. Quiet on the highway.
Infotainment is pretty good though, I like the Chevy my link which is very straight forward and easy, just like Uconnect and the Kia/Hyundai systems.
Also, I drove this thing in downtown Manhattan and didn’t die or kill anyone, or even get honked at! granted it wasn’t rush hour. I don’t do crowded city driving very well, living in a town that has 30,000 people on a good day.
I have a feeling a Malibu would be a much better car. If you have to choose between an Impala and the other options when renting, go Chrysler 300/Charger or Maxima. I am now curious to drive a Buick Lacrosse AWD as I want to know how much the “premium” interior, a V6 and AWD can help this car.