I finally got around to doing a test drive in a Impala SS and comparing it to our '06 Impala 9C1s. Handling: Wow what a difference, the Impala SS feels like it floats around and the steering felt light, while our 9C1s feel much tighter like driving a Z28. The steering feels a little more connected to the road in the 9C1 and the 9C1 doesn't lean or sway as much.
Power: The power of the SS is awesome, the car pulls very hard. The 3.9 in the 9C1 runs ok, it will keep up with a Crown Vic but that is not saying much. The low end power of a V8 is really needed, the 9C1 really, really needs the LS4, but its not going to be available in the 2007 9C1 either. I thought they were working on the cooling issues to get the V8 in the police pkg by 2007, but I guess they didn't get them resolved, or they decided not to go for it.

Its really funny, on one hand you have a car that is fast as hell, but feels a little sloppy on the other hand you have a car that can carve out the curves and is begging for more power.
Next on my list is the Grand Prix GXP, if I can find one to drive. From what I've read on here and other places, I expect the GXP to be on par with the 9C1 handling, or even better with the wider tires up front on the GXP.

I've been having a hard time at work, I am the main reason we switched to the Impala 9C1 from our troublesome Crown Vics, and I've been hearing about it. I didn't realize how faithfull some of our guys were to the Crown Vic and how much some of those guys hate the Impala. The funny thing is the guys that hate the Impala the most haven't even sat in one, much less driven one. So I keep telling them, don't bash it until you've driven it. The guys that have gotten the new Impalas seem to be happy with them, expect on guy traded to another deputy for his 2004 Crown Vic.
One of our '06 Impala 9C1s broke down, and I haven't heard the end of it yet, but I have to agree with them with only 7K miles on it the a/c compressor locks up and smokes the belt. And since the dealer didn't have a compressor in stock that 9C1 was out of service for several days. I think that is totally unexceptable on such a new car, and it kind of puts GMs problems in perpective for me. But that was one incident with one car and hopefully it was a fluke.

 

I still don't see why people think the SS is super floaty... yes it has progressive rate springs, it's going to lean a little. I throw the ever-living crap out of mine, and it's handles pretty well I think. I doubt the 9C1 has any different swaybars, but It may not have the same progressive rate springs as the SS. Either way, I'd personally take the SS anyday as a daily driver. The SS's problem is the darn lack-o-lumbar seats. What I wonder is if the 9C1 has the FE4 or FE3 suspension, or some custom suspension. I believe the SS carrys the FE3, while the Monte has the FE4, and the GXP is just different.

 

Well, let me rephrase my statements a little, I didn't think the Impala SS was super floaty, I actually thought it handled very well, but it seemed much softer than the 9C1. I haven't had a chance to look up under one of our 9C1s yet, but I'd say it has stiffer springs and maybe different shocks and sway bars. In the past 9C1s have used Bilstein shocks, and they may be on the new Impala 9C1 too, but I haven't read anything to comfirm that.

 

That would make sense, considering the GXP uses bilstiens, where the SS's do not. From the GP forums, they say the Bilstiens make all the difference in the world on these cars... I hope to try them out one day myself.

 

There aren't very many in law enforcement that would chose the Impala over the Crown Vic. Crown Victoria is bulletproof, roomy, durable, and cheap as hell to fix. The 9C1 also didn't get off to a good start when previous models had a habit of structural cracking. Also, there's no replacement for RWD for performance driving.

Tolleson Arizona (where my sis & the house is) is dumping their 9C1 Impalas for Dodge Chargers, the 1st one already on the streets. So far, to say they seem to have a hard-on for the Dodge is perhaps an understatement.

 

here in middle tn the new 9C1 is starting to show up, I saw a bunch at the emergency lighting company. It seems the hwy patrol is the only one still using the crown vic, all the cites have slowly converted over to the less thristy impala. I dont think that they would opt for the ls4 either. Thats what choppers are for.

 

Here they have been replacing the CV's w/ 2005 era Impalas. No new ones yet. We have had a few of the infamous CV's rear ender explosions though, and I think the local heat is very anxious to get out from under the CV's. I did see the Dodge Charger Police Concept rolling around a few weeks ago. It was painted in the generic cop colors, w/ no specific city markings, so I'm assuming it was making the rounds through the local departments. It wasn't bad looking for a cop car.

 

i bought the 06 impala lt3 and love it, i really wanted the ss but couldnt see spemning that much on the SS insurance. it was amazing the insurance diff between the two. i am 33 and no tickets and the same for the wife, so i opted to get the lt3 with the 3.9 265 horse engine, and all the bells and wistles, like leather and all, i will have to say it is pretty peppy. very happy with this car and i do hope they make the impala the rear wheel drive like the intention was ment to be, with this body style.

 

Funny you mention insurance... my insurance on my SS is cheaper than it was on my '97 Chevy Venture minivan. and thats at 100/300/100 versus 10/20/10. go figure. I never would have thought it would be cheaper.

 

You'd be surprised at how many agencies are unhappy with the Crown Vic, but are stuck with them like us. Yes we have guys that drive them and love them, but they don't see the repair bills for the whole fleet. 1. They are far from bulletproof, just last month we had 2 Crown Vics with engine failures 2. They are roomy, but they are hard to get in and out of if you are a big guy like me(6'4") with a vest and full gear on its a pain. The new Impala is much easier to get in and out of and only has a inch of less width than the Crown Vic. 3. We haven't found them to be durable with all the engines, transmissions, and rear ends we've replaced, and thats just the major stuff that we deal with, not to mention all of the recalls that take the Crown Vics off the road.

The thing is the Crown Vic has been virtually unchanged since 1998, and the interior dates back to 1996. You'd think Ford would start getting it right after 8 years of unchanged production. To Fords credit they have increased power over the 8 years and refined the chassis to were it actually handles half way decent now. But all the little power increases and axle ratio changes haven't made the Crown Vic that much faster than what it was 10 years ago.

We switched to Impalas in 2005, so we have a few of the previous gen. and about half a dozen '06 Impalas in so far. Its going to be interesting to see how they hold up compared to the Crown Vic. It won't take much to have a better track record than our Crown Vics.

 

its amazing how insuranse is so differant from state to state. i understand why, i have lived in a few in my AF career, and would have to say that the west coast is alot cheaper, well besides cali.

 

One thing I will say about the Crown Vic's. They can have some evil handling characteristics in bad weather. In the rain once the rear end started around it was sometimes challenging to get back. Perhaps it was the way it was sprung (1992 version). It would just lay over on the right side and keep rotating.

 

Curious as to what caused the engine failures and the mileage on em.

I might believe the transmission has problems. However, it's impossible to find a CHP B4C tranny that hasn't been replaced at least once in the 3 years they've had them. the rate of repair for the Vickys here seem to be a bit lower, but word is that they don't hold up as well as they did a decade ago. Also consider it's a bit more expensive to repair a transaxle on a FWD car than a RWD's transmission.

Until the last year or 2 of the previous Impala, they had a pretty terrible durability record. Last year's Impala was far more structurally sound due to structural reinforcements.

I'm intrested in seeing how they hold up next to the Crown Vic. Keep us posted.

 

Grandmothers 1992 Crown Victoria. First year for the 4.6. Some of the motors got aluminum intakes, some got composite intakes. My grandmother put 22,000 on it from 1992-2000. We started driving it in 2001. At 32,000 the lifters were having an issue, and affecting oil pressure. Heads were rebuilt. At 44,000 miles it managed to ingest 4+ quarts of oil within 4 weeks of an oil change, without smoking or leaking a drop. Engine failure. If you look around nearly all of the 4.6 motors with any time on them will leave a small oil puff when they accelerate away from a light. Our mechanic said he saw a lot of the first few years of them with this issue. The redundant cat system seemed to mask the smoke. He said that leaving the motor idle for several minutes and then revving tham a little would blow enough smoke through the pipes to show the problem.

 

Grandmothers 1992 Crown Victoria. First year for the 4.6. Some of the motors got aluminum intakes, some got composite intakes. My grandmother put 22,000 on it from 1992-2000. We started driving it in 2001. At 32,000 the lifters were having an issue, and affecting oil pressure. Heads were rebuilt. At 44,000 miles it managed to ingest 4+ quarts of oil within 4 weeks of an oil change, without smoking or leaking a drop. Engine failure. If you look around nearly all of the 4.6 motors with any time on them will leave a small oil puff when they accelerate away from a light. Our mechanic said he saw a lot of the first few years of them with this issue. The redundant cat system seemed to mask the smoke. He said that leaving the motor idle for several minutes and then revving tham a little would blow enough smoke through the pipes to show the problem.