Went to the Chevy dealer at lunch... sat in two of the new interiors...

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Mar 21, 2006 | 08:12 AM

#16

CLEAN

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Joined: Dec 2000

Posts: 2,574

From: Arlington, Texas

Re: Went to the Chevy dealer at lunch... sat in two of the new interiors...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Xed

I was bored at lunch, so I drove to a local Chevy dealer... they are pretty big, so they usually have a lot of stuff in stock. Probably have 90 or so Impalas... probably a good 15 of those were SS's, which was nice.

Anyway, I sat in the following:

2006 Impala SS

Very nice clean and classy looking, yet borders on the verge of a touch boring... pretty much the exact way I would describe the exterior. Overall, I liek the Impala SS a lot. I find it interesting that everyone of them had the woodgrain dash inserts. The SS-specific stainless steel looking ones are standard, and I have yet to find one since the woodgrain is a no-cost option, every dealer must check off that box when ordering just because they must think it's an upgrade. I don't know which I'd perfer, since I can never find one with the standard stainless look.

Quality-wise, everything seemed great, except a few areas:

1) The HVAC control buttons tend to 'wiggle' inside their chrome rings.
2) The quality-by-touch rating of the plastics on the bottom halves of the door panels, center console, and back side of the steering wheel were not real great. The map pocket slots seem weak, being that they are molded into this same cheap feeling plastic, and the flex a lot when you push against them.

Interesting. We ordered ours w/ the woodgrain, but the dealer ordered it wrong and kept the metallic. Then they came out to my wifes work to swap out the panels and only did the dash, the HVAC, and the center console, not the bits on the door panels.

Regarding 1), thats strange, mine doesn't do that. 2) Hadn't even noticed or cared. It's a fun car, not as visually dramatic as it could be, but I think its in line w/ the Impala. I can't think of any past Impala SS's that were as overt in their styling as say, a Camaro SS. I like the look (though I could live w/out the spoiler). If it were a 2 door I could see some more aggressive styling, but for what it is, a 4 door sedan, it's fine for me. But I think the GXP GP is a little too gaudy, so take it for what its worth.

Mar 21, 2006 | 08:44 AM

#17

Darth Xed

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Joined: Dec 2000

Posts: 8,504

From: Ohio

Re: Went to the Chevy dealer at lunch... sat in two of the new interiors...

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLEAN

Regarding 1), thats strange, mine doesn't do that.

Do you have the dual zone HVAC? The one that I sat in did not, and the black plastic button wiggled when you touched it inside the chrome bezel... I think the dual-zone has a different type of control...

Quote:

2) Hadn't even noticed or cared. It's a fun car, not as visually dramatic as it could be, but I think its in line w/ the Impala. I can't think of any past Impala SS's that were as overt in their styling as say, a Camaro SS. I like the look (though I could live w/out the spoiler). If it were a 2 door I could see some more aggressive styling, but for what it is, a 4 door sedan, it's fine for me. But I think the GXP GP is a little too gaudy, so take it for what its worth.

I totally agree about the styling theme. I think it is just about perfect for the car... not in-your-face any way, and I found it quite classy, actually. I did find the lower plastics to be a bit disappointing in touch-feel quality, but it wasn't terrible by any means.

Impala SS is still on my short list of vehicles when the time comes this summer/fall.

Mar 21, 2006 | 01:58 PM

#18

Jason E

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Joined: Mar 2001

Posts: 3,376

From: Sarasota FL

Re: Went to the Chevy dealer at lunch... sat in two of the new interiors...

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeRobb

On the other hand, the 3800 in my 1993 Buick makes 195hp, and the 3800 Series II in my 2000 Bonneville makes 205hp. Whoop-de-do.

Its more of a "whoop-de-do" than you think...your Series I in the '93 made only 170hp in base form, 205hp blown in the Bonnie and Ultra. The only 195hp 3800 iterations were the '97-'99 W bodies...they were upped to 200hp in '00 IIRC.

Mar 21, 2006 | 04:08 PM

#19

CLEAN

Registered User

Joined: Dec 2000

Posts: 2,574

From: Arlington, Texas

Re: Went to the Chevy dealer at lunch... sat in two of the new interiors...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Xed

Do you have the dual zone HVAC?

Yep. That solves that mystery.

It does torque steer more than I thought it would. It's not apparent in everyday driving at all, but when you floor it, you definately need to hang on w/ both hands. That dissapointment is more than offset by the wifes reaction to said torquesteering