Chevrolet News Car

Psst! Hey, you. Over there in accounting. Yeah, you, in the short-sleeve shirt and tie. There’s a rumor that corporate is going to upgrade the company cars for all the junior execs. If it’s true, put me down for a 2014 Chevrolet Impala LT.
Wait! Before you laugh me out of your office, I mean cubicle, um, area, hear me out. The 2014 Impala is a far cry from that generic, fleet-filling lame duck from the 2013 model year. It’s new in almost every respect, including powertrain, sheetmetal, and interior appointments. Chevy has pinched and pulled the formerly androgynous exterior into a chiseled physique. Squint hard enough and you can make out a familial resemblance to the latest Camaro. Inside, the dash features an adventurous bi-level treatment accented with contrast stitching. A motorized eight-inch MyLink touch screen (standard on the LT and LTZ) rises from the center of the dash, revealing a storage cubby.
A bit porky at 3700 pounds, the LT ­carries its weight capably if not hurriedly with the standard 196-hp, naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-four. (You can step up to the 3.6-liter V-6 in 2LT trim.) Testing reveals a leisurely 8.7-second zero-to-60-mph time and a quarter-mile run in 16.8 seconds. You can do better for a getaway car, but the engine commits early and hangs on tenaciously until an upshift from the six-speed automatic arrives, either automatically or when prompted by a shifter button. The 2.5 is a hard-working four, but, thanks largely to a rubber-isolated front subframe, the coarser aspects of its personality stay out of the passenger compartment.

Top: The Impala’s interior has class-leading swoopiness. A cubby hides behind the nav screen, which uses icons that try too hard.

Based on the same GM Epsilon II ­platform that underlies the Cadillac XTS and Buick LaCrosse, the Impala makes the most of its front-strut and rear-multilink suspension. It supplies a stable, well-damped ride, dispatching all but the most weathered pavement without losing ­composure. The variable-rate, electrically assisted rack-and-pinion steering is surprisingly accurate and quick, but it’s no ticker tape of road-texture information. This full-size sedan earned a lateral-acceleration number of 0.84 g on the 300-foot skidpad with mild understeer. What that figure can’t tell you is how composed the Impala remains right until its all-season Goodyears begin to howl.
The Impala stops well, but pedal feel is akin to kicking a waterlogged phone book. Thankfully, the ABS and electronic brake-force distribution sort out the details with a minimum of drama, and the lack of dive or squirm under hard braking is a welcome surprise. Stops from 70 mph consumed 168 feet with no fade in repeated attempts.
In fact, it’s such a complete package that I’d even shell out my own money for one. Sure, the mid-trim Impala LT will likely continue in its role as a go-to choice for you fellas in fleet management. But for the first time in years, the Impala isn’t a sedan of last resort. Now, where are we going for lunch, guys—Fuddruckers or T.G.I. Fridays?