I'm out in the US on business and was given an Impala for my rental car. Unfortunately my corporate policy prevents hiring something genuinely interesting.
Either way, thought it might be worth mentioning just how good the Impala really is.
In theory, I'd booked a "Mazda 3 or similar". Was quite looking forward to that as I like Mazdas and haven't tried a new 3.
Got here and was given a Chevy Impala, which in theory is an upgrade. The reality is that they've given me:
- A whale. It's huge. My guess is that it's close to a 7 series in size
- Handles like a ferry in a north sea swell, just wallows all over
- Soggy ride, but still patchy ride quality. I tend to expect one of the other, e.g. Volvo S60 has lovely smooth ride, but soggy handling, S-line Audis have a rock hard suspension but handle vaguely well.
- Dog rough engine, with not much power, yet still the chassis can't control the torque steer
- Rubbish interior, with a Sat nav infront of the gearlever, meaning you have to look down at it
- A foot operated handrake. Just who ever thought that was a good idea
- No climate control, only air-conditioning that either freezes or boils me
- Sat nav that stalls if you go through a long tunnel and seems to like zooming in and out at the least convenient times
- When I drive it from cold, the front suspension makes a really nasty sounding set of noises when turning from my parking spot
- Truly AWFUL radio, though being fair, that's not the car, rather radio stations. I spent 5 days listening to it and don't remember laughing once
Seriously, is this the best that GM can do? Just who buys these, apart from Rental companies.
If anything, it reminds me as having similar ability to an Austin Montego, i.e. that 80s classic. How it's expected to compete with say an Accord I'll never know.
Either way, thought it might be worth mentioning just how good the Impala really is.
In theory, I'd booked a "Mazda 3 or similar". Was quite looking forward to that as I like Mazdas and haven't tried a new 3.
Got here and was given a Chevy Impala, which in theory is an upgrade. The reality is that they've given me:
- A whale. It's huge. My guess is that it's close to a 7 series in size
- Handles like a ferry in a north sea swell, just wallows all over
- Soggy ride, but still patchy ride quality. I tend to expect one of the other, e.g. Volvo S60 has lovely smooth ride, but soggy handling, S-line Audis have a rock hard suspension but handle vaguely well.
- Dog rough engine, with not much power, yet still the chassis can't control the torque steer
- Rubbish interior, with a Sat nav infront of the gearlever, meaning you have to look down at it
- A foot operated handrake. Just who ever thought that was a good idea
- No climate control, only air-conditioning that either freezes or boils me
- Sat nav that stalls if you go through a long tunnel and seems to like zooming in and out at the least convenient times
- When I drive it from cold, the front suspension makes a really nasty sounding set of noises when turning from my parking spot
- Truly AWFUL radio, though being fair, that's not the car, rather radio stations. I spent 5 days listening to it and don't remember laughing once
Seriously, is this the best that GM can do? Just who buys these, apart from Rental companies.
If anything, it reminds me as having similar ability to an Austin Montego, i.e. that 80s classic. How it's expected to compete with say an Accord I'll never know.
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