compare and contrast
November 22nd, 2005The SS was quick, particularly in the midrange, handled well, and generally felt like a coherent, well-assembled package.
The surprise disappointment in the Impala lineup is the SS, a car seemingly geared toward the NASCAR-watching family man who needs some space and craves the sound of a traditional V-8 but demands little ride or handling refinement. The V-8 is too powerful for the chassis – spirited stabs of the throttle yank at the steering wheel even at highway speeds-and the heavy engine hanging out ahead of the front axle wreaks havoc on the handling dynamics when you attempt to drive the SS quickly. All of this is further exacerbated by the steering’s lack of on-center feel, a problem that plagues all Impala models.
(We’ll simply say that we have yet to agree with C&D’s Fred M.H. Gregory or to drive a large-engined front-drive car that we’ve liked).