ArcaMax

ON THE ROAD

The Impala is the Chevy of Cadillacs - or the Cadillac of Chevys. Whichever, however - the point is it's a big, quiet, solid, lug of a car. The kind of car - and experience - that once defined American family cars. That went away for awhile - and the Japanese took over. The Toyota Camry - and its stretched-a-bit Avalon bigger brother - became "the" go-to family cars. They sold half a million of them a year, year in, year out.

Detroit eventually shook the sand out of its ears and got back in the game. The Chrysler 300 being one of the first truly serious alternatives (and not just a "buy American" alternative).

The current Impala - which made its debut last year - is arguably the pick of the litter. And I say this not-lightly, as a rear-drive (and V8) kind of guy.

The Impala may be front-wheel-drive (and powered by a six - or even a four) but it owns the road like the full-sized Caddy it is - under the skin. This is not a new concept - just better executed this go 'round. Back in the '70s, Chevy and Caddys often shared more than a corporate parent. A Sedan deVille and a Caprice... kissing cousins. It was great because it allowed Joe Sixpack to experience most of what Richie Rich did - at a Joe Sixpack price point. Same deal here.

It's not like Chevy was gonna rip out all the Cadillac suspension and tuning elements. Maybe a few things got left off (like AWD) but drive both without knowing which you're driving and - trust me - it will be very hard to tell the difference.

Neither is a "sporty" ride - thank the motor gods. There is enough of that going around. They are reincarnations of American Road Kings past - without the tire squeal, body roll and '78 Chrysler Cordoba back and forth pitching as you roll the thing to a stop. You get the dead-calm imperviousness in a straight line that comes with two tons of curb weight and a near 112-inch wheelbase - without the old school boat's habit of pitching hubcaps into the weeds in the curves. If you like the Camry, dig the Avalon - you will be very pleased with this one. Especially when you take into account what Chevy charges vs. what Toyota (and the others) do.

The four is no hero, but it is absolutely adequate for family car service. For more than family car service, go with the available 305 hp V6. It's the strongest available mill in this class (Avalon's 3.5 liter V6 makes a mere 268 hp; even the Chrysler 300 doesn't quit hit the 300 hp bar).

The Impalas' direct-injected V6 gives the car the highway legs of its namesake. Loping strides across the savannah. With leaps and bounds just a push of the accelerator pedal away. All these cars are easy 100 MPH cars. All day long.

Such a shame the highway speed limits in this country are stuck back in 1974. There is some pitch if you rock it up to 100 and get on the brakes hard; but that is to be expected. The relevant point is the easygoing pleasantness of these cars. All of them, to be fair.

Driving one is a time-travel trip, back to the days when big cars ruled - and small cars sucked. Don't miss it.

AT THE CURB

This is arguably some of GM Styling's finest work in decades. Bill Mitchell's ghost is smiling, somewhere. Remember Bill Mitchell? He penned the '67 Corvette - and the very first (1967) Camaro.

Bringing up Mitchell - and the Camaro - is relevant in another way. The Impala's lines were penned to establish kinship between it and the current Camaro. The effect is subtle but clear - and you really notice when you look closely at the front clip. From the cat-ate-the-canary grille, the metal flows (right word) back - almost 17 feet - accented along the way with the exterior chrome (including sail panel leaping Impala badges) that's so typically absent from today's monochromatic cars. It's a beautiful car, plain and simple.

It's also a big car. Bigger than the others. Outside - and in. Stretching 201.3 inches from end to end, the Impala is almost half a foot longer than the Toyota Avalon (195.3 inches) and wider, too (73 inches vs. 72.2 for Toyota's "biggest" sedan). Even the Chrysler 300 - what would Luca Brasi drive? - is almost... shall we say, diminutive when parked next to the Impala. Inside, too.

The Chevy has just shy of 46 inches of front seat legroom (45.8 inches, to be precise). That is nearly three inches more legroom than you'd enjoy in a Mercedes S-Class sedan (nearly $100k to start). And also about three inches more than in the Avalon (42.1 inches) and - wait for it - almost four inches more than in the Chrysler 300 (41.8 inches).

You're probably thinking - ok, but what about the back seats? How about almost 40 inches (39.8) back there? This is more than the Avalon's got (39.2) and a lot more than the Hyundai Azera's got (36.8 inches). The Chrysler 300 has slightly more - 40.1 inches - but you'll notice this difference a lot less than you will the almost four inches difference up front.

The Chevy's bigger-is-better them carries through to the trunk - which gets Tony Soprano's seal of approval: 18.8 cubic feet, vs. just 16 cubic feet (a mid-sized car's trunk) for the Avalon and (ditto) 16.3 cubes for the 300.

With the back seats folded and the pass-through open, you can haul a bundle of 2x4x8s home in the Impala - with the trunk closed. Also a sheet of 3x4 plywood (I did it).

THE REST

The main gauge cluster is analog rather than flat-screen/digital as in the XTS - but the center stack has an LCD touchscreen interface for the GPS, audio, apps and so on that's very similar to the Cadillac's CUE system. It has six main - and large-sized - icons that you touch to get to whatever you want to get to. And behind it is a hidden storage cubby. Push the up/down button just below the screen and the entire LCD housing rises up several inches, revealing your secret stash area. Slick - and useful.

As is in the in-car WiFi, which has a working radius of 50 feet outside the car. The system is standard - as is a three-month trial subscription. After that, you have to pay to play.

High-end options include an available 11 speaker audio rig, panorama sunroof, 20 inch wheel/tire package, adaptive cruise control and leather seating (and stitching) that looks hand-done and would have been Cadillac-only (and Cadillac priced) not so long ago. People rightly complain about money buying less these days - but cars are an exception to that rule. This car, at least.

And nits? The center console is deep - and has its own lighting - but it's narrow and would have been nicer if it were a bit larger. That - and a somewhat bland-looking steering wheel - are the only flaws I could find. You have to really be picky to not be happy with this car. Impressed by this car.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Joe Sixpack's Cadillac has arrived.

========

www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.