2012 Impala: 302HP, 30MPG, $25,645
The 2012 Chevrolet Impala may have the oldest “bones” of any current production sedan, but it’s not quite ready to put those bones in the graveyard yet…
GM’s direct-injected 3.6L V-6, best-known for its applications in the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Camaro, makes an appearance here in transverse-mount form. The numbers? 302 horsepower, 252 lb-ft of torque, 18mpg city, 30mpg highway. A six-speed automatic transmission, as found in other GM (and Ford) products, drives the wheels.
It’s an 89-horsepower boost over last year’s standard 3.5 V-6 at a roughly equivalent mileage figure. It won’t run like the late, lamented 5.3 V-8 SS — there’s an eighty pound-foot difference in the torque figure — but look for it to be quick enough to take on the rest of the mid-sized dragstrip warriors such as the Camry V-6 and Sonata Turbo.
According to GMInsideNews, “The 2012 Impala starts at $25,645 for the LS trim, up $1,150 from the 2011 model. The LT trim starts at $27,170, and the LTZ starts at $30,185.” No word on what the rental agencies and police departments will actually pay.
If you have a flyaway trackday coming up, however, now’s the time to call ahead and make sure that an Impala, rather than an Altima or Optima, is waiting for you at the end of the aisle.
More by Jack Baruth
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Lipstick on a pig. Anybody who'd buy this car new is a fool, and anyone who'd buy it as a "lightly used" fleet queen is a masochist. The GM-10/W-body never came close to being class-leading and struggled to even be class-competitive for most of its existence. The cars with the 3800 Series II weren't awful, but they were nothing special, either. At least they weren't nearly as outdated as this.
I'm guessing that stingy transmission programming, very tall gearing, and crummy tires will conspire to keep the enjoyment factor in check. And every publication that goes "302hp means that the V6 is totally the same as the LS4!!!" is getting some hate mail from me.
I drove one yesterday with 5 miles on it, the 6-spd really made a nice improvement. It has buttons to shift manually on the left side of the steering wheel that look no different than the cruise control buttons, found them on accident. Nonetheless, the car is still ancient.
THIRTY GRAND... FOR A CAR that goes back to '88!!!! ARE THEY SERIOUS?! I wouldn't pay anything over 15!