Ace of Base: 2020 Chevrolet Impala LT

You jokers should know by now that this author is an unapologetic truck guy. When something new in the segment is introduced, it is studied by these jaundiced eyes until all the details are absorbed. My browser history is a mash of truck configurators and off-road websites. Plus a few recipes for southern barbecue.

That sound you heard yesterday was your author crashing over furniture to get a good look at the new 2021 Tahoe and Suburban. Growing up in a 1978 Blazer, these rigs and their ilk have an unreasonable hold on my heartstrings. While pricing wasn’t announced, it definitely put this Truck Guy in a Chevy state of mind.

For the 2020 model year, let’s see what the soon-to-vanish Impala has to offer the Ace of Base shopper.

As you’d well expect of a GM vehicle that’s on its way out the corporate door, trims have been, erm, streamlined for this car’s final model year. Cut to just LT and Premier, the 2020 Impala has a host of equipment on the entry-level car that was reserved for big spenders in past years. Not the least of which is the venerable 3.6-liter V6 engine, making a healthy 305 horsepower. This bins the best-forgotten four-banger, an engine that should never have appeared in this big sedan in the first place.

Also expected for the final model year? A slashing of colors, though Cajun Red is still available for a $395 premium. The black hue shown here looks alright on this big car, especially with the IMPALA billboard along the flanks of its two front doors. Since GM is presumably trying to clear out the Impala parts bin, all hands get the likes of fog lamps and color-keyed trim. Those 18-inch alloy wheels aren’t too shabby, either.

The interior is typical GM fare, though your author never did cotton to this particular interpretation of the brand’s corporate steering wheel. It looks as if it has the world’s worst overbite. Those seats will be a cloth and “leatherette” mix, with black as the sole color choice. If some sort of terrible beige was the lone option, there’s a healthy chance you would not be reading about the 2020 Impala in today’s Ace of Base instalment.

Incentives and rebates generally aren’t spoken of in this series, but they are worth a mention this time around simply for their largesse. GM is slapping $4,750 on the hood of the 2020 Impala LT in an effort to move the things off dealer lots. This is a not-insignificant 15 percent off the original $31,620 MSRP, bringing the car in line with other sedans that are smaller and less powerful. I’d wager heavily that any shopper with even a modicum of negotiating skill could get far more than that sum hacked off the asking price.

A big, well-equipped V6 sedan at a cut-rate price? Works for me. Well, at least until they release pricing for the new Tahoe and Suburban.

[Image: GM]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments and feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown with American options and priced in American Dollars. Your dealer may sell for less – in this case, probably a lot less.