2004 Chevrolet Impala Base from North America - Comments

Nothing so far.

I purchased this car to replace my "gas-hog" Ford Expedition. I knew I would be giving up size, comfort and no doubt security as my expedition felt like a "Sherman Tank."

I absolutely needed a "Full Size Vehicle."

One competitor was the Ford 500 which I feel hasn't been around long enough to establish a good history. Another competitor was a handful of Chrysler full size cars.

Chevy Impala was the best choice I've made in a car so far. Compared to the Ford 500 it has a long successful history with a better than average amount of fans.

Compared to Chrysler the Chevy Impala's gas mileage is more-than-wonderful also with a sporty and stylish Chrysler-like-appearance. I mean c'mon we all know that Chrysler has the best looking cars on the road.

I am ultimately pleased with Chevy Impala's comfort, drive-ability, handling, quickness, speed, gas mileage, exterior and interior looks. Also Chevy has gone above and beyond with the amenities considering it's a base model.

The only thing I would change is the low-riding experience. Like one review stated I definitely hear the scraping sound when I pull upon an incline. I did go look underneath to see that it was a plastic piece under the front, kind of like a warning signal. The car has sustained no damage from this.

Final Statement: This car is a great value! Low price points and high-quality that has sustained many years of production and an ever-increasing amount of consumers.

I hope this helps in making a decision or dispelling any potential buyer-remorse.

Hello,

Thanks for the review. I am seriously considering getting an Impala as my first car because of its' safety and how cheap it is to insure compared to other (especially Japanese) cars. I am a poor college student and would really hate to have a car break down on me (often). Is this a car worth getting for me? I will be using it to commute to school and maybe getting around the city. Any tips or advice are welcome. Thanks very much!

Mark

About the plastic piece under the car that scrapes on an incline. I am not sure about the Impala, but my Dad was so annoyed by that on another GM car he had, he removed a long black plastic piece that was in front of the engine, under the car. Dad's main complaint was that he thought it made a lot of dirt get deposited on the engine.

A few days later, a friend that was a car engineer noticed that and chewed him out. What Dad did not know was that plastic piece was an air dam that was designed to result in air flow through the engine compartment at highway speeds and was a integral part of the engine cooling design. A little dirt on the engine won't hurt anything, but missing the cooling for sure would. So we put in back on.

Mark, definitely go with an Impala. My brother has owned 3 over the past 19 years and none has ever had a single problem. His 2004 got 33 mpg on the highway, which is better than many compacts.

I'd strongly advise avoiding imports. We've had 3 and all were total disasters. Honda was the worst and never made 100,000 miles. The Toyota was better, but nowhere near as reliable or inexpensive to maintain as our Fords and Chevys.

The Ford Fusion is also a really good car, and the old Crown Vics are solid as a rock if you don't mind getting 15mpg.