OK guys, well, I am 19, in college and will be looking for a new car this summer. I need something that will be a good daily driver, has some decent performance, and is at least half decent in the winter months.

Well, I've been looking at the Impala SS and GXP and they are starting to work their way up my list of possible choices. Good LS4 power, FWD will be good in the snow, 4 door should be a little better on insurance than a F body, plus the prices seem fair on them. I can get an 06 SS for around 14-15k with fairly low mileage in my area. Plus they are pretty easy to find and not too rare.

My questions are these. I only have a few:

1. Torque steer, how bad is it?

2. Is the car decent in snow? Figured it would be since its FWD with a big V8 on the front wheels.

3. Fuel economy. What are you guys getting with your GXP/SS? City and highway please.

4. Any huge differences between the SS and GXP that should influence my decision?

And my most important question:

5. Reliability. I have read that the transmission on these cars break easily. Any truth to this? Would it be worth it for me to pay a little extra and get an extended warranty from the used car dealer?

Thanks a lot guys I appreciate the help.

 

GXP's is more sporty lookin. my car is getting 17.5L to 100km's and I got used to the torque steer.

 

Any problems with the tranny?

 

I never had any problems with mine, I bought the car in July 08 and its been parked for the winter on November to April (now) and I have 23,000km's on it and I also have warranty til November 2013....But I heard that the trannys are bad for the LS4.

 

I had a 2006 Impala SS and now a 2007 GXP. The GXP in my opinion is just overall a way better car.

 

Just depends on which you think looks better and if you care about the few extra goodies the GXP gets. Naturally all the GXP people will come out saying they look better, but looks are subjective that will obviously be your call. The main thing that swayed me away from the GXP was the GP's interior, which I absolutely hate.

As far as fuel economy I get typically 12-14 city and mid to upper 20's highway. And my car does alright in the snow on the stock RSA's. I don't have a long commute though.

 

My trans is starting to slip at 35K miles. If you buy one make sure it is GM certified (5yr 100K warranty) or you'll be sorry.

It is decent in the snow, it got me through a nebraska winter.

City gas mileage sucks! I got better mileage with my stalled and cammed Camaro. True! Highway is alittle better, but meh!

If I had to do it again I would NOT buy this car. It has ZERO fun. A real bore to drive!! It is just a plain jane family sedan that has a V8. And your buddies will call you an old man for owning it! LOL!

But if you must buy one, make sure it comes with a warranty or buy some kind of extended warranty.

Mine is for sale! I think I owe 19.5K. Its an 2006 Imp ss. Its pretty bad when you pray that your car either gets wrecked or stolen just so its gone!

Oh one more thing. They hold there value about as good as used tissues! lol!

 

Snow: I live in Michigan, car works just fine in the winter. Driving across the Upper Pennisula during a blizzard. The Bridgestone OEM tires are crap though, get some Goodyears for your best handling in the snow.

SS/GXP: I like my HUD and the tire stagger. I personally liked the GP interior to the Chevy interior, but to each their own.

Transmission went at 31k. Replaced under warranty. I'm up to 41k now and the trannie seems to be doing well. W-Bodys also like to eat brakes, I'm on my third set. My driving habits may be contributing to this problem.

Fuel Econ: 12 city, it varies highway. If I'm good, put on the cruise and let DoD/AFM come on I can push low 30 mpg. If I'm rolling down the left lane with the throttle down I'm looking at mid to low 20s.

 

im twenty and i like the car it did look a little plain jane but thats what a muscle car is right? American iron with the biggest v8 you can get under the hood i get about 18mpg around town and 30 from the twin cities to fargo

 

1. Horrible for the 1st couple of months but you get use to it.
2. Uneventful, almost boring.
3. 50/50 mix 18 mpg after tune.
4. Ergonomics, and the GXP is defiantly better looking.
5. 40,000 miles with a couple of bolt-ons and driving it pretty hard from time to time, no problems. But it is an automatic tranny and they do puke, you will here more people complain about them than you will here praise them.

 

does ok in the snow. replaced the original tires @ 52K miles (about 60K on it now). No tranny problems. Probably need to replace the original brakes in the next 5K miles. Torque steer is not a problem once you get used to not using the throttle while switching lanes. 18.7 in mixed driving, just over 25 highway if I keep it under 70. I have heard that the cloth interiors wear like wet tissues, so get the leather if possible. Car turns corners decently, but even that is too much for the seats, you WILL slide around on them. (Impy SS) This car is invisible to the police. It is overpowered for a front driver. Have to baby it off the line every time or you will be spinning. The traction control won't help you with launching at all. It is a fine transportation appliance with just a hint of sporty in it. Insurance is cheap.

 

1. Depends on how hard you hit it. Changing to a Poly/MSP motor mount or flipping it helps.
2. Depends on tires. Stock ones aren't very good in it, but it shouldn't be a problem if you drive on plowed roads only.
3. 10-15/25-30 if you're lucky.
4. GXP has the HUD and tapshift transmission options and is generally more sporty appearing.
5. Get the extended warranty if you don't plan on modifying it.

 

I don't think I will be romping on it too much. I drive a little more safely since I wrecked my first over a year ago. However it would be the fastest car I've ever driven.

The occasional rip down a straight or a burnout or two when I need to let some anger out. I'm not one to destroy expensive tires.

Since I would be financing a chunk of the cost, I really wouldn't have any cash to modify it anyway, so I would probably purchase an extended warranty from the used car dealer.

Just curious, You guys who have had the transmission failures, how hard do you beat on it? On average, how many times a week to do really get on it hard?

This is a good example of what my budget will get me in my area:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false


Thanks guys, I appreciate the help!

 

Hi.

I couldn't tell you about the snow (I'm in Houston.)
As for the rest, I think it's a fun car, but I'm used to rwd cars that make a bit more power. For practicality though my GXP is a decent fit (four door and I have two kids.)
As far as reliability, I haven't had the best luck. My car is an '05, though, which was the first year for this combo. ANY first year run typically has more problems than subsequent model years.
My car gets great mileage for what it is. I average 22 mpg untuned, an the vast majority of that is sitting still in Houston traffic. I think my DIC says may average speed is 33 or so and I drive about 500 miles per week (outside sales.

I have to say that i wouldn't rate this as the most reliable car. I hate to go back to that, because I truly like the car. However, my friends urged me to go with the GTO and I wish, at this point, that I had. I don't know how hard the previous owner beat on the car (I bought it at 60k), but according to the carfax it had gone through a steering pump, all of the front suspension, a battery and rotors by 30k. It also had to be towed several times under warranty. Since I've had it, I have a persistent heater core issue (I've changed hoses and backflushed it and it still sounds like I'm driving an aquarium.) I've replaced the tranny (definitely made a huge difference--I have a performance rebuild with higher stall converter and it makes it kinda' mean.) I've also replaced a radiator hose, both front hubs, another battery, the water pump, a couple of suspension bolts, and I need to replace a rear 6x9 speaker (been blown since I bought the car.) Oh, and I need to replace the steering rack now. I've had a box of performance goodies (downpipe, rockers, etc) that have been waiting to be installed but for the damn repairs I've had to do.

That being said, for the money, it's hard to find a 4 door v8 car that has the potential, fuel economy and utility that these cars have for the price. You can literally steal these cars right now. Granted, you may be just as happy with one of the supercharged 3800 cars that you can get for less money and that have a huge aftermarket.

I just want to give you my honest opinion.

Thanks and good luck. As long as your decision is based on as much information as you can find, you should be in good shape. Have you looked at the G8 GT?

Thanks,
BJ

 

I can't afford a G8 GT. My max budget will be about 16-18k.

BTW, anybody who has had tranny problems, was your car modified or stock at the time?

 

The seats in the GXP have much more bolster support. The heads up display, tapshift, bilsteins, wider front tires, and "cooler" looking brakes gives it the edge of the Imp SS..IMO. The stock system has plenty bass too, an aftermarket deck really made the difference too. Don't pay $15-16k for an 06, when I got my 08 the dealer offered me a black 07 GXP with 20k miles for 16k. Wholesale on the 06's must be around 10k by now if wholesale on my 08 is only 12k or so, so you can get a MUCH better deal. Torque steer isn't really an issue, its kinda fun actually lol. Cruise control at 80mph on a 400 mile trip I averaged 26 mpg which is better than the EPA rated 24, mixed city highway is 19-21 depending how I drive it. I'm at 35k miles, no issues other than a hub that was replaced under warranty last week.

Its a pretty sweet car for what it is (four door mid size family sedan with a V8 punch). Just keep that in mind and you'll be happy with it lol.

 

I have an 07 Impala SS with 27,000 miles on it. Im 23 years old, bought the car when i was 22.

1. It was bad in the beginning.. I remember going for a test drive and i though it was gonna lose it.. Now after a year i dont even feel anything prob b/c im use to it.

2. In my opnion, the stock tires after a year start to suck in the snow.. They were great with all the tread but after that, they are only good on a plowed road.. Not worth the 230 bucks a tire to me..

3. Fuel economy depends on how you drive it.. If you live in a flat area with very small hills or none, you get probably close to 30mpg on the highway.. On a flat surface at a steady 75mph, i get 25mpg.. I average 21MPG and i drive between the speeds of 65 - 80mph on the highways here in Pennsylvania.

4. The powerplant is the same for both. The looks depends on your taste.. Thet GXP is a good liking sporty car, but i think the same for the impala. The things that drove me away from the GXP is the little extra feature it has that cost about 3-5 grand more than the Impy ( i was new car shopping). Not sure what the blue book value difference is. I can live without the cross drilled rotors and HUD and whatever else it had.. If money not an issue, go with the GXP. Watch what GXP you get b/c i believe some have the two different size tires wrapped with bridgestone and u cant rotate them..

And my most important question:

5. I have 27000 miles on mine and i have no problems with the tranny and i have driven is hard a few times.. My stepdad has an 05 GXP and at 44000 miles his tranny went. He babys the car and no mods.. the 05-06 GXP and 06 impy trannys seem to go bad quicker than the 07+ years from what i read and heard from the dealer.. I know some ppl who have well over 70000 miles with tunes and mods and still run off the same tranny with no problems. I think there is a few on here.. Overall like all W-Body cars GM has produced, the tranny has sucked..

If ppl say your driving an old mans car, just ignore them. I get lots of compliments from my friends and strangers too.. Yes they are family sedans but that still got some kick *** power.. Funny thing is i race so many of my friends with civics and scions and i just say didnt that old man car just kick your ricer ***? lol

 

Only mods I have are super 44 mufflers and the k&n CAI.

 

Not bad. At least it has leather seats and a sunroof. The wood grain dash and wrong color floormats are a little odd looking.

 

I have an 06 Impala.g
Im 19 too, Bought it off my mom with 34k on it about a Month ago.
It had some tranny issues when she first had it, other than that its g2g.
The city mileage isnt that great, highway it kicks *** though. Im in the militay and semi regularly drive from MD to MA ( 492 miles ) And each way it takes only a little over of a tank of gas, ( If you dont unload it on i95 lol ).

Solid car, pretty classy IMO. Has alot of room in it and although its not fun its still pretty quick.