Several upgrades and refinements for 2007 make for a better car: The available 3.9-liter V6 gets GM's Active Fuel Management system, which idles cylinders at certain times for improved fuel economy. A tire-pressure monitor comes standard. OnStar comes standard and has been upgraded for 2007, offering the new Turn-by-Turn navigation service. And OnStar will automatically communicate the nature and severity of a crash as well as its location to the 911 centers.

The Impala is a big car. It's generally classified as a mid-size sedan, though it's large for that class, and nearly a full-size. The front and back seats are roomy, though not inordinately so given the size of this car, and getting in and out of the car is easy. and it has a healthy cargo capacity. It has a huge trunk and flip-and-fold back seats that present holding wells for groceries or a flat cargo floor that expands the trunk for long items.