Hertz - Ride Report - '12 Chevrolet Impala LTZ

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from someone at Westminster College in Salt Lake City telling me I've been accepted! Having visited the Florida Institute of Technology in MLB just a few days prior and only having until today (5/14) to give them my decision, I decided I needed to take a second look at SLC before making my mind up. I first visited Westminster in December, when I rented a Corvette (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz/1298690-ride-report-12-chevrolet-corvette.html) (the photo of the Corvette is in the parking lot at the school!). So a little under two weeks after the phone call, I was on my way back to SLC, this time via MSP and with my mother tagging along. I was hoping that if I didn't get upgraded then I'd get a Malibu, since I wanted to give it another shot after a disappointing rental last October; however, when the Carfirmation said CHEVY IMPALA I was intrigued, and I was not let down.

http://www.chevrolet.com/impala-sports-sedan/

Car Description: N/LIMPALA5P3.6N (2012 Impala LTZ w/ N/L and XM)
Class: YF

The LTZ trim is the highest trim level for the Impala; the MSRP is $32,025 with all relevant options selected. We drove off the lot with only 2,309 miles on the odometer, making it the least-driven car I've ever received for a rental. Over a 30 hour period, we drove it 201 miles all over the SLC area and to Antelope Island State Park.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7046/0512121348800x598.jpg (http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/5500/0512121348.jpg)

Powertrain: My first two rentals ever were both 2011 Impala LTs, and I liked the power those had. For 2012, all three trims of the Impala came with a 3.6L "LFX" V6, which creates up to 300 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. I originally thought it had the same engine as my grandfather's '07 CTS, since it sounds just like it; it's actually from the same family -- just two generations newer ;) With a 6-speed transmission with selectable low gear (pick the maximum gear 1 through 6 using steering wheel-mounted controls), it's smooth and fast. A manual mode (like on the 2012 Malibu LS I rented in PWM) would have been nicer than the low-gear. The EPA says it gets 18 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway; we did quite a bit of both and averaged 24.9 mpg. Keep in mind that it's also E85 FlexFuel capable.

Ride/Handling: The Impala is a very solid car. It shifts smoothly and steering is stiff. The brakes aren't overly-sensitive but are very firm as well. Suspension is also pretty stiff; it didn't sway during fast or tight turns, but at the same time it wasn't so firm that you felt every bump on the road. We did drive down some gravel roads and the Impala did a great job riding it out.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/9552/0512121348a800x598.jpg (http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9098/0512121348a.jpg)

Interior: The 2012 Impala is really nice inside. There's plenty of space for four adults, and it's capable of carrying 5. The "neutral" (tan) leather trim suited us fine, and complemented the (albeit fake) wood grain of the dashboard. It has two cupholders in the front, and the center of the rear bench folds down to serve as an armrest with an additional two cupholders. I found two DC outlets under the radio and climate control cluster and a third in the center storage console. Speaking of that, it's huge, and there is also storage slots at the bottom of the two front doors. The glove compartment is pretty big also, and the trunk is downright monstrous.

The gauges themselves were large and easy to see; the info display within the gauge cluster could display (in no particular order) Trip A/B mileage, odometer, average gas mileage (in MPG), temperature (and possibly direction), and a few other things which I missed. The clock/radio cluster display had the time as well as radio information. Since we didn't venture away from the XM version of a local NYC radio station, I'm not sure if it displays song info but I'm sure it would have, had we switched to a FM station. Climate control was very effective, with individual controls for both the driver and front passenger. Surprisingly, our gas mileage didn't take much of a hit even though we used the AC the majority of the time.

One thing I liked about my grandfather's CTS was how the engine sounds; it produces an almost song-like kind of noise at lower RPMs. Pulling out of the lot and hearing it again got me excited since it's a great engine. At speed it's still very quiet, and road noise is muted pretty well too. At higher RPMs, it growls nicely too! On a similar note, the eight-speaker Bose sound system is great, even if the sub woofer comes off as a bit strong. Similar to my more recent rentals of the Ford Escape and Fusion, all of the light and wiper controls are on one stalk.

I do have one huge complaint though, and it's not the Impala's fault -- rather, it's Hertz's fault: NeverLost. I had brought a portable GPS with me since I hadn't requested N/L, but it was nice to leave it in the bag. However, as I'm sure many of you are familiar with, N/L likes to make buzzing noises due to interference with other electronic devices (i.e., phones). Secondly, due to the way it is mounted, it likes to shake a lot, and the noise can really drive you nuts!! :mad: On the other hand, it's a testament to how quiet the Impala can be. If the car weren't an LTZ (or anything not as nice) I would have returned it for something without N/L.

Exterior/Design: Our Impala was painted "summit white;" being the LTZ trim, it had 18-inch machined-face aluminum wheels and a spoiler on the trunk. I've always liked the design of the Impala; its sharp corners and angles look aggressive and like the Impala means business. One downside of all of this, however, is that the side-view mirrors are awfully small.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1987/0512121356800x599kkv.jpg (http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5492/0512121356.jpg)

Features: Being the LTZ trim of the Impala, this car had nearly all the bells and whistles an Impala could possibly have. Besides XM and NeverLost, the car had: a very nice cruise control setup, leather seats and center console, tilting leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather-wrapped gear shift handle, heated and power-adjusting driver and passenger seats, power sunroof, individual climate control, integrated Bluetooth, steering wheel radio controls, BOSE speaker system, an aux-in jack, remote start, and 3 DC power outlets. I didn't catch if there were fog lights or not, but I think there were.

Value: Using the USAA CDP, I paid $18.69 a day for a FCAR, which is pretty good. For a car like this, it should be criminal. The last time I was in SLC when I upgraded to the 'Vette, I got a good rate on that too (so much so that the agent asked me not to disclose it to anyone!). When I first got the Carfirmation and saw it was an Impala I thought I'd see what else was available in Gold Choice, but the Mustang was $40 a day extra and only other fullsize or higher was a Nissan of some sort (maybe an Altima, maybe a Maxima?) with cloth seats.

Summary

3.6L V6 engine (300 hp)
6-speed automatic
18/30 mpg
LTZ - highest of 3 trim levels
Equipped with XM and NeverLost


PROS:

Strong yet smooth powertrain
Very quiet, but what you can hear sounds great
Three DC power outlets
Plenty of space for passengers and all their stuff
(Maybe this is toward Hertz themselves) It's a TRUE full-size sedan, with more than enough space to prove it
(Also ^ towards Hertz) Low mileage


CONS: (I'm really trying to think here...)

Small side-view mirrors
Poor wiper coverage (at least 3 inches below the top of the windshield)
No labels next to the gear shift handle
NeverLost :mad::mad::mad:


Final verdict: I don't know how else to put it, but this is the best full-size car I've driven. If this was offered to me as a Premium, I would be inclined to take it (unless a decently-equipped Buick was available). This blows any baseline model out of the water, even if they're classified higher. I've never driven an Altima (or any Nissan for that matter) so perhaps I don't know what I'm missing, but for the rest of you who haven't driven one of these, you don't know what you're missing either! Many people have said that the true American sedan died with the Ford Panther platform (Crown Vic/Town Car/Grand Marquis); if this is what's replacing it, I say good riddance! I'd happily drive this again.

-J.

P.S. When I pulled back into the lot to return the car, I parked right behind (what I'm pretty sure was) the same Crown Vic I rented in PWM! With CA plates, that thing gets around :D

First the Crown Vic, now the Impala? I salute you, good sir. :)

First the Crown Vic, now the Impala? I salute you, good sir. :)

Hey this thing was nice! My mother who used to hate Impalas is even a fan now! And I'll keep saying this was nice until I [finally...if ever] get something in the prestige collection... :p

-J.

P.S. When I pulled back into the lot to return the car, I parked right behind (what I'm pretty sure was) the same Crown Vic I rented in PWM! With CA plates, that thing gets around

If true, that would be funny indeed. I once thought I saw the same Chevrolet Cobalt I had from the FL driveout at another HLE in a different part of the state a few months later. It made sense, since both the northern suburbs and Long Island get one-ways to and from the NYC airports fairly often, so that's probably how the overlap happened.

The way I recognized the car was by the odd, memorable license plate number: It started with V58, which reminded me of 58 vegetables, and the car was a light spaghetti sauce red color. Of course, I could have been wrong and it was a different car. I drove by pretty quickly, and it seemed that Hertz was buying a lot of light red Cobalts that year.

Another funny coincidence: When I did a cross country one-way later that summer, the AWD SUV I got in CA had GA plates that started with AWE. I wonder who writes these license plate combos.

Perhaps the Crown Vic you saw at SLC was the same color, coincidentally had CA plates, but a different combination. Unless there was something particularly memorable about its sequence. PWM to SLC seems like a relatively rare one-way.

Again, drzoidberg said it best, thanks again for taking one for the team.

Maybe I really don't know what I'm missing... I think this is the best I was gonna get on this trip though, I couldn't justify anything larger and got lucky with the price -- mom was expecting me to rent a Rio :o

-J.

Hey guys, if jzweighaft was happy with the low mileage impala, then that's good news isn't it ?

His Impala was certainly better than some of the crap I have had in the past. and we see enough moans in posts about cars with mileage that resemble an Apollo mission.

so give him a break :)

I would drive this 100000000x over the base 4 Door Altima w/ 73k and dirty back seats I received at YEG.


Looks like a nice ride ^

For me, it's mainly about how the car looks... Being a young guy, I'd much rather roll in a CTS rather than a DTS or town car. To be honest, I'd rather drive a base mustang(hardtop), than a loaded crown vic. I just can't see myself hopping out of one of those. I think I would look weird :D

I would drive this 100000000x over the base 4 Door Altima w/ 73k and dirty back seats I received at YEG.


Wow, 73k? I have never been given a car with over 30k.

Wow, 73k? I have never been given a car with over 30k.

I got a Corolla with 35k on it once... certainly check out this thread for more horror stories: What's the highest mileage vehicle Hertz has tried to give you? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz/799153-whats-highest-mileage-vehicle-hertz-has-tried-give-you.html)

-J.

Wow, 73k? I have never been given a car with over 30k.

YEG -- I'm guessing maybe 73k kms? Which is still very borderline at 45k miles but probably more likely.

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from someone at Westminster College in Salt Lake City telling me I've been accepted! Having visited the Florida Institute of Technology in MLB just a few days prior and only having until today (5/14) to give them my decision, I decided I needed to take a second look at SLC before making my mind up.
So... what was your decision?

(Spent two semesters at FIT Jensen Beach campus... back when it existed. Never got to the FIT Melbourne campus.)

So... what was your decision?

(Spent two semesters at FIT Jensen Beach campus... back when it existed. Never got to the FIT Melbourne campus.)

Oh whoops I thought I mentioned it. I'm SLC-bound in the fall :)

I did like FIT a lot, but because of the way the program is set up, I'd be there 3+ years -- something I'd rather not do lol

-J.

I rented a 2012 Impala in March and hated. Awful handling, crappy 90s interior with 80s seats. They only thing good about the 2012 Impala is the powertrain nice direct injection v6 with 6 speed tranny. They new model coming is pretty nice though.
As a full size I find the Taurus a much better car overall.

I rented a 2012 Impala in March and hated. Awful handling, crappy 90s interior with 80s seats. They only thing good about the 2012 Impala is the powertrain nice direct injection v6 with 6 speed tranny. They new model coming is pretty nice though.
As a full size I find the Taurus a much better car overall.

I've yet to drive a late model Taurus. The only Taurus I've ever driven was my grandmother's '92 Taurus GL... which I loved dearly and it was a great car with its cast-iron Vulcan V6 :cool: It held 6 people too! Unfortunately one day on the way to school in October (a little over 6 months ago) the tranny gave out and we scrapped it :(

I'd love to rent one of the new ones Hertz has, but rumor has it they will follow Avis' steps and classify the Taurus as a PCAR :td:

-J.

Its a very nice car. I rented a Limited one last year as a full size from Alamo.

http://imageshack.us/f/20/img0420yf.jpg

http://imageshack.us/f/442/img0423jx.jpg

I'm impressed jzweighaft, you were much more forgiving in your review than mine.

http://carrentingreviews.com/2012/06/07/2012-chevrolet-impala-ltz/

I usually try to avoid Malibus and Impalas like the plague. :)

I'm impressed jzweighaft, you were much more forgiving in your review than mine.

http://carrentingreviews.com/2012/06/07/2012-chevrolet-impala-ltz/

I usually try to avoid Malibus and Impalas like the plague. :)

You have a lot of great points. I've been renting cars for less than a year so nothing can really appear "dated" to me just yet ;) Although I can see how it's getting old. I guess I'm looking at it from a cheaper, expect-less-and-be-surprised point of view. I do agree with most of your cons, although the blue/green text didn't bother me (it's the same color as on my '04 Malibu MAXX and my family's '00 Grand Cherokee), and I had an easier time finding the reading lamp.

I will say though it's a LOT times better than a non-2013 Malibu (ANY Impala is better than a non-'13 Malibu imho)... I rented a LS trim in PWM last year and it felt weird to drive with the Ecotec I-4 (not to mention the lack of any decent features and the smaller trunk). I'm going back to SLC in August (moving in to school!) and will probably book a full-size while my dad's with me, but even though I've now driven it 3 times I may try for an Impala again just for the trunk space (although--and you can call me crazy, but--if gas is cheap and there's a Crown Vic I may actually jump for that).

Just curious of your opinion: how would you compare the LTZ to a baseline/feature-stripped (i.e. common rental spec) Altima or Maxima? :p

-J.

You have a lot of great points. I've been renting cars for less than a year so nothing can really appear "dated" to me just yet ;) Although I can see how it's getting old. I guess I'm looking at it from a cheaper, expect-less-and-be-surprised point of view. I do agree with most of your cons, although the blue/green text didn't bother me (it's the same color as on my '04 Malibu MAXX and my family's '00 Grand Cherokee), and I had an easier time finding the reading lamp.

I will say though it's a LOT times better than a non-2013 Malibu (ANY Impala is better than a non-'13 Malibu imho)... I rented a LS trim in PWM last year and it felt weird to drive with the Ecotec I-4 (not to mention the lack of any decent features and the smaller trunk). I'm going back to SLC in August (moving in to school!) and will probably book a full-size while my dad's with me, but even though I've now driven it 3 times I may try for an Impala again just for the trunk space (although--and you can call me crazy, but--if gas is cheap and there's a Crown Vic I may actually jump for that).

Just curious of your opinion: how would you compare the LTZ to a baseline/feature-stripped (i.e. common rental spec) Altima or Maxima? :p

-J.

I'd definitely take a base-trim Maxima over either of those; between the Altima and the Impala, I might have to give the slight edge to the Altima (unless I were in need of trunk space).

I'd definitely take a base-trim Maxima over either of those; between the Altima and the Impala, I might have to give the slight edge to the Altima (unless I were in need of trunk space).

Interesting... FWIW I just found out I may be going up to PWM again this summer so maybe I'll hunt down one of these Nissans and see if it lives up to the hype!

-J.

2012 ltz over base maxima but any other impala go with maxima (2012 impala has same 3.6 300+ hp engine as buick lacrosse and camero).

You have a lot of great points. I've been renting cars for less than a year so nothing can really appear "dated" to me just yet ;) Although I can see how it's getting old. I guess I'm looking at it from a cheaper, expect-less-and-be-surprised point of view. I do agree with most of your cons, although the blue/green text didn't bother me (it's the same color as on my '04 Malibu MAXX and my family's '00 Grand Cherokee), and I had an easier time finding the reading lamp.

I will say though it's a LOT times better than a non-2013 Malibu (ANY Impala is better than a non-'13 Malibu imho)... I rented a LS trim in PWM last year and it felt weird to drive with the Ecotec I-4 (not to mention the lack of any decent features and the smaller trunk). I'm going back to SLC in August (moving in to school!) and will probably book a full-size while my dad's with me, but even though I've now driven it 3 times I may try for an Impala again just for the trunk space (although--and you can call me crazy, but--if gas is cheap and there's a Crown Vic I may actually jump for that).

Just curious of your opinion: how would you compare the LTZ to a baseline/feature-stripped (i.e. common rental spec) Altima or Maxima? :p

-J.

You have an interesting taste in cars, and you're even younger than I am! Too young to be saying such things as intentionally driving away in a Crown Vic. Ha ha. My gf had a '10 Impala LTZ as a rental while her car was in the shop and she hated it. Got 15 MPG in the city and it just felt like a boat. I told her she had the "nice" Impala with the then-optional 3.6L V6 (I told her the lower models had a 3.5L) but she was not a happy camper.

We went to Vegas last year and I booked one car for half the trip, she booked another for the second half with points. I got an HHR which I traded for a Corolla, she booked a Premium and of course got the ONE Grand Marquis available after I had just finished telling her that Hertz was getting rid of it from their fleet. We managed to get a G37 for I think $35/day (with points it was free, so in essence it was just $35/day) instead so that was nice.

I'd take a Maxima over the Impala LTZ for sure. I'd probably take the Impala LTZ over the Altima 2.5S but that's because I really don't care for the Altima.

I have a rental booked for next month so we'll see. I booked an F but I'm keeping an eye on prices so I may downgrade to a C if the price difference is enough. I'm dying to use some of my Gold points for a P res but my customer service coupons are a PC so I can't use those AND redeem my points, which also generate a PC.

EDIT: Back in the day I rented an '08 Malibu Classic with the 2.2L ECOTEC I4. Had no guts but even with me and my lead foot, I averaged a good 30-31 MPG with mostly highway driving, a decent amount of uphill, and some stop and go driving. I was impressed with its fuel economy cause I felt like I was flooring it most of the time up the hills.

I had the standard Impala LT last weekend and I hated the car... From the outside, it looks okay, but the interior was ghetto. I would take the Fusion any day [SE/SEL] over the Impala LT.

I drove the LTZ before with Advantage in DCA a year ago, and I liked the car.

Is there any way I can specify that I prefer cars with leather trims?

I had the standard Impala LT last weekend and I hated the car... From the outside, it looks okay, but the interior was ghetto. I would take the Fusion any day [SE/SEL] over the Impala LT.

I drove the LTZ before with Advantage in DCA a year ago, and I liked the car.

Is there any way I can specify that I prefer cars with leather trims?

You could try putting it in the comments section of your booking (on the last page, where you put in flight info etc., it's at the bottom just before the submit button). After driving a base Fusion in April, I always specify that I want a V6 or V8 if I book D or higher; unless a Fusion has a V6 and/or leather I'll never drive one again. The Impala LTZ was light years ahead of that IMHO.

-J.

You could try putting it in the comments section of your booking (on the last page, where you put in flight info etc., it's at the bottom just before the submit button). After driving a base Fusion in April, I always specify that I want a V6 or V8 if I book D or higher; unless a Fusion has a V6 and/or leather I'll never drive one again. The Impala LTZ was light years ahead of that IMHO.

-J.

Definitely LTZ over the base Fusion... But base Impala vs. base Fusion, give me the Fusion any day. In terms of comfort and style, the Fusion blows the LT out of the water easily. Even the I4 on the LT is not that much better than the Fusion.

Definitely LTZ over the base Fusion... But base Impala vs. base Fusion, give me the Fusion any day. In terms of comfort and style, the Fusion blows the LT out of the water easily. Even the I4 on the LT is not that much better than the Fusion.

Actually the LT (now) has the same V6 as the LTZ. It used to have a less powerful V6 but the Impala never came with an I4 (at least not recently).

-J.

Actually the LT (now) has the same V6 as the LTZ. It used to have a less powerful V6 but the Impala never came with an I4 (at least not recently).

-J.The first Impala was introduced as a 1958 model. Impala's never came with a 4 cyl from the factory.