2014 Chevrolet Impala Full Photo Gallery

The Impala, Chevy's iconic flagship sedan that has debuted back in 1958, has been fully redesigned for the 2014 model year. It is the last of the passenger cars in the Chevy line-up to get the new brand-wide look. The new exterior look features sleek styling with sculpted coves on the sides, projector-beam headlamps and standard 18-inch wheels (19- and 20-inch wheels are available). The interior has been taken more upscale, with an instrument-panel that wraps around into the door panels, new soft materials and available ambient lighting. The instrument cluster now has a standard 4.2-inch color display that can be custom configured by the driver, while an 8-inch touch screen is located in the center stack features the available MyLink communications system and features a cleverly concealed storage compartment behind it.

Premium materials, including ultrasuede and perforated leather, have been used throughout the interior, while the seats have been redesigned to provide greater support so they are comfortable on long trips. Rear seat head restraints now fold to improve rear visibility. Occupants of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala will notice a quieter interior cabin, thanks to new engineering with sound-absorbing and sound-suppressing materials on all models, as well as active noise cancellation on four-cylinder models.

2014 Chevrolet Impala Full Photo Gallery

The full-size sedan has a long list of safety features including full-speed-range adaptive cruise control, a first for Chevrolet, which adjusts the Impala's speed based on traffic ahead stopping the vehicle and accelerating again as necessary. In addition, there are five safety features all designed to help avoid a crash: collision mitigation braking (a first for Chevy) which can apply the brakes if the driver doesn’t respond quickly enough as well as forward collision alert; lane departure warning; side blind zone alert and rear cross traffic alert, which all warn the driver of a possible collision, giving him additional time to respond.

The 2014 Chevrolet Impala is powered by a choice of three engines: a 182 hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder that Chevrolet estimates will get 35 mpg on the highway; a 195 hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder that is new to the line-up; and a 303 hp, 3.6-liter V6. Engineers stiffed the body of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala to tune the ride and handling to create what it calls "spirited, yet comfortable performance."

At first look, it appears as if the changes to the 2014 Chevrolet Impala will help improve the Impala's Total Car Score, as the 2012 Chevrolet Impala received a low TCS rating of 73.08, well below the segment average of 79.40, primarily due to clumsy handling, below-average fuel economy, dated styling and low-quality interior.

The 2014 Chevrolet Impala goes on sale in early 2013.

Here's what others are saying:

Automobile: "The profile recalls the Impalas of the late 1950s with a muscular character line that runs down the large sedan's shoulders and a secondary pontoon-style crease that sweeps from the rear wheel well to the taillight. The roofline defies tradition and sweeps gracefully toward the trunk lid, similar to the line found on the Audi A7. Instead of flowing directly into the rear bumper, the Impala's trunk looks grafted on and the long overhang draws similarities to its similarly-proportioned Cadillac XTS platform-mate."

Autoweek: "There are a lot of ways to describe today's Chevrolet Impala--venerable, long-running and cop car all come to mind. Contemporary? It's anything but.

That all changes early next year when the 10th generation of one of the most recognizable names on the road arrives as a 2014 model."

Jalopnik: "As we told you earlier this morning, for almost 20 years the Chevy Impala has been synonymous with "rental" — a car more "Jackalope" than the southern African antelope it's named after. They've been boring and they've been beige — well, with the exception of a few years of the "SS" badge anyway. Until now."

The New York Times: "The top of three trim lines, the LTZ, will be a well-proportioned sedan, with 20-inch wheels and tires, a hefty dose of exterior brightwork and a handsome dual-cockpit interior with a full range of upscale electronic gizmos. But if another decade passes before this one gets redesigned, then it, too, may find its way into the rental-car lots."