If comfort is important to you, the 2006 Chevrolet Impala SS delivers, more so for the front seat occupants than those in the back. Cloth upholstery is standard on the SS, but smooth, soft Nuance leather is optional. Our test car came equipped with the cowhides, and we found these multi-adjustable, heated front chairs to be quite comfortable. Add the four-spoke, tilt adjustable, leather-wrapped steering wheel and the soft upper door panels to the equation, and it’s easy to think that the Impala SS would make a capable road tripper.

Though greatly improved over the old Impala’s low, flat park bench, the 2006 Impala SS’s rear seat is snug for legs. With tall adults riding up front, rear passengers will find their legs right up against the soft seatbacks. However, this is not as uncomfortable as it sounds because the bottom cushion sits high off the floor and offers excellent thigh support.

Anyone who lives where it snows or where the sun beats relentlessly down understands the value in the Impala SS’s remote starting system. Press a button on the keyless entry fob from inside the house, and the 5.3-liter V8 engine out in the driveway fires right up. The importance of this feature is not lost on residents who live where the weather is icy cold or blazing hot. How nice it is to get inside a toasty warm Impala SS on a January day in Detroit, or a refreshingly cool Impala SS on a July day in Phoenix.