Chevrolet Impala best new car says Consumer Reports?

For the first time in 20 years an American car was named the best new sedan by Consumer Reports.  As a magazine that does not accept advertising and is widely viewed as doing credible testing, it's a significant endorsement.  The Chevrolet Impala is a mid-sized car that has apparently been completely remade, revamped, and revitalized for the 2014 model year.

With the post office's new more efficient systems in this area, most of our magazines arrive about five days later than they did for the last 25 years, just about the time they are ready to go off the news stands so have not seen this issue yet.  From what has been read in other media reports they stress that it is a car that drives really well, is comfortable, and has many amenities that are not too difficult to use.

That seemed almost too good to be true.  I have not seen a Chevy Impala in quite a few years except sitting in rental car lots.  This must really be an entirely different car from its legacy model.  It sounds like a great positive for GM.

Then a price was mentioned on one news report --- $40,000.  That was way beyond what was expected here.  That's around the cost of a Lexus ES350, perhaps a tad smaller than the Impala but a proven car year end and year out, even if a little boring at times but Lexus is definitely working on that.  It's definitely been powerful enough in recent years.

So the new Impala may be great, but given the prices of other entry level premium cars it's going to be an uphill slog at first to find buyers who step away from proven cars at that price and ones with, well, a far superior brand.  Would people be more inclined to buy an Impala or have that signature L or another well known marque on their hood.

It will be interesting to see.