2014 Chevrolet Impala achieves Five-Star win from NHTSA

The 2014 Chevrolet Impala has been redesigned from the bottom up and it definitely shows. These crash test results prove that GM has put a lot of work into making this full-sized sedan the best on the market.

The new Impala is a segment leader with the most comprehensive collection of standard and available safety features, including radar, visual and audible alerts, and other crash-avoidance technologies. In the NHTSA tests, however, it was the passive safety features that mattered and they definitely won the day.

These occupant protection features include dual-stage frontal passenger airbags, driver and front passenger side-impact and knee airbags, rear outboard side-impact airbags, head curtain airbags with rollover sensing, and more.

Other standard equipment includes automatic crash reporting through cell phone and GPS technology, with or without OnStar, a subscription to which also adds MyLink mobile apps and emergency services connections for roadside assistance.

From the roomy interior, which was designed using virtual reality, to the more fuel-efficient Ecotec engine it sports and the highly affordable price tag it carries, the 2014 Impala is a much-improved vehicle.

I personally had the chance to drive one at a recent event in Denver and found it to be a far roomier, more comfortable ride than in the past and to have a very quiet, well-made interior as well as a good on-road handling experience. The 2014 Impala aims for a specific target market of buyers - one of the largest markets in the U.S. - and pegs it squarely. It is a plush, affordable, well-built vehicle with a solid, comfortable road presence.