Comparing Buick Century and Chevy Impala

Jan 31, 2004 21 Replies

Can anyone compare for me the ride and quiteness of the Impala and the Century? I have a 99 Century which I am going to be getting rid of and like the ride and quiteness of it. Have been thinking of getting a 03 Le Sabre, but also like the looks of the Impala.Have considered several different makes in the last couple months, but always come back to thinking of a Buick. Thanks.



Paul snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com


2004 is the last year for the Century. Le Sabre has a 3800 V6, Impala has a 3400 ( std ) and 3800 ( opt ) and a supercharged 3800 in the SS.

LeSabre is a good riding car & quiet, Its been writen that Impala has some tire noise at higher speeds.

The base Impala would cost less than the LeSabre.

good luck.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,100 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

IMO the Impala is superior to the Century you are driving, but the LeSabre is a huge step up from the Impala.

John

My choice: Le Sabre = Roomy, good soft ride,quiet, 3800 Century = quiet, soft ride, lots of car for the price. Impala= roomy, noisy, harder suspension, and the rear end is so ugly ;-)

Personally I think that the LeSabre seats are too soft, after an hour or so I want to switch places and have someone else drive. But it is roomy, has a soft ride, but at ~70 mph I find that the steering is kinda "floaty". I'll admit that it's pretty quiet too. And that's a decent engine in it...I have a few stories about my gramps in his. It's a nice car and it gets decent mileage. Can't say anything about the other 2 since I haven't driven them.

This, unfortunately, is a GM thing. They make the cars for old fat men near as I can tell. Compared to a Saab or even a Civic, the seats aren't very good.

Grand Touring suspension is a must on these cars.

Thats funny because I'm young and thin and I cant stand hard taught seats that are in the majority of imports. They either put my legs to sleep or numb my butt because they dont evenly exert pressure. Sometimes I think an egg create would be more comfortable.

I have both, and I find the GM seats are miserable around town but great on long trips. Honda seats, on the other hand, are great around town and OK for trips. The problem with the GM seats in my Yukon is that they are so soft that I feel like I'm going to fall out of them during cornering, and I don't corner too hard in the Yukon! This situation works out for me because I use the Yuke for long trips and my Honda for around town, generally, but it would be nice if there was some middle ground in seat design. I'm sure most people don't have an around town vehicle and one for trips like I do.

WW

I find it puzzling when reviewers complain about Buick "handling"....

I find it to be quite predictable. If you have problems with steering/control, it's just a reminder that you're driving too fast for conditions.

As for a "soft ride".... I like a comfortable ride. Granted, suspension on the the GM big boats of the 60's and 70's could make you seasick.

I've driven cross-country in a "performance vehicle". ( read "stiff suspension ) It was a painful experience, and I think I was sore for a week.

Gimme that Century ride. Crank it up to 70, turn on the cruise, the stereo, and the climate control, and enjoy the journey.

Right On

They can keep their so call sport suspension, and noisy ride, you dont need that when you follow the speed limit and when you drive defensively.

$25000,00 for a skateboard...never in my life.

We were going upnorth on a nice clear day (June 12th...clear, ~76 degrees I think it was)and I was going about 70 on the highway, maybe 75. It felt loose like if I turned the wheel the car wouldn't change lanes, but if I turned it more it would. But then the car has MagnaSteer too and that may have had something to do with it.

I don't like it either. But there's a nice inbetween that, for instance, Saab and Volvo seemed to have had down pat - at least until the current models since they were bought out. Mercedes is good as well.

Now, don't give me that "it's a luxury car" nonsense. We're talking about $50-$100 more in materials and care. Well worth it as having your legs go asleep and whatnot on 3-4 hour drives and your lower back start to hurt(even in a LeSabre with all the seat options and lumbar support) - it sucks. It's not rocket science, yet GM and Ford seem to have pathetic seats.

I wouldnt call that well worth it (far from). I dont recall ever sitting=20 in a Saab or Volvo. Try the seating in a 92-99 Bonneville with 6 way=20 power and inflation. Pontiacs are priced well below any of that greatly=20 over rated German engineering.=20

I wouldnt call that well worth it (far from). I dont recall ever sitting in a Saab or Volvo. Try the seating in a 92-99 Bonneville with 6 way power and inflation. Pontiacs are priced well below any of that greatly over rated German engineering.

Well, the Jag is a rebadged Taurus, so what do you expect from Ford?

Would it even cost $50-100 more in materials to have slightly differently shaped foam and frames and slightly differently cut upholstery to wrap around the foam and frames? Since GM and Ford own Saab and Volvo, they wouldn't even have to do any design work; couldn't they use the already-designed seat designs from Saab and Volvo?

Which Jag? One of them shares a platform with the second generation Mondeo (the first generation of that car made it to the US, in the form of the Contour and Mystique).

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