No ABS? That's crazy. It's on a lot of older car models too. Maybe that Hyundai you saw is going to be face-lifted?

I agree, if you lose ABS you still have brakes. I would think that even the Siemens system would have some sort of fail-safe so the brakes would work if the computer failed.

nice that is ok then - I saw an article some time ago, that Siemens is developing such system, that will feed the brakes only via electric signals.. Now that will be a car I will never drive in..

>> wickey : Electronic Brake Force Distribution does not feed the brakes. All it does, is aid the ABS system. It monitors how hard the brakes are used. Then if needed, it will adjust how much braking power each wheel gets (EBFD adjusts each wheel independently) so that traction is not lost.

I believe Electronic Brake Force Distribution electronically controls how much pressure is being sent to each wheel. Kind of like ABS, except it doesn't pump the fluid.

@ G-mann:
It was insanely hot down there! I was walking the strip and I was just wet. I was so glad the car had a working A/C. Rolling down the windows wouldn't have helped. It's not humid there so the sweat evaporates fast if there's a breeze.

The Impala SS is much nicer than the base model. I read on Edmunds that the LS has the softest suspension, the LT has slightly stiffer sway bars, and the SS has the sports tuned suspension. The SS weighs about 200 pounds more than the LS (which is at 3500 pounds). I didn't find the turning radius that bad. But then again, I'm used to driving big cars like that. It actually makes my Sable feel so much smaller.

BTW, the Impala SS wasn't meant to compete with the European sport sedans. It's meant to be a large American sedan that goes fast.

About ABS: I've locked up the wheels on more ABS-equipped cars than on cars w/o ABS. I suppose it could be the equipment though. Once I got new tires and a brake job, my ABS finally worked right (although I try not to kick it on during harsh weather because it lengthens the stopping distance). Our Windstar's ABS acts up and sometimes it just turns itself off. It's always fun to freak out other drivers with the sound of tires screeching on dry pavement and a van getting bigger in their mirrors.

Electronic Brake Force Distribution - geez, that sounds dangerous - I hope it is not the system, where the brake power is distributed only via electric signals and not via hydraulic system...

The performance of ABS will vary from car to car, and from manufacturer to manufacturer. Although the principle behind how ABS works stays the same. But even ABS can loose it’s effectiveness under certain situations. The ABS system equipped on my Expedition Limited works flawlessly, but then again, the ABS is not left alone to fend for itself. The Expedition uses four systems to bring it to a stop; ABS, AdvanceTrac with RSC (Traction Control System) and Electronic Brake Force Distribution (the Impala should have BFD if I’m not mistaken) All four systems are linked together to work as one. The Expedition Limited will take control of itself (but not steering) during a high-speed emergency maneuver. It is weird to have a vehicle all-but remove you from driving.

Yes, that was my point: it seems that all cars sold here in Belgium have ABS as standard, even the cheapest one (Fiat Seicento, even cheaper than the Fiesta & Ka). I do not know if it is the same for other European countries, though.

About ABS, my Impala would have definetely had it and nowadays just about all decent-sized cars seem to have it. antp mentions like the Fiesta and the Ka have it, although I wonder if it comes as standard or not, they are pretty cheap cars. I'd rather have ABS than not have it, it's awful when someone suddenly pulls out in front of you (which has happened to me in my old Renault Clio a couple of times) and the car seems to start skidding as soon as I touch the brake pedal. A skilled driver should be able to avoid locking the brakes, but when you have to brake very suddenly I find my gut reaction is to press hard on the brakes, sometimes you can't help it, it's just how you react, and it feels like the wheels lock immediately. If I can anticipate having to slow down quickly I'm usually fine but whenever some absolute fuckhead pulled out in front of me without any notice, my Clio's tyres just started screeching and the whole car would just slide. You can be taught how to brake and manouver properly without ABS (though they don't really teach you this when you're a learner), but for most people it's much easier to have it. If a car has ABS that works properly (perhaps this isn't the case on all cars, especially older ones) it should be foolproof.

This is pretty much what I drove when I was on holiday recently (I also went to Vegas). EXCEPT I had the SS model! It was probably considerably quicker than this (5.3 litre V8, 303BHP), it also had leather seats (the front seat headrests have the SS logo sewn onto them, the steering also had the SS logo instead of the Chevy logo or the Impama symbol) which were nice enough, although nothing like the kind of leather seats you get in new Mercs and stuff like that. Instead of fake wood trim it had this kind of grey carbon fibre-like stuff like you get in sporty Audis and such. It also had cruise control where you could press a button and increase and decrease your speed without touching the pedals, I liked that. The air conditioning was absolute GODSEND in Nevada, I don't how I (or anyone for that matter) would have survived without it, the temperature often went as high as 120 degrees fahrenheit which I found to be CRAZY hot, especially when you're from somewhere like England. Whenever I was outside during the day it was like being in an oven, although the funny thing is it wasn't the kind of the heat that makes you sweat easily. Driving-wise the Impala SS had a nice amount of power, nothing scary though. Apparentely it does 0-60 under 6 seconds but it didn't feel quite that that fast, I really wish at point I'd tried to test this claim for himself by flooring it from a standstill (I probably would have burnt away most of the tyres), but I didn't feel like doing this in cities. I was gentle with the throttle when pulling away, a couple times I accidentely pressed a little harder and got a bit of wheelspin. The thing is the SS has front wheel drive so I probably would have gotten some torque-steer if I had floored it, I've never driven anything quite that powerful before, so I'm not used to peeling away really fast. Handling-wise it was alright for a large American car, although something like a BMW would probably have totally shamed it, not that I've ever driven one though. The suspension seemed alright, I once made a pretty sharp left hand turn onto another road at 30-40 mph and it coped alright . Some other American cars I've been in like the 2000 Buick LeSabre were much more wallowy, though maybe the SS has different suspension than the other Impalas. From what I remember it felt like a heavy car, more so than my dad's Vauxhall Omega that I'm driving at the moment, but then it had a pretty big engine. The only thing about the handling was that the car had a big turning circle compared to European cars, but maybe not so much by American standards.

The SS was still part of the full-size class in the rental lineup, I don't think it cost any more than the lower trim Impalas like the LS and the LT, that's what you should have gone for if it had been available to you. The only downside to the SS is that it definetely chomps through more fuel than the LS, I think average mpg was about 20 or so, and whenever I touched the accelerator fuel consumption fell into the lower 10s. But then petrol is so damn cheap in the US, you don't tend to care so much. Overall I was fairly impressed by the Impala SS, though I think any BMW, Merc or Audi sedan with a similar sized engine would have run rings around it.

If you like I could post some photos of the SS I drove, though the only way it looks different to querty's Impala is that mine was white and it has the SS badge on the truck lid and on the front doors. The wheels were also different (nothing flashy though) and the grille was honeycomb instead of the slatted grille on the car above. I also took a picture of the 5.3 litre engine.