2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo LS (USA)

The Chevrolet Monte Carlo represents one of the last surviving members of the personal luxury coupe market. Often placing flashy looks ahead of more practical concerns such as passenger space and optimum outward visibility, this type of vehicle enjoyed more successful days in the ’70s and ’80s when people thought that long hoods (bonnets, in UK speak), smallish rear seats and padded vinyl tops with small quarter-windows were cool. Every US maker offered at least one such model in their range. I guess for a market which always favoured much larger cars than were ever practical in Europe, you could say it was the American equivalent of the Ford Capri – a relatively affordable coupe based on a volume selling family saloon. Tastes change over time and gradually the number of such vehicles on offer has reduced, just as the Coupe has become a far less prominent member of product ranges from European and Asian makers. It’s not quite extinct yet, but the Monte Carlo is the last of the US domestic offerings. The Monte Carlo has been a feature of the range ever since 1970, with just a short gap in the early 90s when the car had Lumina badging but thankfully, the 2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo has little in common with its gold-chain-wearing predecessors, with the more excessive and less than practical features that epitomised many of these cars in the 70s long since banished. The current Monte Carlo shares a platform with the Impala, Chevrolet’s utterly conventional full-sized saloon and now the largest model they make in this format. The Impala was last revised in 2005, with an all new body clothing familiar but updated mechanicals. The Monte Carlo underwent a refresh at the same time, but this time the link to the previous model was more obvious with a new Impala like front end grafted onto the existing two door design. There were changes under the skin, with a stiffer structure and new engines as well as somewhat upgraded cabin materials all part of the package of changes. A limited number of them feature in the US rental fleets, and accordingly the Monte Carlo is on my still lengthy list of cars I wanted to sample. The chance came when I arrived in Los Angeles in January 2008 for the first part of a work trip, where I managed to secure a relatively low mileage 2007 model year car. I had a couple of days in tourist mode as well as the work commute from hotel to the office to assess it.

Chevrolet updated the engines in the 2005 refresh, so most Monte Carlo models come with the 3.5 litre V6 unit that puts out 211 bhp and 214 lb/ft, and it is coupled to a 4 speed automatic transmission. There is the option of an SS version which boasts a much more enticing sounding 5.7 litre V8 and 303 bhp. Sadly, I’ve not seen those in the Hertz fleet, so it was the regular V6 engine in my car. It does the job but is never going to go down in history as a memorable engine. Nevertheless its adequately refined and whilst it does get coarse if you rev it hard, in general motoring, it is willing enough and endows the Monte Carlo with decent acceleration. A four speed gearbox is more than a bit old school these days, but the ratios are well chosen, helping the driver to get the best out of the car without having to try too hard. The other driving dynamics are similarly satisfactory, but ultimately unremarkable, so anyone who selected a Monte Carlo thinking they were going to get something sporty is going to be rather disappointed. You have to remember that underneath the more stylish body, this is essentially a large front wheel drive saloon, and it drives accordingly. There’s not much feel in the steering and whilst the handling is safe and predictable, this is not a car that will have you looking for the twisty roads on the way home. It does ride quite nicely, though and noise levels whilst underway are pleasingly low. Large discs feature on all four wheels, meaning that the brakes were well up to par. There is a foot operated parking brake, which is well out of the way of your left foot. Visibility is better than in some coupes, though you do have to remember that there is an awful lot of boot behind you.

Although the interior of the Monte Carlo was updated with the 2004 refresh, and material quality improved, it is still really no better than tolerable. There is a huge slab of plastic used for the dash moulding with a sizeable silver-grey inlay around the instrument cluster, and the lower half of the dash is a much lighter grey to match the seat upholstery and provide some colour contrast. The design is cohesive and everything fitted together reasonably well, but it all felt a bit old-fashioned. The plastic moulded steering wheel that you get in the entry level LS model does not help to endow much of a sense of quality, either. That said, the dash layout is neat and logical and easy to use. The instruments sit in a recess in part of a swooping design that extends from the door casing to the area in front of the passenger. Three dial recesses feature wit the right most of these housing fuel level and water temperature, complementing the clearly marked central speedo and rev counter to the left. A single column stalk, on the left of the column has to be twisted for wiper functions, but at least the stalk is the latest GM corporate design rather than the old one with a flap on it. Lights operate from a rotary dial on the dash to the left of the wheel. Cruise control operates from buttons inset into the left hand steering wheel spoke. The audio unit is relatively low in the centre of the dash, and is a fairly basic unit with AM/FM functions and a CD slot. Below this are the rotary dials for the air conditioning.

Upholstery in the test car was a sort of velour which used to be quite common in a lot of US and Asian family cars but which has largely disappeared in favour either of rather nasty cheap cloth or full leather. I actually quite like this type of trim which is cool when it is hot and warm enough when it is cold. The front seats are generously proportioned. They adjust electrically in 6 ways including a height adjuster and manual lumbar support for the driver’s seat and there was a telescoping steering column, so I could easily get the driving position I wanted. Think of this as a comfortable cruiser and you will be about right in your judgment of the way it is oriented.

As coupe models go, the rear seats of this car are quite spacious. You do have to get in there, which is not that easy, as you scramble through the gap created when the front seat backrest tips forward, but once installed there is plenty of space for two adults and three would not be unduly uncomfortable. There is a central tunnel, but it is not that broad so not too much of an encumbrance. Headroom is far more generous than you usually get in a coupe design. There is a drop-down central armrest.

I’ve seen enough US cars with a lengthy tail and then had a surprise when opening the boot lid not to expect that there will necessarily be anything like as much luggage space as you might expect. In the case of the Monte Carlo, there is no disappointment. Although not particularly deep from top to bottom there is more length than you can probably use and indeed if anything were to roll forward so it rests against the back of the rear seats, it would be quite hard to retrieve it. There is plenty of width across the rear most part of the boot as well, though it does narrow somewhat the further back you go. The floor is more or less level. There is a bit of space under the floor around the spare wheel for odds and ends. The asymmetrically split rear seat backrests do drop down to create a much longer load area should that be required. Inside the cabin there is a reasonable sized glove box, long but shallow pockets on the doors and a cubby in the centre console and a well in front of the gearlever.

There are just three versions of the Monte Carlo available for the 2007 model year. My rental car was the entry level LS model, which comes with 16-inch wheels, air-conditioning, full power accessories, a tilt steering wheel and keyless entry. Stepping up to the LT model gets you 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, dual-zone air-conditioning, a remote vehicle starter and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls. The Monte Carlo SS brings the 5.7 litre V8 engine, 18-inch wheels, a performance-tuned suspension, XM satellite radio, leather seating with heaters up front, foglamps and full-perimeter ground effects. Some of these features are available as options on the LS and LT. A sunroof is the main stand-alone option.

In conclusion, this was a pleasant enough but ultimately rather unremarkable car. It is comfortable, decently refined, roomy and whilst not having any fizz to the driving experience nor does it have any serious vices. A few years ago the two door styling may have been enough to lure the buyers, but in 2008, when those who want something other than a regular 4 door sedan have the choice of a bewildering array of estates, SUVs and Crossovers, I suspect the personal coupe no longer really holds appeal for more than a minority of buyers, which is probably the reason why Chevrolet will end production of the Monte Carlo in the very near future, with no direct replacement in plan. With its demise will come the end of the full-sized all-American coupe. If you do get one of the last remaining ones at the rental car counter, you may prefer to take it as an alternative to a full-sized sedan such as the Impala that it is based upon, but don’t for one moment think that it is an alternative to a Mustang, as it is not.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *