'14 Impala leaps into rare territory.

• Author: Job, Ann M.
• Position: Cars

Byline: Ann M. Job

The re-engineered 2014 Chevrolet Impala isn't just new, attractively styled and comfortable to ride in. It's the first American-branded car in at least 20 years to be rated the top new sedan by Consumer Reports magazine.

The Consumer Reports score of 95 for the new Impala was higher than all other cars except the much higher-priced Tesla Model S hatchback and the BMW 135i coupe. Neither of these is a sedan.

The full-size, five-passenger Impala also received the top, overall, five-out-of-five-stars rating from the federal government for occupant protection in safety crash testing.

These ratings illustrate how far the 2014 Impala is from its predecessor, which scored a lowly 63 from Consumer Reports and earned an overall four out of five stars in government crash testing.

One note: Consumer Reports does not have the new Impala on its ''recommended'' buy list. Because the revamped Impala is so new, the influential magazine does not yet have owner data to determine a reliability rating.

The 2014 Impala is pricier than the 2013 model, and the federal government's fuel economy rating for combined city/highway travel in the 2014 Impala with V-6 is lower than that for the 2013 Impala -- 21 mpg vs. 22 mpg.

Meantime, some competitors -- notably the 2014 Ford Taurus large sedan -- have slightly higher fuel economy ratings from the federal government than the corresponding four- and six-cylinder...