I got to drive the 2016 Chevrolet Impala LTZ Midnight Edition for a week in New York City and it was extremely hard to return it. Let me explain…

When you’re a media mogul in the making, the need for a reliable set of wheels take precedence. Last week, I was presented a couple of opportunities in New York that I couldn’t pass up and I wanted the convenience of moving around the 5 boroughs freely and on my time. Not to mention I’m a girl and overpacking is kinda my thing. So to bypass the bag limitations of mass transportation I reached out to my friends at General Motors to see how they could help. Quickly and painlessly I made a decision between two different cars to settle on the 2016 Chevrolet Impala. I was blown away by the beaut when it arrived to my doorstep Tuesday morning.

🏁 #bobbypendrives | So sad to say goodbye to the 2016 @chevrolet #Impala LTZ 😩 I fell in love with the girl this week. She got me to and from New York safely and without making any rest stops for gas. The leather interior with heated seats were super cozy, as well as the voice control functions for my phone and entertainment options. The sexy black on black exterior definitely turned heads while the blue trim lighting inside made each drive feel like a party! I highly recommend this car to anyone in the market. Efficiency, speed and safety all in one. What more could you ask for?! #thebobbypen #thebobbypenin15seconds #chevrolet #chevyimpala #gminfluencer #generalmotors #blogger #brandambassador #car

A video posted by TheBobbyPen.com (@bobbypen) on Dec 8, 2015 at 1:11pm PST

Excited, I finished packing, loaded up the car and prepared to hit the road that rainy morning. I was too excited to put the sleek, black on black sports car on the road to worry about a little bit of rain slowing me down. As an initial introduction, I scoped out the essentials: charging ports and how to operate the radio controls, then zoom!

The Chevy MyLink feature turns your car into your smartphone connecting the two via bluetooth for handsfree use. The voice control command button on the steering wheel makes it easy to control the navigation while the car is in motion, to place or answer a call and even to charge the phone wirelessly when it’s placed on the charging pad.

The sound system was perfect for my 4.5 hour long drive keeping me alert and pumped up even on the seemingly never ending, ridiculously straight New Jersey Turnpike. I opted for Sirius XM all week switching between my favorite Hip-Hop, R&B and EDM stations as well as my talk radio and comedy options for variety. Which was made simple with a separate screen and steering wheel controls right in the dashboard beneath the speedometer. I’m assuming the blue trim lighting around the dash and on the front doors is part of the “midnight” aesthetic. Me and my passengers loved that added detail for a visually appealing night-time cruise.

Once I made it to New York my friends wanted to play car DJ so we plugged their USB cables into the armrest for AUX input. Not only was the Impala Chevy My Link able to read each .mp3 from the phone, but the AUX phone’s text message, call log and music apps came up on the screen too. Perfect for sharing and making sure every passenger is comfortable.

Speaking of comfort, the power-controlled black leather seats with beautiful tan piping were accompanied with seat warming and cooling options in the front only. While the rear seats did not have any climate control options, ample legroom and 3-prong power outlet options would serve the businessman on-the-go well.

As for safety, the 2016 Chevy Impala LTZ also adopted the crash-avoidance technologies I referred to in my review of the 2015 Buick Encore. Designed to help drivers maneuver around rear-end and lane-change collisions, features include rear view mirror alerts via flashing icons when a car is in your blind spot and rear view camera display when the car is in reverse.

Overall, I enjoyed the feel, handle and look of the 2016 Chevy Impala LTZ and I’d highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a new, everyday car. It’s sexy, has great pick up and the gas milage was impressive. I only used 1/2 tank of gas each way from D.C. to New York. Imagine how much time and money you’ll save by taking less trips to the gas station.

[button size=”medium” url=”http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2015/jul/0702-smartphone-cooling.html” text=”Learn More” target=”_blank” color=”dark” ]

Note: I’m a General Motors Influencer and this is a fair & honest review. Pinky Promise.