It was the large “Powered by Ethanol” stickers on the flanks of my Impala tester that spurred me on, sending me on a mission to find the corn- based alternative fuel source and fulfill the carmaker’s bold claims. Domestic automakers like General Motors have been quick to provide “FlexFuel” vehicles, which can operate on E85, a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent gasoline - quicker off the mark, in fact, than the imports. GM alone claims to have put more than 2 million FlexFuel vehicles on the road so far. The thinking is, the more ethanol your vehicle can run on, the less fossil fuel it will require, ultimately reducing dependence (at least in the U.S.) on imported oil. Part of the U.S. enthusiasm for E85 doubtless lies in the fact that ethanol, which is a form of grain alcohol, is produced primarily from corn - a popular crop in North America, with all of its social and political implications. Though there is fierce debate about whether ethanol fuel really is friendlier for the environment by the time it is cultivated and refined, GM’s claims of lower emissions and ultimately less reliance on fossil fuels struck a chord with me. But first I had to actually find the ethanol. Currently, only UPI gas bars in Chatham and Guelph reliably offer Canada-sourced E85 to retail customers. An independent station in Ottawa did not have any available at the time of my inquiries. The president of Guelph-based UPI Energy told me that plans are in the works for additional E85 outlets in Oshawa and the Sudbury region, the former at the behest of both the City of Oshawa and General Motors. My tester, a 2008 Impala LTZ, is made in Oshawa. Its V6 featured variable valve-timing, the ability to seamlessly switch off three cylinders to improve fuel economy - and could also be powered by fuel containing up to 85 per cent ethanol. Interestingly, the motor in question is not some high-tech, all-aluminum wonder with double-overhead this and four-valve that, but a pushrod two-valve V6 that’s a descendant of the 2.8 L V6 that propelled your uncle’s 1980 Chevy Citation (from which it has evolved considerably). Though 233 horsepower from nearly 4 L of displacement isn’t that impressive, the engine’s torque curve is nearly prairie flat (peaking at a healthy 240 lb.- ft.), which makes it feel far more robust in daily use. Though additional components and engineering changes are necessary to allow the engine to run on 85 per cent ethanol, in my experience with the LTZ, the transition from straight gasoline to E85 and back was absolutely seamless, and the performance on either virtually indistinguishable. Where the difference really shows is in your wallet. My tank of ethanol blend cost me $1.08.9 per litre, 7 cents per litre higher than regular gas, which isn’t unreasonable given the E85’s premium-like 94 octane rating (premium gasoline is typically 11 cents per litre more). What does hurt is that it takes roughly 30 per cent more E85 to provide the same power as straight gasoline, so you end up using more ethanol-blended fuel to go the same distance. GM’s own estimated fuel economy numbers for the 3.9 litre FlexFuel Impala are 11.5 L/100 km in the city and 7.2 L/100 km on the highway on gasoline and 15.7 L city /9.7 L highway on E85 respectively. That’s a 35 to 37 per cent increase in fuel consumption, effectively making a litre of E85 cost about $1.48! (My own observations? On E85, I got 13.6 L/100 km - just 0.5 L/100 km worse than my gasoline-only results. I chalk that up to two reasons: more than 75 per cent of my E85 driving was on the highway, and my gasoline driving was mostly in town and through slush and snow.) While the benefits of the ethanol may be an open question, my overall impressions of the car are not. This latest Impala goes about its job in completely unremarkable fashion, which is a compliment, not a criticism, as the same can also be said about Toyota’s Camry or most versions of the Honda Accord. Both of these well-regarded automobiles are the class’s perennial bestsellers. This is a large American sedan - one would almost say traditional if it were rear-wheel drive - yet in LTZ trim, too well-finished and too well-mannered to be compared to the sloppy, body-on-frame cruisers of the past. While the V8-powered SS takes the top billing in the Impala range, adding leather seats and the available “Bose XM Entertainment Package” to the LTZ (as in my tester) will get you everything the SS offers and a little more for about $2,000 less - if you can live without the V8. Both have the same FE3 sport-tuned suspension and 235/50/18 tire size, which provides nice, tidy handling, more grip than expected, and an excellent sense of straight-ahead without being overly firm or transmitting excessive harshness. There’s still enough body roll to suggest that the Impala is merely tolerating your shenanigans, and don’t look for too much steering feel as you carve the on-ramp’s apex. But at least there’s little or no torque steer, and the LTZ’s standard (switchable) stability control gives you a considerable amount of leeway before reining in the fun - something I can’t say about a Cadillac tester I drove recently. The Impala’s 2006 redesign included the interior, which may not set the industry on its ear, but is a vast improvement over the bland, cheap-looking, cheap-feeling plastic hodge-podge used in the previous model, and it’s far more appropriate for this price range.