It is always difficult when evaluating a new vehicle upon which a carmaker’s future may well depend to avoid being either too generous or excessively harsh. This is doubly so with Chevrolet’s third-generation Malibu because, more than anything else from the fabled Stovebolt division, this car tells the tale of whether GM really can produce a mid-size family sedan capable of going head-to-head with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Let me say at the outset that in my view the Malibu is almost completely successful in making the case for GM’s claim to know how to compete with its Japanese rivals. Let me give you one telling detail that spoke volumes – at night, the front door handle recesses have soft lights, so you don’t have to search for the lever. A very small detail, to be sure, but one that suggests somebody was focused on just such little things that can make all the difference in the world for a skeptical prospect. Happily, there are quite a few such happy “small” details in the Malibu.
Other more substantial details tell a similar tale. The new Malibu’s interior design, appearance and feel is light years ahead of anything heretofore seen on any other GM product except the new CTS. The basic theme is set with the sweeping curves of the instrument panel and its cockpit-like areas for driver and passenger.
The two-tone cocoa/cashmere color treatment of my burgundy V-6 powered LTZ tester provided just the right amount of contrast and continuity for the eyes. And the grainy feel of the soft plastic and leather covering various surfaces give the Malibu a distinctively up-class appearance.
The steering wheel is just the right size, and all of the instrumentation in the center binnacle is arranged logically and within easy reach. There is also a stowage compartment directly above the center binnacle that has a latch with just the sort of solid feel when used that you expect to find in a much more expensive sedan.
Best of the all, the front seats and all of the controls – the pedals are power adjustable and the steering is standard with tilt and telescoping – seems proportionate and comfortable. I spent a lot of time in the Malibu during its week with Claudia and I and every time I returned home in it, I wanted to keep driving. It’s been a very long time since anything from Chevy other than a Corvette or a Camaro Z28 inspired that reaction in this corner.
On the downside, the rear seating area is not quite so generous as the front, but the problem seemed mostly attributable to the appearance of a lack of foot and elbow room, which is in part a function of the Malibu’s high beltline. I didn’t spend much time in the rear seats, though, so my perceptions here may not be useful.
Also on the downside regarding the interior, the fit and finish throughout seemed first class, with one glaring exception. The space between the driver’s side door and the instrument panel at the A-pillar was at least a half-inch wide, whereas the same joint on the passenger side was snug and tight. Perhaps this was unique to my tester, but it was still a deflating note in an otherwise inspiring interior.
Even so, on reflection, I keep coming back to the fact I wanted to keep driving the Malibu and the elation that inspired that such a vehicle was again coming from Chevy, which was the brand of my family loyalties during my childhood. Dad’s first new car, a black and white 55 210 with the 265 V-8 and overdrive, remains to this day my all-time favorite car because for its time it epitomized clean, trim style and spirited performance.
I think I sense a generous portion of that old nature in the new Malibu. Certainly the performance summons anew the idea of a trim Chevy sedan that moves. The 3.6 liter DOHC V-6 under the hood is good for 252 horses at 6,300 rpm, and there is 251 lb-ft of torque available at 3,200 rpm.
Mated with the six-speed automatic transmission that features manual shift paddles behind the steering wheel’s horizontal spokes, the V-6 produces very healthy acceleration. Other testers have reported mid-six sedond 0-60 mph times, which I also got, but the more impressive characteristic was how the Malibu LTZ’s top-gear acceleration made it seem genuinely fast.
Once the tranny found the right gear, that is. Unfortunately, the six-speed’s ratios and software are obviously tuned for producing good highway mileage figures, so the tranny not infrequently seemed like it wasn’t quite with the program. This is a driving characteristic that Chevy must cure if the Malibu is to provide the sort of driveline refinement that Camry and Accord owners take for granted.
The suspension calibration represents a nice balance between the firmness of a sports sedan and the comfort of a tourer. The Malibu’s steering is precise and the car turns in eagerly, plus the brakes are excellent in terms of feel and modulation.
So the combination works, especially with the LTZ’s 18-inch alloy wheel/tire package to encourage a level of corner carving enthusiasm that, while certainly not approaching the flingable delights found in the Acura TSX, easily rivals the Accord and surpasses the Camry.
Outside, the Malibu’s handsomely clean and crisp greenhouse and flanks, aggressive stance and sleek front end clearly identify it as a product of Chevy’s new styling approach, but the overall appearance strongly suggests a more upmarket and expensive sedan.
Chevy has priced the Malibu quite competitively, with my loaded LTZ tester checking in at $27,540 on the bottom-line. I haven’t done a side-by-side, option-by-option comparison, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find comparably Camrys and Accords to sticker at least $1,000 higher than the Malibu.
There was brave talk last fall about Chevy encouraging dealers to put Camrys and Accords alongside their showroom Malibu, while encouraging prospects to rigorously compare the trio. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much of that kind of aggressive marketing in the months since, even though GM has spent substantially more promoting the Malibu than any other new design in years.
And maybe Chevy is right to be quieter about the Malibu. It is strong enough on its own merits that it likely will generate a lot of positive word-of-mouth marketing, as more people buy them and begin telling friends, family and associates about how satisfied they are with their new Chevies.
If Bob Lutz does nothing else for GM, the Malibu would be a worthy legacy. This is an excellent car and with continued development, Chevy can make it a great car.
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Malibu
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