2008 Chevrolet Malibu
by Jim Prueter - 01/08

Revamped Malibu ready to take on Camry, Accord and Altima

It is perhaps the most popular and competitive segment for auto manufacturers next to full-sized pick-up trucks: the mid-priced, mid-sized four-door, five-passenger front-wheel-drive sedan.  Its sales will top 2.7 million, with over half of the units sold belonging to Camry, Accord and Altima. Other notable players, albeit to a lesser extent, include Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, VW Passat and Dodge Avenger.

With its all-new Malibu, Chevrolet has finally built a car that won’t go directly from assembly line to airport rental fleets. While it may not unseat Camry as the segment sales leader or even approach the volume of Accord or Altima, it would be a mistake not to spend some time behind the wheel of the new Malibu before inking a deal on the previously mentioned models.  After my weeklong test drive, I’m not ready to say the Malibu is better than those monikers but it’s clearly as good.

The single biggest change for Malibu is its eye-catching styling both inside and out.  Right or wrong, when it comes to us Americans buying a new car, it's not about how it drives or handles, nor its roominess, features or even its safety record.  It’s all about the style, good looks, and how it makes us feel behind the wheel. 

Love it or hate it, the new Malibu’s look is bold and sure to stir polarizing reactions.  Our compliments to GM who discarded the notion of playing it safe and letting a committee design the car.  That approach never works, as evidenced by Ford’s Five Hundred, which was renamed Taurus in an attempt to drum up attention.

However, I think it only fair to mention that the new Malibu is little more than a Saturn Aura with a different grille and taillamps. After all, it shares the same basic chassis as the Aura, last year’s Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Up front, the look of the in-your-face dual port grille is almost identical to that of last year’s newly redesigned Tahoe.  Headlamps sweep around the front fenders, and the hood operates clamshell style.  The windshield, side and rear pillars are wide and reduce visibility.

The most pleasant surprise was inside, where Malibu’s abundant interior has a premium feel, at least in my top-of-the-line LTZ model test car. It featured two-tone ebony/brick leather trim, which again wasn’t dissimilar to the two-tone leather presentation in the Saturn Aura I tested last year.  To be sure, there was no shortage of hard plastic, but there was considerably more soft-touch materials and a noticeable execution of quality fit and finish.  The shape and design of the dash, center stack, console and door panels looks well planned and far from the horrid economy-feel of the previous generation Malibu.

The ambient lighting package with nighttime overhead LED illumination was neither to bright nor too dim.  It included glowing blue-green lighting in the recessed door handles. There is a covered compartment atop the center of the dash for loose pocket items, cell phone or iPod.  I do think GM made a mistake by substituting a navigation system with its turn-by-turn OnStar directions.

Styling aside, Chevy spent considerable time and money to quiet the cabin, insulating the Malibu from sound, vibration and harshness with noise reducing double laminated glass, spray-on acoustic insulation and suspension tuning.  The result is a near luxury-sedan quiet, void of wind and road noise.

Riding on a 112-inch wheelbase, Malibu not only looks big, it is big, weighing in at 3,650 pounds.  Handling isn’t precise and there’s noticeable lean on curves and cornering, but it doesn’t float or wander. The average Malibu owner will find handling to be poised and predictable.  My major complaint was the steering, which felt heavy and vague. There was noticeable torque steer under heavy acceleration from the V6-powered test car. 

Malibu is offered in three trim levels, LS, LT and LTZ.  The LS and LT are powered by a 2.4-liter, 169-horsepower four-cylinder engine, up from the 2.2-liter, 144-horsepower four-cylinder of 2007.  The LTZ uses a 3.6-liter 252-horspower V6, the same engine used in the Aura XR and Cadillac CTS, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.  GM says they expect seventy to eighty percent of sales to be comprised by the four-cylinder models, similar to the sales breakdown of Camry and Accord.

Malibu is also offered in a hybrid version that will account for about 10% of sales.  Unlike Camry, the Malibu will use what is called a mild hybrid, which operates mainly on the gasoline engine but saves fuel and tailpipe emissions by shutting off during long stops.  Once your foot is off the brake, the gasoline engine starts immediately.  The hybrid version will cost an extra $1510 above the LT and return about a 2 miles per gallon advantage.  That seems like a lot to pay but deduct a $1300 hybrid tax credit and your out-of-pocket drops dramatically.

Safety gear includes six standard airbags, traction control and standard antilock brakes. Stability control is standard on all but the base LS.  Malibu earned the highest 5 star crash test rating from NHTSA and the highest rating G (good) from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The new Malibu is so much more than the previous generation that, while it may not surpass segment leaders Camry, Accord and Altima, it certainly pulls even with them.