Looking back about five years into GM’s past, it’s hard to overestimate its potential. Hundreds of thousands of ardent GM enthusiasts were spread across the country, a vast infrastructure of retailers was eager to sell, the economy was reasonably healthy, and a wave of patriotism had swept the country in the wake of 9/11. GM seemingly had a lot to gain, but one thing was missing. Good products.Oh, yeah, GM had products. The problem was that only a few could even be considered decent, and even fewer could compete. The import-brand superstars were gobbling up more and more share in most of the markets where the General competed, including the heart of the car market, i.e., the wildly competitive mid-size family-sedan segment, where suburbanites swooned over snazzy Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys while Chevrolet, perhaps our most American of Americanisms, offered a plasticized, groaning, achy-jointed Malibu, the darling of rental fleets but no one else. And this remained the case until January of this year, when GM revealed the new Malibu at Detroit’s 2007 NAIAS.
Surprising Style , when the curtain was finally raised, you were surprised by how handsome the new Malibu suddenly became in its newest iteration, you weren’t alone. Sharing its Epsilon architecture with the well-received Saturn Aura sedan, the Malibu is bigger and better-looking, having grown more than a bit with a six-inch-longer wheelbase (now at 112.3 inches), 3.5 more inches in length, and a half-inch of additional width compared with the model it replaced. The ’08 Malibu’s big, blunt front end represents the most mature and settled iteration yet of the new “face” of Chevy, which made its debut on the current Impala (which is scheduled to go even fuller-sized and shift to rear-drive in its next life). In a nod to its European roots, it even has a fender-mounted turn-signal repeater.
The long wheelbase also helps create the Malibu’s overall elegant proportions, aided by slim windows and a thick C-pillar that is new for Chevy and reminds a few of us of the Volkswagen Phaeton. Indeed, the rear three-quarter view may be the Malibu’s best angle, with little details such as the slightly beveled trunklid and tasteful chrome detailing coming through better in person than in pictures.
ike the Aura, the Malibu is offered with a number of interior themes. Our mid-grade LT tester came with a black cloth interior with a silver dash and front-door trim pieces offset by well-placed chrome bezels, all assembled with the same level of quality that has impressed us on other recent GM interiors. We’ve seen other Malibu cabins, some with high-contrast color schemes and even some “black chrome” bits here and there, but, frankly, this is our favorite—understated, simple, and functional. The gauges are crisp and modern, and the nighttime illumination is quite upscale. We only wish the dash itself were made up of fewer actual pieces to reduce the number of visible cutlines.
The front seats offer reasonable support and comfort for the short trips we took—long-range comfort is something we have yet to test. In the back seats, however, the mood changes drastically. The front seating area’s mix of materials gives way to a sea of darkness made less inviting by the cheap-looking shiny, hard black plastic on the front seatbacks and door panels. The silver trim that defines the dual cockpit theme in front does not continue in the back, and the narrow windows and sloping roofline make for a more confined seating area that is a challenging fit for six-foot-plus occupants.
Keep moving rearward, however, and you’ll find a truly vast 15-cubic-foot trunk. But this is a distinctly horizontal space: Although there is plenty of square footage back there, the trunk floor is rather high, making it an ideal place for carrying big pictures, for example, but not tall boxes.
Best-Driving ’Bu Since the ’60s The LT we drove came with a 169-hp, 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed automatic. Now, that may not sound like a terribly stirring powertrain for a 3400-pound family car—and at 9.3 seconds to 60, it indeed is not—but we have to issue credit for the 2.4’s uncanny smoothness of operation. Truly, in terms of NVH, which to many family-car buyers means just as much as raw horsepower, the Malibu’s 2.4 can easily hold its own next to the four-pot in the ’08 Accord, which says a lot. The four-speed comes with an “I” mode that holds gears a bit longer, albeit a bit too long in some cases. Want more gears? The LTZ trim level comes with a six-speed automatic, complete with steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles.
Want more power? A 3.6-liter V-6 with a six-speed automatic is available on LT and LTZ trims, but, in truth, the four is good enough, if not preferable. Why? Well, there’s something to be said for stability, even if it means being slower. When equipped with the 252-hp V-6, the Malibu is much quicker (0-to-60 in the mid-six-second range) but heads straight to torque-steer city when you tromp on the gas. In contrast, the four-cylinder model not only is quick to turn in but is also unperturbed no matter how much of the engine’s 160 pound-feet of torque is sent to the front wheels.
Perhaps the best thing about the Malibu’s driving dynamics, though, is its ride-and-handling balance. It’s still no Accord, but it’s nonetheless competent while at the same time isolating the interior from vibrations, impacts, and road noise. The character of the electric power steering neither offends nor inspires, and overall grip is about average: 0.81 g on the skidpad. Sure, we’d love for Chevrolet to firm up the suspension even more, but among Malibu intenders, a smooth ride and a quiet cabin are an easy sell. Attractive Price And sell it should. At $19,995, the base Malibu LS is an appealing proposition, with XM, OnStar, and six airbags standard. The LT comes in a grand higher than the LS. Our tester came in at $21,140 (including optional floor mats), an easy price to digest considering how much car is represented here.
Now, is it enough to steal the top-dog sales title from the perennial Honda and Toyota mid-sizers? Probably not. But for the first time since Chevrolet revived the storied nameplate in 1997, it has enough of what it needs to sell in significant numbers to the public, not just rental fleets. Let’s hope there’s more of this good stuff to come.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $21,140 (base price: $20,955)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection Displacement: 145 cu in, 2384ccPower (SAE net): 169 bhp @ 6400 rpmTorque (SAE net): 160 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 4-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 112.3 in Length: 191.8 in Width: 70.3 in Height: 57.1 inCurb weight: 3423 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:Zero to 60 mph: 9.3 secZero to 100 mph: 27.9 secZero to 110 mph: 36.8 secStreet start, 5–60 mph: 9.8 secStanding ¼-mile: 17.1 sec @ 82 mphTop speed (governor limited): 113 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 181 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.81 g
FUEL ECONOMY:EPA city/highway driving: 22/30 mpgC/D observed: 22 mpg
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