I am not a person who is brand loyal.
My family may be old-school Americans who gawk uncontrollably at the latest Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, but to me…
looks, power and technology are my only buying points.
My friend Quentin, owned a 4th generation Malibu, while my friends Dawn and Bill, who are married both own 5th generation Malibus. I never, ever pictured the Malibu being attractive, always looking down upon it as if it was fit for nothing more than a rent-a-car lot, but now, it seems GM is intent on diversifying its product line to appeal to people with prejudices of that sort.
INTERIOR/EXTERIOR
The exterior of the car is definitely glamorous for a Malibu, which in the past, haven’t been outstanding. The car is very sporty and with properly placed chrome trim in the door and window sills, carries highly upscale looks – on par with many Japanese/German counterparts from the high end luxury segment. GM offers brilliant paint jobs and coupled with the car’s thick C-pillars and bustle-back trunk design, the Malibu definitely makes favorable first impressions.
What sets the car apart is the new fashioned light markers behind the rear wheels which seem to be the easiest way of telling it apart from the similar 08’ Accord at a distance.
The front end resembles closely the shape of the previous Malibu. It is the rear end which updates the style because rather than ending with a large flat back, the 08 Malibu introduces a butt like the sporty Chevy Cobalt.
Chevy’s wheel (rim) choices for the LTZ’s 225/50R-18 Goodyear Eagle LS2 touring tires are the only eye sore, but fortunately, 20 inch designer wheels aren’t too costly and if equipped, can make this Chevy look just as sexy as a Lexus.
The interior of the car, thanks to sharing design basics with the new Cadillac CTS, is much more than the past Malibu owners will be used to.
http://www.epinions.com/content_401977282180
Visually, the interior is welcoming and luxurious on the LTZ, without showing much slack on the lower models either. The automatic stick gets a leather glove vane. The door panels and most of the plastic panels are two-toned with very refined cuts. The center console and door frames gets some wood grain appearance (plastic) overlay. Most of the interior is outlined with chrome trim.
Nice amenities include dashboard lighting which dims or brightens based on ambient light; steering wheel embedded controls and even a roof panel
Homelink system for garage doors. Rear view mirrors feature auto dimming and the OnStar button.
The steering wheel has a clean look and a nice feel to it – complete with sport shifter paddles on the back, and on your right hand, you have easy access to radio volume, channel - next track/ previous track controls or push button voice command.
On your right hand, you have cruise control buttons, but oddly, there is no
cancel button?
The wheel also tilts and telescopes like you’d expect it to.
The radio system is nice, functional and easy to use (unlike 2008 Accord’s) and features the now standard line-in jack for MP3 players. If you don’t have an MP3 player however, you can just use your computer to throw your music on CDR/RW’s and listen to them through the MP3/CD player. Radio volume is crisp and clear with the LTZ’s dual subwoofers and premium speakers. XM radio is included but available for monthly fee.
THE SEATING is definately nicer than outgoing Malibus in both the LTZ and the base model, but, what's most attractive is the rear seat spacing has been improved over the old models. This is important because the Malibu Maxx station wagon will not be offered for this model year (Thank God - ugly thing).
The seats are supportive for long drives and well bolstered for most backs (up front). Its hard not to adore the two toned leather in the LTZ models which matches the two toned leather console trims.
The driver position, like most of the new Chevy vehicles, including the trucks, feels comfortable with a good view of the road ahead over the sloping hood. Unfortunately, this is absolutely not a car for tall people (over 6 ft. 2in.). Have a look at the Chrysler Sebring if you find the Malibu too tight. The biggest americans need to look at the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger.
Similar to the Chevy Avalanche, when Malibu's rear seat is folded down, it offers a plastic, no-skid backing to use as a floor for your Home Depot scores.
TRIMS
The Malibu is offered in 4 trims: LS, LT1, LT2 and the LTZ. For those of you experienced in buying Chevy vehicles, you'll already know the LTZ offers the most - for a price, while the LS is basically going to occupy plenty of Hertz and Avis car rentals. The in-between LT1 and LT2 models offer lots of little upgrades for the discerning car customizers.
-The LS ($18,500 msrp) comes with just enough to make the car driveable. It does not offer a stability control system, electronic brake assist, or most of the nicer features such as two toned trims, alloy/chrome wheels, cd changer, subwoofers, remote ignition, Homelink, and a list of other features that are standard or optional on the LT's.
-The LT1 ($19,200) steps up from the LS with standard vehicle stability control, standard brake assistance, alloy/chrome wheels optional, optional remote ignition, optional moonroof, optional adjustable foot pedals, and a few other lesser features like cargo nets.
-The LT2 ($21,000) offers everything the LS1 does, plus an optional adaptive/interactive transmission (with paddles on the steering wheel), standard leather,leather steering wheel, lighted vanity mirrors, optional CD changer and other neat features like standard vehicle stability and optional interactive transmission.
-The LTZ ($25,000 msrp) of course comes with everything the other 3 trims have standard - optional where applicable (since some people don't want sunroofs or chrome feet) and is the top of the line Malibu.
Unfortunately there is no factory navigation system offered standard or optional. I'd like to see an
SS model with a more powerful V6 and a Navigation system.
FUEL ECONOMY - ENGINE POWER
I normally quote gas prices in my reviews so when I look back on them I can remember what America was paying at that point in time. With regular unleaded gasoline currently at
$3.15 a gallon here in NYC, the fuel economy of the Malibu is definitely a big deal to most car buyers who are willing to trade raw horsepower for operational range.
The Malibu’s base engine (LS, LT1, LT2 models) is a 2.4 Liter, 169 Horsepower 4-cylinder (Inline 4) with a 4 speed automatic transmission. The EPA rating on the factory sticker claims it will offer upwards of 20 MPG/ city and 30 MPG highway. These numbers aren’t bad at all for most budgeted families or college students but, the output of the engine will fail to impress most unless you spend most of your driving time sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the LTZ with its 3.6 Liter, 252 HP,
V6 (used in the 07’ Cadillac CTS) which provides increased Horsepower at the cost of around 5 ~6 MPG. The trip computer claimed I averaged about 25 MPG ( in mixed driving situations).
It is obvious that GM intends to offer Malibu’s to Americans tortured by OPEC’s greed because the 2.4 liter, will be followed by a
mild hybrid model using the same technology as was in Saturn’s Aura Green Line. The
mild hybrid is a term for a vehicle which uses an oversized starter engine which intends to restart the car’s engine cleanly after it has been allowed to turn off when it is not producing output power. It’s a great innovation which you can find on the 2005 Silverado Hybrid, but when all is said and done, you’re still using gasoline and your still paying big money for it. We need alternative energy and we need it badly.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Even though the Malibu for 2008 is based on a new and updated "Epsilon" platform, some of you may have already driven the closely related 2007 Saturn Aura or the Pontiac G6. The new platform ride is a tremendous upgrade from the outgoing models and the Malibu Maxx.
Noticeable improvements over the Aura are considerably less harshness, considerably less noise (the windshield has been laminated to reduce noise BTW) and very little vibration (GM hydroformed the engine cradle rather than welded it - to increase stiffness).
The car works as it should. The transmission is well behaved and the V6 provides adequate passing power in/around 4500 RPM.
The only complaints I have, which I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn't driven more upscale cars ( like my Father’s S550, my own Chrysler 300 or the BMW 750) are that the steering tends to feel on the stiff side and when you move through turns at higher speeds than 45, there is noticeable
torque steer -when you turn at speed, it is obvious that the Malibu’s engine torque is pulling the wheels left or right considerably.
While the fine control makes Malibu pointable and confident, the transmission feels a bit slow to change gears downwards - especialy when entering/exiting graded curves.
Even with these little nitpicks, there is lots to like about the car and I would trust the 2008 Malibu to “soccer moms”, “college students”, “first time car buyers” or any other American who has been vegging out on the steady wave of Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords and other assorted Japanese import small cars. The 2008 Malibu is a car the average American might feel “great” driving.
The car is also quite safe! Front multi-stage airbags, side thorax airbags, anti lock brakes and tire pressure monitoring all come
standard so it is quite easy to recommend even the base Malibu to small families. There is also a stability control system working in the background for those times on slick pavement or ice…and if all else fails…the car comes standard with OnStar which will call you in case your airbags are deployed to check your status and notify authorities.
Honda, Toyota, Nissan nor Ford offer you the protection and fast response OnStar does.
COMPARISONS TO THE 2008 HONDA ACCORD and 2008 CAMRY
I tested the Honda Accord and wrote a review about it.
http://www.epinions.com/content_403808751236
I tested it again a few weeks later and when I looked back at my review, I felt that everything I originally felt about it was justified.
The new Malibu is going to be compared quite closely with the 2008 Accord on a number of fronts but, even while I feel
the Malibu is the better car the Honda Accord offers more technology options than the Malibu to drivers willing to pay for it.
The Accord offers a sloppily done Navigation system, voice-to-text dialing/radio commands and some other features standard in the Acura. I am disappointed that the Malibu, with its center console quite like the 2008 Cadillac CTS, does not offer a Navigation system optional.
What the Malibu does offer is Onstar based, "turn-by-turn guidance". This is annoying because you have to:
#1 call OnStar
#2 give the operator your required destination and
#3 listen carefully to the directions downloaded to the car.
The radio L.E.D display will show you turn info but that's all. You can push the big "I" (info button) on the radio to repeat the current waypoint announcement.
A true Navigation computer is *free* to use, wherein Onstar carries a monthly fee. even though you do have the benefit of having OnStar features like theft deactivation and an OnStar assistant operator, I just can't pull myself away from the sexy glow of my LCD screens.
The first thing many buyers will do is go out and buy a TomTom or a Magellan GPS system but, why should they have to? Why doesn’t GM offer an add-on Navigation radio that it used on the 2003 CTS or in the Impala?
If technology doesn’t interest you however, and your focus is “ride quality” I can easily say that the Malibu’s ride quality is considerably better than the Accords’.
The Ecotech V6 in the Malibu offers a greater feeling of power (to the point of tires clawing the pavement) than the Honda Accord’s lazier V6 engine. Even though the Honda's specifications claim it has more HP and less weight than the Malibu, when pushed, the Accord's engines give you the feeling that some horses are unnacounted for. Secondly, The steering in the Malibu feels much more refined than the Accord’s. I also felt that the Malibu offered a softer ride and didn’t feel as “busy” as the Accord’s.
Where the Honda Accord might best the Malibu is in the Malibu’s short comings around high speed highway curves. This phenomena,
Torque Steer, might be overlookable by many first time car buyers, but, I noticed it right away.
If Looks matter to you, Malibu upstages Accord's interior with less visual plastic cuts and a cleaner, simpler, more elegant look. Once again, the two toned seats and trim in Malibu are damned nice.
The 2008 CAMRY has arguably sharper looks all around its exterior than both the Malibu and the Accord owing to its relation to the Lexus designers. Camry's definately got a more powerful and arguably smooth engine, and an arguably well behaved transmission. The engine is very quiet at idle and it is one of the fastest cars you can get under $25,000.
Camry XLE offers you a Navigation computer and a somewhat cleaner looking interior.
I used the word
arguably alot because while a simple road test is not enough to comment on the reliability of the car, online consumer reviews from many people who purchased this car and use it regularly are expressing dissapointment with it.
You'll have to test the Accord, Camry and Malibu yourself to make the final decisions. Also, don't rule out a Chrysler Sebring or Ford Fusion.
OVERALL the 2008 Malibu feels like a great product and its nice to see GM turning out styles and rides of this quality. I think the torque steer and the lack of a Navigation system can be easily fixed if enough consumers ask for it. With those two problems aside, the Malibu, becomes a 5-star vehicle.
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