I really liked the interior when I shopped the car, and my wife and daughter both preferred it to the Accord. The base Camry was rather lacking.

So, I’ve had a base model (Malibu LS) for about 6 months now. My needs are basic: a family sedan with which I can commute 50 miles daily, in reasonable comfort, with reasonable gas mileage.

I’m seeing 25MPG average (or 24, if you use the car’s built-in mileage computer). I drive like a more or less average adult, mellow mixed-mode commuting is my daily drive.

The car is as smooth, quiet, and solid feeling as the day I bought it. For certain the electric power steering gives zero feel. It took a while to adapt to driving the car with this “feature”. Braking performance is very good, no fade even after three 55 to 0 panic stops within a few moments of each other (behind an old Dodge van with no taillights.. not fun).

The only issue I have is the dome light makes a chittering noise on occasion (when the car is cold), which I assume is going to be resolved when I take it in this week for an oil change and tire rotation. Or maybe I’ll just tighten the screw myself.

While I see the car as a basic appliance, my kids and their friends always comment on how “nice” the car is when they get inside. It’s all about the visual style, I suppose.

I’m not trying to knock your new Malibu and I truly think it is a car you can be proud of. I wish you the best and hope you never have it in the shop, less normal service. It is a beautiful car as well.

As far as the economy goes, you are correct, it is tough out there. Can you imagine what deals the dealers are giving on big trucks at this time. But even so, you will not see the dealers selling Accord’s, Altima’s, or Camry’s walking around with their pants down the way the Malibu or Fusion dealers are. On the back side the Malibu and Fusion buyers will have to do the same when they sell. I’m not sure what the Mazda dealers are doing.

I will admit that I took the Malibu on a test drive for only 30 minutes. But I’ve driven the new Accord 5 times (30 min ea) and a friend of mine has the new Mazda 6 (Grand Touring V6) of which I’ve driven numerous times. I too have taken the Camry SE and the V6 Altima on test drives. Having driven the 2 Mazda 6’s you drove 130k, does not hold water that it puts you in a better position to make comment on the 2009 Mazda 6…The new 6 is a totally different car than what you were driving.

Let me end by saying, for the money I think you have a very nice car and there is no doubt that I would be spending several thousand more for say, the top of the line EX-L V-6 Honda Accord, but it is my personal opinion and only my opinion that there is a undeniable quality feel to the top end Accord that the top end Malibu just doesn’t have and I’m willing to pay the money to drive away a proven reliable car that has great resale. That said, I could be driving the biggest lemon off the lot… It is a bit of luck when you buy any car :o)

Best of luck!

P.S. “Poltergeist” quote on why the new Accord is not fast off the line “This is to slow down the rash of transmission problems that Honda has been having for the past six years.” The rash of transmission problems?… You truly must be from another world. Honda has not had transmission problems with any Accord since 2003. There transmissions have been rated much better than average in every consumer report and auto magazine for the past five years. Prove me wrong and name one consumer report or one car magazine article in the past five years that supports your accusation and of course make sure you have the link to the article… No GM fan boy blogs accepted.

I drove the 2008 Malibu LTZ 6 cyl the other day and I was pleased for GM finally hitting the dart board after all these years. But lets not go overboard. The sticker price on the Malibu I drove was 28k. Funny, before I could ask “Would the dealer work with me?” the salesman offered me three thousand dollars off the 28k sticker… Real confidence.

You can rave all you want about the Malibu but until it proves its reliability it means nothing…GM talk to the folks about the Malibu in 5 years if you still can and add an apology for the junk you dumped on all of us “Long time past buyers”.

And please folks, for those of you who haven’t test driven a Malibu, Accord, Altima, Camry, Mazda 6. Know that the Malibu is “OK” not an Accord, Altima, Camry, or Mazda 6…Not even!

They are kidding themselves if they think 28k is a sane number.

Maybe its the one I drove, but the ride was NOT smooth; you felt every little bump while street driving, and the thing shuddered @ highway speeds. Maybe the tires were off because it had been sitting too long or something, but the ride was not up to the Accord by a long shot.

The interior was coated in that faux-leather plastic that I hate. When idling at a light, the engine would send shudders through the car every few seconds.

That trim level @ 20k would be killer. That trim level @ 25k would be the value leader for the class (for On-star). At 28k, its a car that you entertain the idea of buying, but never come close.

The 4 in the new Malibu is not quiet and far from Lexus-like, actually I would say that’s a bold faced lie, it didn’t sound like it had much of any dampening. It sounded noisy as hell when I drove it, like the VW 5. It was powerful enough for it’s purpose but to make it out that that engine is a good refined power plant is a far stretch.

FYI
The gasket issue was related to 3.4 L V6 engines that where predominantly put in the 2001 and prior Venture and Montana vans (how prior I believe 1998). The 3800 V6 distributed at the same period of time has been called argueably the best V6 ever made by Wards Auto World. Alas ever stricter CAFE requirements ended its lifecycle. And V6 in the Malibu ? Well that is only the VVT 3.6L that is in the 2008 CTS and the 2008 Enclave not bad company for a Chevy.

No credible source beats on the ecotec except for its engine noise. Which the Malibu has dampened the hell out of to the point it is referred to as
Lexus Like. Is its’ powerband very average, yes,
which is what a 4 Dr 4 Cyl family sedan MSRP 23K Cdn is supposed to have.

Chevrolet : Cars, ‘mainstream SUV’s’ and pickup’s
Cadillac : Luxury vehicles
Hummer/GMC : High dollar SUV’s and heavy duty trucks

Everything else in GM’s brand-o-sphere no longer has a meritable reason for their existence. Pontiac and Buick are rapidly going the way of Oldsmobile, Saturn and Saab have been unqualified failures as import fighters. You also have to take into account that 3 out of the 4 divisions have ver heavy sales to rental fleets. I wouldn’t be surprised if all these brands had less than 7% of the retail sales market, and they’re simply an unhealthy drain of financial and human resources.

I can see a day where GM splits up into two completely different organizations and in fact, it may be the only real way they could avoid a future Chapter 11 filing.

I have to give GM props on the interior of the LTZ, very very nice, especially compared to past attempts. And I didn’t think the more recent interiors were horrible just boring and fall apart fast. It had tasteful colors and nice plastics with real feel to them. The base 4 cylinder interior was well put together, not retarded like in the 90’s but the plastics were super cheap looking and very rental fleet feeling. But the car was white with a gray interior EVERYWHERE and bits of chrome, if it was a different color with some more accents it probably wouldn’t be that bad, I hate the elephant gray look that reminds me of that horrid VW Jetta we were stuck with for a week.

My short drive in the base 4 was pleasant, not ‘toaster on wheels’ like the Camry feels to me, but still not as good as the last gen Accord I drove. It rode very nice and had decent driving dynamics for the fat block test drive I did. The 4 speed auto has been greatly improved I guess since I barely noticed it was there. Except that Ecotech, yuck, but the Camry’s is not that great to me either, these both fall in the same boat. It was noisy and sluggish but got the job done, just not my taste.

The car was nicely put together and not a bad price for what you get. Comparable to the competition, maybe better in some features. That hasn’t been my problem with GM of the past few years(well some products), it’s after 3-4 years they just fall apart like they planned it from the factory. Will the car hold up over time, only time will tell, but I don’t have high hopes. And I have no desire to take a risk on GM unless they make up for past sins, especially since I am paying for them right this second. As in this car would have to be a steel to make up for the thousands GM has cost me, plus I hate FWD and my wife’s not giving up the Subaru for that.

It’s not going to grab loyalists of other brands in my opinion. Not different enough, maybe too Camry-like. I’m sure this will grab people without loyalties to a brand but not a whole lot since I don’t think it stands out enough in the field of many. Worse this is definitely going to cannibalize the other brands and Impala sales. The Saturn Aura I looked at(didn’t drive) just an hour earlier was more expensive but had a crappier interior and “no-back bone pricing”. That car is going to be killed by the Malibu and I guess the numbers show it.

I don’t see this saving the company though, especially when the G8 comes out and they forget the Malibu even existed. Then the fleet sales will start the whole process over again. The white color is UGLY too, they should have never offered it in that color. And of coarse my eyes will be breeding when they send the fleets millions of white ones to muck up the roads.

Thanks for the thought, but I’m afraid old Chevy’s are sort of a past hobby for me. The reason I know anything about them is my first car was a ‘67 Chevelle Malibu that I restored through high school. Ended up being pretty nice after starting with a $400 basket case. Grandparents had a ‘65 Chevelle and parents had a ‘64, so I’ve always been partial to them. I work on Honda’s for a living now so I’ve sorta gravitated that way. My Dad still has a ‘57 210 Sport Coupe and brother has a ‘67 Camaro RS, so the old car bug is still in the family tree, just not my branch.

Back to the new Malibu, I remember when the domestics were the car’s that you could get in virtually any engine/trans/color/interior/ configuration….you could even special order individual options from the factory. The Asian cars were the one’s where you took what you were given, like it or not. Seems the Malibu is as much (or more) of a “take it as it comes” car than the “imports” these days.

Kevin

Most reviews put it above par. I think a lot of the enthusiasm has to do with the reality that a lot of people want an option besides an Accord or Camry. At least with the Camry, it’s horribly staid. And not a lot of people have been in love with the look of the past two Accords. The Malibu is a surprising and compelling option for those who want something else. And it really does look good and appear very well made.

It would be nice to have another decent entry. It’s a tough segment. Personally, I like the Mazda 6, but it doesn’t compare to the sales numbers of the Camcord. Hopefully the Malibu will prove to be competitive like everyone is saying.

I will let somebody else make the GM leap of faith, I have been burned once too many times by that bunch. Never again.