2012 Malibu Plays Peek-A-'bu
When March sales come out tomorrow, the Chevrolet Malibu will likely find itself in a tough position again. Last month the car that was once hailed as Chevy’s Lutzian turning point had fallen to fifth place in the midsized segment, having sold only slightly better than the Impala which has never been hailed as anything other than a large, inexpensive and unsexy sedan. But Chevy has learned from Ford that the right amount of mid-cycle styling freshening can go a long way: the Fusion never quite lived up to its hype until an update that was more than just a facelift improved its aesthetics, sending it soaring to the number two sales spot in the segment. Chevy is clearly hoping that a fresh look, featuring Camaro-style taillights (a move that echoes the new Charger’s retro-taillamp graft from the Challenger) will juice up the ‘bu… and with no Impala replacement coming for at least a few years, most of Chevy’s midsized-segment chickens are in this retro-look basket.
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How about reality?
Malibu's interior (as well as Aura's) looked nice only on pictures. In reality it feels pretty cheap. But it is fun car to drive, even though steering is electric and does not feel very natural. I liked Aura interior more but still there were too much hard plastic (esp in door trim) and shiny plastic as well. Somehow Ford manages to put higher quality plastic int their cars and Sonata is simply phenomenal. Even though Sonata's interior does not feel expensive it is stylishly designed, well built and has good quality matching materials. If Regal is any indication - new Malibu will be very nice car. Unfortunately they will decontent to the price point and knowing GM I do not expect miracles. On the side note. I recently test drove Nissan Maxima - steering felt artificial and interior is horrible. If Altima worse than that then I do not buy all hype surrounding it. I would rather go for Regal Turbo and sacrifice HP - it is solid car with better steering. But still - why seating position in modern cars is so high?
Should make another perfectly acceptable, yet mediocre rental car. "The all new 2012 Rentibu! Coming to an Avis and Hertz lot near you"
BTW what "тизер" means? Make a guess.