Meet The New 'Bu, Same As The Old 'Bu

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

The wraps have finally been taken off from the refreshed 2014 Chevrolet Malibu, and it…looks pretty much the same as the last one, though GM assures us that there have been real changes made.

Rear seat passengers get an extra 1.25 inches of knee room thanks to shorter bolsters, redesigned front seat backs and new cushioning for that places your backside deeper in the seat.

On the powertrain front, the base 2.5L engine has been revised, with a stop-start system adding 1 mpg all-around, or 23/35 mpg city/highway. Output is 196 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque, while the 2.0T gets a 14 percent bump in torque to 295 lb-ft (horsepower is unchanged at 259). Blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert are also part of the package.




Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Wodehouse Wodehouse on Jun 01, 2013

    The cut of 5+ inches of wheelbase compared to the previous (and still great looking) generation Malibu is what really spoiled this new Malibu's looks. I know it was done to not overlap the new Impala/XTS. Those two would actually look better with 4 or 5 more inches of wheelbase. The new face fixes the sad sack look of the 2013 model, though.

    • See 1 previous
    • Shaker Shaker on Jun 04, 2013

      Previous Malibu had 112" wheelbase, 2013 is 108". My 2008 Elantra had a 104" wheelbase, so it's a step up for me.

  • Dhathewa Dhathewa on Jun 03, 2013

    GM just ran its montly Sales and Production conference call. They declined, twice, to discuss the price of the 2014 Malibu. If eAssist becomes standard, as seems the case, one would expect a significant bump in the base Malibu price. eAssist has traditionally been priced up towards Camry hybrid territory, without the corresponding benefit.

  • ToolGuy First picture: I realize that opinions vary on the height of modern trucks, but that entry door on the building is 80 inches tall and hits just below the headlights. Does anyone really believe this is reasonable?Second picture: I do not believe that is a good parking spot to be able to access the bed storage. More specifically, how do you plan to unload topsoil with the truck parked like that? Maybe you kids are taller than me.
  • ToolGuy The other day I attempted to check the engine oil in one of my old embarrassing vehicles and I guess the red shop towel I used wasn't genuine Snap-on (lots of counterfeits floating around) plus my driveway isn't completely level and long story short, the engine seized 3 minutes later.No more used cars for me, and nothing but dealer service from here on in (the journalists were right).
  • Doughboy Wow, Merc knocks it out of the park with their naming convention… again. /s
  • Doughboy I’ve seen car bras before, but never car beards. ZZ Top would be proud.
  • Bkojote Allright, actual person who knows trucks here, the article gets it a bit wrong.First off, the Maverick is not at all comparable to a Tacoma just because they're both Hybrids. Or lemme be blunt, the butch-est non-hybrid Maverick Tremor is suitable for 2/10 difficulty trails, a Trailhunter is for about 5/10 or maybe 6/10, just about the upper end of any stock vehicle you're buying from the factory. Aside from a Sasquatch Bronco or Rubicon Jeep Wrangler you're looking at something you're towing back if you want more capability (or perhaps something you /wish/ you were towing back.)Now, where the real world difference should play out is on the trail, where a lot of low speed crawling usually saps efficiency, especially when loaded to the gills. Real world MPG from a 4Runner is about 12-13mpg, So if this loaded-with-overlander-catalog Trailhunter is still pulling in the 20's - or even 18-19, that's a massive improvement.
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