Photo Gallery:
2015 Chevrolet Malibu
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As much as I like trucks for their purpose and comfort, I am pretty sure I still like cars more for their nimbleness and sportiness. Did I just mention sportiness in a Chevrolet Malibu review? Looks like I did — the Malibu is certainly more sporty than last week’s tester and after a few quick corners it actually surprised me how well it performed.
This week’s 2015 Chevrolet Malibu is in LTZ trim with only two options: Navigation and black/brown leather trim. At just over $35,000 for this tester, it’s much more reasonably priced than a lot of cars I test and still fairly loaded.
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Heated leather seats, navigation, dual-zone climate control, blind spot detection, back-up camera, power seats, cruise control and keyless start. The Malibu has all the typical features found today in a well appointed vehicle.
My tester is powered by a 2.5L four-cylinder Ecotec engine that now features auto start/stop, 196 hp and 191 lb-ft of torque at just 4,400 rpm. The engine is so torquey in fact, I thought I was driving a mild turbo at first.
The mid-sized family sedan market is an important one, and the Malibu was a complete redesign in 2014 with some new colours and updates for 2015 including 4G LTE OnStar. But the big news is the start/stop system — I believe a first in Canada for GM.
Pricing: 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
Base price (LTZ): $33,100
Options: Audio system with navigatio — $795; Jetblack/Brownstone leather appointed seat trim — $165
A/C tax: $100
Destination: $1,650
Price as tested: $35,810
Competitors:
Chrysler 200
Honda Accord
Hyundai Sonata
Kia Optima
Mazda6
Ford Fusion
Toyota Camry
Volkswagen Passat
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Unfortunately it is difficult for me to get excited by a family sedan, especially one that is not… exciting. The seats in the Malibu are certainly made for cruising, they are comfortable but have zero lateral support and very flat bottoms — this does make ingress and egress easy.
The back seats though are a little harder to enter and exit from then some other cars in the class, the doors seem to have a small opening. Once inside though leg and head room are both excellent even with the huge trunk space. This car seems larger on the inside than the outside may suggest.
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The stereo system is powered by Pioneer and is fantastic — for a non-premium type of sound system it offers more bass than I’ve heard in a car audio system in a while, although come to think of it a lot of GM vehicles seem to offer great sound systems — maybe it’s the motown vibe coming through.
The centre stack offers my most-favourite of all interfaces, touch-sensitive buttons. They do seem to work okay but I don’t think I’ll ever change my view on this, give me tactile feedback please.
The lighting is excellent at night inside the Malibu. Although I’m not a huge fan of the green hue, the lighting effects are pretty cool with the dash and door panel accents lighting up for extra ambiance. When you adjust the volume on the stereo the light in the centre “moves” back and forth to signify the change, which is a pretty cool effect as well.
The interior is laid out logically and everything is easy to reach, my only complaint is the lack of a button to open the trunk. It can only be opened by the button on the trunk itself or by the key fob, a minor gripe but worth mentioning if you tend to drop people off a lot.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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In the city the 2.5L feels peppy and eager to go and once you get to cruising speed on the highway it is quiet when locked into the sixth gear. The only time the engine feels a little weak is when accelerating onto the highway or headed up hills.
Which brings me to the transmission and engine working together; the transmission is programmed to shift early and as a result often. It tends to hunt a little in any hilly terrain as it switches to sixth gear and realizes the engine isn’t powerful enough to maintain speed in that gear.
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Thankfully the shifts are mostly smooth, you just notice the extra engine sound. The Malibu also coasts for a long time, getting off the highway turning off the cruise and letting the car coast to the stop sign results in an impressive ability to maintain speed.
Conversely, when you leave the cruise control on, the car will tend to slow down considerably down hills to ensure you do not accelerate — I prefer the car let me gain a little free momentum, but that’s a minor quibble.
The start/stop system is really smooth on the Malibu and never does the car feel like it is stalling or not starting fast enough. GM has employed two batteries in the Malibu as well as an electric pump in the transmission to keep it primed and ready to go when you release the brake and it works well.
The Malibu is a good size externally and internally and this translates to easy parking and maneuverability. The back-up camera works awesome although the perspective is a little odd as the camera is above the license plate. The blind-spot detection and cross-traffic alert system ensure you stay safe in holiday parking lot bumper-car wars.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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The Malibu is a great daily driver for someone looking for a quiet and comfortable family sedan. But for this driver it just didn’t stand out in any category that would earn it a spot on my personal list. There are so many great cars out there that do stand out that I couldn’t compromise for something that just does it all okay.
It did do well in terms of fuel economy, though. Coldish weather with winter tires and over the week I managed to average 8.7 L/100 km with the Malibu, not bad at all for a good amount of power from the 2.5L engine.
At $35,000 I would be shopping and comparing a lot of vehicles if I was looking in this class and I’m not sure I would settle on the Malibu. However, price does sell and from what I can tell GM is currently offering $7,445 in credits, and at $28,000 it becomes very compelling indeed.
