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Sedans Chevrolet Malibu 2008-2009 Chevrolet Malibu
1301 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 8:22 AM
You are in the Chevrolet Malibu Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: vanman1 (Sep 25, 2008 6:17 pm) I've driven SO many Malibu's int the past week, color was baffling enough. In the end it came down to a 2LT V6 or an LTZ 4-cyl, and I liked both equally, but despite preferring the LTZ interior and a few details, just felt more at home with the much meatier V6. It loafs along where the 4-cyl is revving, and then if you drop the hammer...hold on. I'm used to the pushrod 3.5L VVT in my G6 so it was kind of hard to train myself back to the 2.4L, in comparison. That said, after driving 3 of them, I became very impressed with the 2.4L/6-speed and if I hadn't driven a 3.6L car, I'd go for one. I did a back to back with a 2LT V6 and then a 2LT 4-cyl yesterday and it was funny how at light throttle from a stop, the 2.4L seemed peppier and ran quite nicely, just had to work for it. With the V6--if that's the car I do end up with--I have a feeling I'll do better with mpg's than the sticker anyway. My G6 has the same 17/26 rating, but I get 23-24 in mixed 2 lane, lots of red lights, and accelerating, and cruising on the highway the Instant MPG reads out 29-32 if not better at times. The 3.6L only has more power AND 2 more gears, so with my light foot, I expect similar. We'll see, depending on what I end up with, given the 2 choices, both oddly equal in my mind after looks & drives. But oy do I like that 6 power and sound... 
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If I wasn't used to a V6 and had never tried a V6, I would be ok with the 6-speed / 2.4. It's a fine ride and a beatuiful car. That said, I needed to get a V6 and I love it and have zero regrets. If you are used to a V6 you probably should get one unless you have a long commute.
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Replying to: beach15 (Sep 28, 2008 3:01 am) I am happy with my decision. |
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Replying to: vanman1 (Sep 29, 2008 4:17 am) Then I drove my 3.5L G6 and haven't been able to go back. The 2.4L I once thought was spunky and smooth now seems like a slug to me, and the electric steering that's very smooth and sharp feels quite light or loose in comparison to the hydraulic V6 steering. The 4-cyl models are terrific, as evidenced by sales, but the V6 is one of those things that once you have it...it's hard to have anything different. What did I end up with? Just got word today...the 2LT V6 is on its way! Will be in tomorrow, from the other dealer, and delivery some time this week. Still today I was considering the LTZ 4-cyl and thought about calling my salesperson and telling her to get that one, but didn't have time, and thankfully so--she told me later "I got your #1, the 2LT V6". Yay! Can't wait. After roaring around at high speed all weekend and blasting around on my commute today and last week at times, I checked my average tonight. 25.1mpg with a lot of red light time, as always, everyday. From a stop, hold on. Cruising, it's just loafing along getting high mpg. See why I again am glad to have another V6 coming?  Now it will be a comparo of my '09 V6 and our '08 4-cyl to see what we get daily, although my commute is longer and naturally boosts numbers itself. |
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Congrats beach15, any options on the 2LT? 08 or 09? I have a silver 08 2LT with the ebony interior. Only option is the side moldings. I think you will love the car, I love mine more every day. It's been just shy of 2 weeks now but every day I still look forward to driving it. bohemia1 : I prefer the 2LT interior to any of the others also. I wanted the LTZ climate control and fog lights but the 2 tone leather/interior was not doing it for me. If I could have got black leather I would have gone with an LTZ. Oh well, not a big deal. Saved money with a 2LT and have the same power, also prefer the 2LT rims.
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for the interior also. I prefered the suede over the leather. I also don't like climate control, I guess its just not a big deal to reach over when I am cold or hot and make a quarter turn on a dial. The only things I wish I had were the fog lights, but how often do you really get to use them anyway. By dropping down from the LTZ I could also get the sunroof with out any guilt. Oh, and I was fine with the 4 cylinder\4 speed , it has plenty of power at 170 hp for my commute on mostly 2 lane roads. Congrats beach15, do you need to finalize the deal today to get the employee pricing ?
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Replying to: vanman1 (Sep 29, 2008 5:49 pm) As my G6 is being repurchased by GM, it's an MSRP to MSRP swap with whatever GM vehicle I chose. No discounts are factored in, because it would necessitate starting a deal over again, and having to figure out the chunk knocked off my G6 price in the first place. My G6 stickered at $26,050 and I got it for Supplier minus $1250 in rebates and $1000 down, and then leased it (SmartBuy...financing, technically, with a balloon, like a lease). The Malibu stickers at $27,525 so it's more but it also has more stuff and is a more substantial car, so $1475 is fine by me to upgrade to a 0 mile car that's a year newer, with more stuff, and hopefully problem free this time, and continue on with my same lease payment. It was supposed to be in today via trading it in from another dealer but I think they got delayed due to things being hectic the last day of the month with the last day of Employee pricing. Not a biggie. It's a weird new car "deal" as I go through most of the same process, but just turn in my G6 and then go over the GM documents and give the check for the difference and am on my way again. Can't wait! I work less than a mile and one traffic light away from the dealer so--not wanting to bother my salesperson today--drove around 3 times looking for it. Hopefully tomorrow. As for the 2LT vs. LTZ, I still love the look of the LTZ and the ritzier leather and such inside, BUT for my real world uses and preferences, I'm a cloth fan and the suede is the closest I can get to that while still also having a loaded up car, and we really like it in our current 2LT. Except I'll now have the V6, the power package, and other little things like the new Bluetooth
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Replying to: beach15 (Sep 30, 2008 5:08 pm)
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I prefer cloth also but I am ok with leather. That said, the 2LT suede-ish seats are very nice to the touch, I just hope my kids don't wreck it. Unfortunately no "emplyeee pricing" here north of the border, paid C$27650 + freight, admin and tax. They did have 0% for 72 months up until last week however so I took advantage of that and I got a $500 gas card also. Pretty good I think as I had to borrow anyway. The 72 months is longer than I normally would have gone but at 0% how can you say no, payments are like a lease. Good lick with your pick-up today. |
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Replying to: guss (Sep 30, 2008 3:55 am) I wanted a roof but there was only one 08 left in the area and it was a red car. We already have a red van so I didn't want that color. Fogs would be great but like you say, you only ever use them a few times a year unless you live on the coast or something. They had a 2LT demo with a roof and the top line stereo but it had whopping 12K kms on it and they were only discounting an extra $500 or so. That's no deal! |
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