Article Comments - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu First Look, First Drive, and Full Test

106 messages, Last post on Mar 30, 2008 at 2:11 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Malibu Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Malibu, Sedan

First Look: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu - There's more to the new Mailbu than just the sheet metal and the low-sheen plastic. Even the proportions look significantly better thanks to a wheelbase that's a whopping 6 inches longer than the outgoing Malibu (now the longest in the class). From nose to tail, the Malibu measures 3 inches longer than before, and this visually pushes the wheels to the corners of the car and gives it a stable look. These dimensions should also provide GM with the means to make tangible improvements in ride quality and handling compared to previous efforts. (more)

First Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu - he new Malibu shares the same basic chassis as the well-received Saturn Aura, and this means the expected MacPherson strut front suspension and multilink independent rear. It differs from the Aura only in tuning, really. Chevrolet says it used a new tuning philosophy for the Malibu, and as far as we can tell, this means the car now slots between the mushy Camry and the sporty Accord. (here)

Full Test: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ - The new Malibu jumps smack in the middle of most consideration lists. It might even sell well to the lost generation in California. (more)

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#48 of 106 Re: OF COURSE [albook] by sarah12 Nov 08, 2007 (3:43 pm)
Replying to: albook (Nov 08, 2007 1:48 pm) albook: It's not the Malibu that's been named as a "four door sport car", but, the Maxima and the Altima. It's not any Chevy's DOHC that's been voted as WARD'S best for a record setting thirteen years in a row, but the now-legendary Nissan's VQ DOHC. I suggest you refer to the article about the new Altima (full test or first test drive). Or, just google Nissan VQ; you will find out that this engine is considered as the world's benchmark V6 for its smoothness, reliability and, PERFORMANCE. I doubt the Impala,V6, drives as well as the Altima's. Replies to this message: clace (Nov 09, 2007 5:03 am) albook (Nov 09, 2007 6:56 am)
#49 of 106 Re: OF COURSE [sarah12] by clace Nov 09, 2007 (5:03 am)
Replying to: sarah12 (Nov 08, 2007 3:43 pm) Im getting sick of all this ward's best nonsense. The competion's engines have caught up to and or surpassed this vq engine, and even if they hadn't, its still not much fun with the strange driving cvt tranny. The gm dohc has been on the list before, and other than the vq, no other engine seems to have much staying power on this list. Any list of the best engines that doesn't have the porcshe flat 6 on it every year brings up questions.
#51 of 106 Re: OF COURSE [sarah12] by albook Nov 09, 2007 (6:56 am)
Replying to: sarah12 (Nov 08, 2007 3:43 pm) Sorry people, this is getting off topic.. But I too am sick of the Nissan performance coolaid. Nissan's VQ engines don't get awards from anyone. The CVT is ridiculed frequently. How come only a few know about WARD's? My point. The only people calling Nissan's sedans four door sports cars are Nissan. Motortrend and Car and Driver and everybody else that matters call them sporty sedans. MT just said they were a bit dissapointed with the new Altima. They won't be so with the new Malibu. Infact, I could see it taking car of the year. Given the numbers someone posted of the Altima and G6 and Aura, we know the MAlibu will be quicker, and after all the work GM has done tuning it, just as smooth, or smoother. And that's with less HP! Just think- when the SS arrives, the Nissans will have NO chance. Oh- also: the head sports sedan award doesn't go to the Altima, but the Pontac G6, or MAzda 6-which blow the doors off the Altima-just as their Mazda three exceeds the awkward Sentra.
#52 of 106 Could it be by tired_old_dave Nov 09, 2007 (2:25 pm)
After reading First Look and then reading Kirk The Maxx Guy post of goodbye maxx and too many sedan trunks, a crazy thought popped into my fingers. More hp than our '04 3.5, longer wheelbase, a little longer overall, and increased production capacity for the new Bu. Waited for the maxx but the moving rear seat/cargo area gap and back window angle-all said no. And like orbit9090 getting a little too old to crawl down into our bu---but is a station wagon coming. Almost bought one of the last accord wagons.
#53 of 106 Impressed by ne1butu2 Nov 09, 2007 (5:05 pm)
I would never have ever thought I'd look at a Malibu and say "wow." About six months ago, right before the spy shots started appearing on blogs, I saw a red one on the streets of Manhattan. Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the bowtie and 'Malibu" on the rear deck and didn't really know what to think of it... other than it looked really nice and drew a lot of positive attention. I drive an S4 Cabrio and would probably never be in the market for a midpriced sedan like the Malibu. But I do think that it looks like a much smarter design, more athletic and more refined than the competition. It's going to sell like crazy. Replies to this message: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 1:24 pm) albook (Nov 12, 2007 2:07 pm) flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 6:26 pm) and 4 more...
#54 of 106 Re: Impressed [ne1butu2] by flemo123 Nov 12, 2007 (1:24 pm)
Replying to: ne1butu2 (Nov 09, 2007 5:05 pm) A lot of new designs look good at first but lose their lustre after a few months when you see hundreds of them on the road. The new Malibu looks good. I wouldn't say it has a "wow" factor. Cars in its class are generally conservative so as not to alienate the consumer. Is it a better car than the Japanese competition? Maybe. the problem is that Chevy have chosen to land the car in the middle of the pack instead of the head of the pack in the features/performance. This will make it hard for them to steal sales from the big two (or three). The Chevy badge alone guarantees lead balloon depreciation and likely big rebates at dealers. Bottom line is that it's a huge leap ahead of the old Malibu, but that's not a useful comparison for any new car. To really threaten the imports it needs to be more than just competitive. I've driven a lot of Honda's and Chevy's in the past. They have never been in the same Universe (until now?). Replies to this message: albook (Nov 12, 2007 2:07 pm) flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 6:26 pm) flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 7:44 pm) albook (Nov 13, 2007 2:39 pm) and 2 more...
#55 of 106 Re: Impressed [flemo123] by albook Nov 12, 2007 (2:07 pm)
Replying to: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 1:24 pm) Is it a better car than the Japanese competition? Maybe. the problem is that Chevy have chosen to land the car in the middle of the pack instead of the head of the pack in the features/performance. In performance, the Malibu will probably exceed the foriegn competition. And in Features, all it lacks is a navigation system. And though very popular, this still isn't a widespread option yet. It's not totally comonplace to see a navi in a Civic or Corolla, let alone a camry. The option is too expensive. And testers have already said the interior is nicer than the Camry (though not as nice as the Accord) Chevy did its homework (I'll give them an A-) and studied hard, but the real test is the sales. We'll see what happens. Replies to this message: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 6:26 pm) flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 7:44 pm) albook (Nov 13, 2007 2:39 pm) flemo123 (Nov 14, 2007 8:01 am) and 1 more...
#56 of 106 Re: Addressing some Misunderstandings [clace] by yury Nov 12, 2007 (2:32 pm)
Replying to: clace (Nov 06, 2007 7:19 pm) based on my quick search for 08 Malibu: 0-60 6.9 seconds... my 07 accord (5 sp auto) with 244 hp, 200 lb of torque is 7 sec. so....what's the big deal? BTW, same engine with a stick is 5.9. Altima and Camry will be around 6.5 seconds i believe with auto/CVT. Half a second difference is something you just might feel. Replies to this message: clace (Nov 12, 2007 6:03 pm)
#57 of 106 Re: Addressing some Misunderstandings [yury] by clace Nov 12, 2007 (6:03 pm)
Replying to: yury (Nov 12, 2007 2:32 pm) I don't know where you found 6.9 seconds. I was just using the edmunds numbers that they used using two gm cars with the same drivetrain and similar curb weights. The altima and camry are around 6.5 seconds, the accord is slower because of some computer management issue, and my point is that the malibu will be around the same as the top competition. An outdated or underpowered engine will not be a valid reason to count this car out this time.