It’s just past 6 a.m. local time, but I’ve been up for hours,
having recently flown from Detroit to Palo Alto to drive Chevy’s new,
2016 Malibu. You read that right. I’m in Silicon Valley, not Motown, for the launch of the Bowtie’s monumentally important mid-size sedan.
Frankly, there’s a lot of technology stuffed into this midsizer.
Palo Alto is a weird town for cars. It nearly goes without saying
that Teslas cover the city streets like a thick-pile EV carpet.
Yesterday I saw three Fiat 500e models in the span of six blocks, and
Nissan Leafs are hardly scarce, either. Prius are everywhere.
With that landscape taken as read, and with Google and Apple world headquarters some dozen miles away, it’s clear that
Chevy is
trying to drive home a tech-first image for Malibu. And, frankly,
there’s a lot of technology stuffed into this midsizer. GM has been
leading the charge in rolling out the wonderfully intuitive Apple
CarPlay and Android Auto to its full line, and the Malibu offers up the
system on a fast, responsive, and pretty eight-inch touchscreen. What’s
more, the car can be had with native 4G LTE WiFi onboard, meaning
backseat denizens can connect and keep quiet. The latest iteration of
Chevy’s MyLink software is quite good to use, as well. So there’s a
pretty impressive tech story happening inside Malibu’s new sheet metal.
Residents of Palo Alto might never find that out though, as the
design of the model-year 2016 car is, while quite tidy, hardly of the
idiom changing variety. I understand that for conventional cars in this
class any design might struggle to unstick software engineer eyes from
the Model S bodysides, but the Malibu seems very conservative on the
streets around here. Back in Michigan, cross shoppers of the Chrysler
200 or Toyota Camry will no doubt appreciate the Chevy’s improved stance
and understated profile, but it hardly seems attractive enough to earn
conquest sales on looks alone.
The design is, while quite tidy, hardly idiom changing.
Inside the front door, I find more of the same (roughly speaking).
The mid-level LT model you see in the pictures here has cloth seats and a
basic-black color scheme, though the shapes and the detail work are
still pleasing. Specifically I love what Chevy has done with the trim
panels on dash and doors, with a cool woven fabric recalling BMW’s i car
lineup. That big, bright infotainment screen is prominent and easy to
use. And, when paired to my iPhone and using CarPlay, represents perhaps
my favorite way to navigate and use digital music in a vehicle today.
More expensive versions of the Malibu can be had with leather seating
and trim, of course, but I honestly don’t like them as much as I do
this budget-friendly version. The foam filling those fabric seats might
feel somewhat doughy – I did get the sense that the mild bolstering
might breakdown quickly after heavy use – but overall you can’t go amiss
at the mass-market end of the Malibu range.
That thought, and the technology story, can be extended to the Malibu
powertrain lineup, as well. The base engine for the Chevy is now a
turbocharged, 1.5-liter four-cylinder, which produces 160 horsepower and
184 pound-feet of torque. It’s a damn good motor. Connected to a
surprisingly refined six-speed automatic transmission, the 1.5T is a
clever motivator for the 3,100-pound sedan. Even in a bigger car, the
lag-free action of the turbo engine reminds me very much of Honda’s new
mill from the Civic. Gearing is spot on for the kind of low-speed
acceleration requests that I experience regularly in city driving.
The base engine is a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four-cylinder, producing 160 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. It’s a damn good motor.
Malibu will also offer both a 250-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter, and a
proper gas-electric hybrid. I drove both cars for a bit – the 2.0T feels
whoppingly fast after the 1.5T, and more comfortable passing at 80 mph+
on the highway – and we’ll have full review content for both as they
come through the Detroit media fleet. Suffice it to say, in my first,
gut-level reaction, I’d save money and stick with the very competent
1.5T if it were my money paying off the loan/lease.
The second-most impressive feature of this Malibu redux, is the fine
work done to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness. Anyone that’s
driven or ridden in a late-model Buick will find a similar level of
quiet in this Chevy, dual-pane glass keeping all but the most strident
road noises under wraps. A smooth, unfussy ride compliments that low-key
nature; engineers have clearly put a premium on smoothness and
filtering out broken, bumpy roads. Naturally, the soft ride starts to
feel a bit mushy when I push the Chevy through aggressive corners – this
isn’t a sports sedan. Still, it’s nothing like the barge-type handling
you might expect from a domestic sedan, merely not overtly athletic.
(Some of that sense, I’ll admit, comes down to power steering that lacks
feel.)
Pricing is cutthroat in the American mid-size sedan scene, and to a
certain extent, the latest mover always has the advantage. As expected
then, Malibu’s starting price of $22,500 (with delivery and destination)
undercuts the sticker of basic sedans from Ford, Honda, Nissan, and
Toyota (the Mazda6 and Hyundai Sonata are a few hundred dollars
cheaper). And as the freshest product, the Chevy is equally competitive
when the options start flying. I think that my LT trim, with the $895
Convenience and Technology Package, and the $1,195 Driver Confidence
Package, is how most people will buy this car. Netting out at just under
$28K, you get the nicest, 7-inch infotainment screen, the coolest
software package, USB charging ports for the kids in the back, and slew
of safety assists, and more.
“More” in this case includes Chevy’s very cool Teen Driver package,
which is sure to be a pain in the ass to high school kids the country
over. The suite of software, activated by a pre-ordained key fob you’re
to give to the kid, basically serves as a nagging, invisible parent. It
sets off a speed warning, mutes the radio if the driver’s seatbelt is
unfastened, and provides a report of miles driven and speed data to
parents after the fact. I would’ve despised something like this when I
was 17, but then again, I rolled my Suzuki Samurai into a ditch at that
age… lessons should be less dangerous to learn.
This is a tremendous leap forward for the Malibu badge; the 2016 car
is miles ahead of the outgoing model. Still, sitting here in this hub of
innovation, I wonder if it goes far enough forward to impress shoppers
my age (37 years old) and younger? On the home field of the Model S,
it’s unlikely that any even remotely conventional car would turn heads.
But General Motors, and Chevy, have all the engineering talent and
design capacity for creating truly taste-making objects, the corporate
will just has to be there. Sure, a nice powertrain and good fuel economy
numbers (37 highway, 27 city, by the way) will earn a lot of legacy
sales in the fat middle of the U.S., but they aren’t enough to make the
car a desirable thing for a 25-year-old software engineer, I’m guessing.
My question is: even if Malibu is good enough to compete with Camry and
Accord, is that good enough for the brand, for the long haul? Then
again, I’ve probably been in Palo Alto too long…
For today’s landscape, and today’s very conservative sedan buyer,
there’s no question Malibu is an excellent offering. Even if the sex
appeal of the high-tech it offers is somewhat lower than skin deep.
| Engine |
Turbocharged 1.5-Liter I4 |
| Output |
160 Horsepower / 184 Pound-Feet |
| Transmission |
6-Speed Automatic |
| Fuel Economy |
37 Highway / 37 City / 31 Combined |
| Weight |
3,126 Pounds |
| 0-60 |
NA |
| Top Speed |
NA |
| Base Price |
$22,500 |
| As-Tested |
$27,985 |
| Estimated Lease Price (As-Tested) |
$490/month |
More Photos
You aren’t the only one looking at
these photos and the listed price and asking yourself a lot of
questions. The reasons why this barn find 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona is
estimated to cost between $150,000 and $180,000 are simple. 
