2008 Chevrolet Malibu

By René Gervais

Good work!

We often accuse American vehicles of a lack of refinement or of simply not being in the same league as their Japanese counterparts. This time, it looks like the tide is turning for GM because the new Chevrolet Malibu has nothing to fear from its foreign rivals.

Road-test likes:

• The remarkable improvement compared to the previous model;
• Interior room;
• the car’s thoroughbred look;
• the high level performance;
• trunk volume;
• comfort on the road;
• excellent quality of the interior materials;
• handling pleasure;
• very competitive base price.

Road-test dislikes:

• fuel consumption;
• useless transmission on the steering wheel;
• the vehicle’s back end ,which to me, seems rather ugly;

Driving impressions

Let’s get right to it and talk about the driving satisfaction brought to you by a Chevrolet. This brand new Malibu has nothing in common with the boring car of the past. With a top to bottom makeover worthy of the beauties in this class, the Malibu surprises not only the driver but the passengers as well. Although its vocation does not include being a sporty bomb, it handles well and holds its ground. Quite frankly, driving a sedan does not mean driving a hearse! The small knock I have is the heavy torque effect on the steering wheel when the accelerator gets floored (V6 engine). This happens to be a common reaction among rear-wheel drives generating a lot of power. In this case, were talking about 252hp, 3.6 litre V6 with 251 lb-ft. Steering, however, is precise and the car reacts well to commands.