Malibu drive coming up
Last Updated:
After driving the Saturn Aura for a week, I was just wondering how was the same powertrain (2.4 Liter with 6 speed auto) in the newer Chevrolet version.
When I first drove the Malibu last year, the 6 speed wasn’t available with the 4 cylinder engine yet.
The one I am driving now is not the loaded model, unlike the Aura I had before.
It is an LT version, where the 6 speed with paddle shift is an option.
I will report more on it later. But if you have any questions, go ahead…
Cool.
The only problem with the Malibu is lack of width…Tooo narrow for me…Whaddya think Vince?
Rev that thing up and report on the engines…Is it buzzie?
That’s weird. The car feels big and wide to me.
I can’t see why it would feel to narrow at all.
It feels wider than the Camry and Accord.
And just like in the Aura, the engine is one of the quietest 4 I’ve driven. Not busy at all.
It even seems just a bit quieter than in the Saturn.
The suspension a bit smoother too.
But the steering lacks that great feeling the Aura had.
Maybe the LTZ version is more similar…
Vince, how about a real fuel mileage test — without the onboard computer. You know, honest top-of-the-tank to top-of-the-tank drive and fill. That way we’ll know in real world driving if the Malibu is worthy of its fuel economy claims.
(Plus, me and an office colleague are thinking about buying one if the MPG is what GM claims.
Thanks!!!
Sitting in it at 2 auto shows, that was my immediate concern, how narrow it is and I have a Prelude, so go figure. However the materials and fit/finish were on par if not better than the 09 Camry we rented this summer.
I still don’t get the narrow feeling. Actually the car seems to me pretty large to drive.
So far MPG is 22 to 23 in almost only city driving.
But I also noticed that it changes a lot if you really push it.
Which most people wouldn’t need to.
The next global platform will be about 73″ wide…GM did not want to spend the money to widen this platform…This a Euopean platform which means narrow…European roads are similar in size to American sidewalks.