When Chevrolet last redesigned the Malibu, for 2013, the result seemed steeped in indifference—especially compared with the increasingly inventive competition such as the stylish Hyundai Sonata and the Ford Fusion. The Chevy was bland, and worse still, its back seat was much more cramped than the preceding model’s. Chevrolet quickly whipped up a slightly improved Malibu the very next year, but it couldn’t repair the itty-bitty back seat—or the car’s fundamental meh-ness. Now, just 3 brief years later, the Malibu is all-new once again, and this time, it sports a fresh look, fresh underpinnings, and fresh engines.
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It could be argued that the Malibu’s longevity—this is the ninth generation given that the nameplate initial appeared in 1964—has every little thing to do with its inoffensive nature. That is great for middle America and rental fleets, but today’s mid-size sedan celebration calls for a distinct sort of costume. Right on cue, the Malibu has inherited a body so stylish, so crisp, that not only will the preceding model’s visual Novocain be dissipated, but the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Mazda 6, and even the newly sassy Toyota Camry ought to in fact be concerned.
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The designers appear to have gotten the memo that the most recent Impala is great-searching, as there is a lot of that car’s styling baked into the 2016 Malibu. Beginning with its proportions, the Malibu adopts a “4-door coupe”-ish swept roofline à la Ford Fusion and mixes it nicely with a lengthy hood and clipped overhangs. The Malibu’s face is sleek, even though from some angles, the extreme horizontality of the headlights’ top edge lends the mug a droopy look. Overall, though, the crisp lines, body-side creases, and neat stance virtually left us forgetting the old Malibu’s Play-Doh-squeezed-by way of-sadness appear.
It’s no accident that the Malibu looks longer and decrease than the old car—Chevrolet stretched the wheelbase by 3.6 inches, resulting in a nominal 2.3-inch bump in overall length. Width remains the identical as just before at 73. inches, but the hood and cowl are reduce, giving the impression of added girth. The size improve genuinely pays off inside, exactly where there’s 1.3 additional inches of rear-seat legroom back-seat passengers no longer want to fold themselves to enter and exit. While the sexy roofline cuts into rear-seat headroom somewhat—the headliner is scooped out to make space for occupants’ noggins on models with the sunroof—legroom is wholly acceptable. Refreshingly, Chevy toned down the Malibu’s interior just enough to banish the old version’s cornucopia of supplies and textures, but not so significantly as to leave the cabin dull and barren. It is a nice place to occupy, no more, no significantly less.
Underneath the Malibu sits GM’s all-new E2XX front-drive architecture (the outgoing Malibu used the shorter-wheelbase version of the aging Epsilon II platform), a modify that outcomes not only in greater looks and interior area, but less weight, also. Chevy claims that the 2016 Malibu is a lot more than 300 pounds lighter than ahead of, with a third of that weight savings obtaining come out of the car’s structure. If that weight reduction holds accurate when we confirm it with our own scales, that would place the new Malibu in the 3200–3300-pound range, which is on the light side of the mid-size class.
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Double the Turbo, Double the Entertaining
If the Malibu’s 300-pound weight reduction sounds great in a vacuum, it’ll sound even far better when paired with either of the sedan’s 2 available gasoline engines. (The hybrid model returns, too—get the complete information here.) Final year’s base 2.5-liter 4-cylinder is supplanted by a turbocharged 1.5-liter 4 from GM’s new Ecotec little-engine family members. Mated exclusively to a 6-speed automatic, the engine comes with auto cease-commence, direct fuel injection, and a turbo operating a maximum 17 psi of boost. Output stands at 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, which is down 36 horses and 2 lb-ft relative to the prior car’s 2.5-liter 4—but actual-planet overall performance shouldn’t suffer also much thanks to the Malibu’s diet regime. Fuel economy, predictably, is up—GM estimates 27 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway, increases of 2 and 1 mpg.
The Malibu’s optional engine is largely carryover: It’s the same 2.-liter turbocharged 4 presented on last year’s automobile, but it has been re-tuned slightly. Just as the 1.5-liter Ecotec is significantly less endowed than the engine it replaces, the 2.-liter sees some of its may well clipped for 2016. The turbo makes 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft—decent figures that also take place to be 9 horsepower and 37 lb-ft weaker than the outgoing Malibu’s 2.-liter turbo. Once again, the new car’s weight savings ought to help it keep parity, as ought to the 2.-liter’s only transmission, a new 8-speed automatic. It is derived from GM’s 8L90 (observed previously in the Corvette, the Silverado/Sierra, and the big SUVs), albeit turned sideways and adapted for transverse, front-drive applications. We’re told the transmission in this form does not have provisions for hooking up to a transfer case, which means the Malibu will be strictly front-drive. The Malibu’s lead engineer assures us that this was no accident: No all-wheel drive signifies the design group didn’t need to have to beef up the car’s rear end for aft drive components, saving far more w7
Chevrolet individuals insist that driving enjoyment was a objective for the latest Malibu, something we’re taking with a grain of salt provided the old model’s utter lack of passion in such matters. Efforts to imbue the ’Bu with some spice consist of a dual-motor electric-power-steering setup, which is mentioned to supply higher precision, as effectively as swapping some of the suspension’s steel pieces for aluminum ones. Oh, and of course there’s the weight loss decreasing weight generally enhances a vehicle’s dynamics.
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In no way Worry, Security-Bu is Right here
Of greater importance to mid-size sedan buyers than horsepower figures and suspension tuning is the 2016 Malibu’s roster of safety characteristics. Pedestrian detection with automatic braking, lane-keeping help, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, forward-collision warning with automatic braking, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, automatic parking, automatic higher beams, and adaptive cruise manage are all accessible. Ten airbags are common, too, and Chevy is providing a new PIN-protected Teen Driver feature that enables parents to monitor their kids’ driving and set speed-limit warnings, minimize the maximum sound-technique volume level, and much more, if you’re into that sort of point.
The system’s a variety of functions are accessible through a new optional 8-inch MyLink infotainment touch screen. With the larger screen—a 6-incher is available on lower trims—you get navigation, as effectively as a slightly updated version of MyLink with a faster processor. We sampled this program briefly in a preproduction Malibu, and the new menu structure seems intuitive (it’s the exact same in the 6-inch setup but with no the quicker brain), while inputs are dispatched rapidly and without fuss. To our utter disbelief, we have been informed that the new MyLink’s fundamental underpinnings have been pilfered from Cadillac’s maligned CUE infotainment program, proving that you really can polish a . . . you get it.
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Pricing for the Malibu has however to be released, but purchasers will be provided 4 trim levels: L, LS, LT, and a new “Premier” spec that replaces the now-defunct LTZ. Every Malibu will come with GM’s 4G LTE information connection with a wireless hotspot and 3 months of cost-free data. The LS comes common with a backup camera, active grille shutters, and the smaller sized of the 2 MyLink touch screens the LT adds LED operating lights and the Premier gets LED taillights, 2 rear-seat USB ports and a 110-volt power outlet, a wireless telephone charger (integrated nicely in the kind of a center-console charging “slot” that you merely drop your telephone into), leather seats, ventilated seats, and the 8-inch MyLink setup.
When it goes on sale in the 4th quarter of this year, the 2016 Malibu must set Chevrolet back on course in the mid-size race. Final judgment, however, will want to wait until we drive the new sedan. Only then will we know how much the competitors ought to have to worry from Chevy.
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2016 Chevrolet Malibu: No Yawning—With New Engines, a New Platform, and a New Look, It is Very Exciting!
