Driving the Chevy Malibu
When we took a jaunt through Mississippi earlier this week our ride was a Chevy Malibu we rented in New Orleans. I drove it 375 miles in just under 2 days. Two days isn't a long time to get a feel for a car, but this car isn't the kind to keep secrets. It's pretty obvious for what it is: reasonable, if bland, made-in-the-US transportation circa 2016.
2016? Yes. Even though the car I drove was a 2023 model, the Malibu was last redesigned for the 2016 model year. It's getting long in the tooth in its 8th year of production. That's part of what gives it such an overriding feeling of blandness. That, and the beige color our vehicle was dressed in.
While the car was bland it wasn't bad. Power from the 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine was adequate. A standard small turbocharger boosts output to 160 HP and 184 lb-ft of torque. Will you win stoplight races with this car? No. Does it feel zippy when accelerating to match speed on a highway? Also no. But if you're okay with buying a bland basic transportation car you're probably okay with that.
The flip side of this car being a bit shy on power is that it's frugal on gasoline. The EPA rating is 27 City / 35 Hwy / 30 Combined. On 375 miles of mostly-highway driving we averaged almost 34 mpg. With a 15.8 gallon tank that puts the range over 500 miles between fill-ups. This could be a good road-tripping car.
Our rental came with the mid-level LT trim. It includes a few nice extra touches that made this car not feel like an econo-penalty box. In addition to the Apple CarPlay / Android Auto integration and keyless entry & ignition that are part of the base LS package, the LT adds heated front seats and dual-zone climate control among other things.
On the whole this is not a car I'd buy myself. I'm more of a "pay more, get more" person when it comes to owning cars. I'm willing (and totally able) to spend a bit more to get more power, more features, and less of a snooze-fest design. But for a rental car it's totally fine. And I can see why drivers who don't care about as many things in their cars as I do would be fine with it. For example, my mom has owned 2 Malibus in the past 20 or so years. I can see why she likes it.
2016? Yes. Even though the car I drove was a 2023 model, the Malibu was last redesigned for the 2016 model year. It's getting long in the tooth in its 8th year of production. That's part of what gives it such an overriding feeling of blandness. That, and the beige color our vehicle was dressed in.
While the car was bland it wasn't bad. Power from the 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine was adequate. A standard small turbocharger boosts output to 160 HP and 184 lb-ft of torque. Will you win stoplight races with this car? No. Does it feel zippy when accelerating to match speed on a highway? Also no. But if you're okay with buying a bland basic transportation car you're probably okay with that.
The flip side of this car being a bit shy on power is that it's frugal on gasoline. The EPA rating is 27 City / 35 Hwy / 30 Combined. On 375 miles of mostly-highway driving we averaged almost 34 mpg. With a 15.8 gallon tank that puts the range over 500 miles between fill-ups. This could be a good road-tripping car.
Our rental came with the mid-level LT trim. It includes a few nice extra touches that made this car not feel like an econo-penalty box. In addition to the Apple CarPlay / Android Auto integration and keyless entry & ignition that are part of the base LS package, the LT adds heated front seats and dual-zone climate control among other things.
On the whole this is not a car I'd buy myself. I'm more of a "pay more, get more" person when it comes to owning cars. I'm willing (and totally able) to spend a bit more to get more power, more features, and less of a snooze-fest design. But for a rental car it's totally fine. And I can see why drivers who don't care about as many things in their cars as I do would be fine with it. For example, my mom has owned 2 Malibus in the past 20 or so years. I can see why she likes it.