WILD ABOUT CHEVY
2016 Malibu is efficient, economic sprinter
With the Malibu, Chevy impresses with fuel economy and reasonable pricing. The power’s not bad, either.
CONWAY, Ark.—I could scarcely believe my eyes as I pulled into the hotel parking lot.
I drove the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid around town for a couple of days before making the 170-mile Interstate sprint, most of it in the left lane, to Conway; yet, the fuel gauge said the 13-gallon tank was still somewhere between a half and three-quarters full.
The doggoned thing was getting better than 45 mpg. I thought you had to buy something Japanese to get fuel economy like that, but here was a Chevy beating the Prius at its own game with a car that was powerful, quiet, comfortable, handled well, featured great technology and had good looks to boot. All that comes at a reasonable price—less than $28,000, which makes sense. Chevy has grabbed market share with the all-new, midsize Malibu, which has garnered J.D. Power reliability and dependability recognition while starting at a price lower than competitors like the Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Mazda6. Only the Hyundai Sonata has a lower base price. The Malibu comes in five models, L, LS, LT, Hybrid and Premier. Standard equipment includes 10 airbags, cruise control, push-button start with passive entry and fuel-saving stop/start technology on the base 1.5L 4-cylinder engine. The LS, starting at $23,995, includes standard Chevrolet MyLink Radio with 7-inch diagonal color touch screen, available compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a rear vision camera. The LT starts at $25,895 and is projected to offer a General Motors-estimated 27 mpg city and 37 mpg highway, when equipped with the Ecotec 1.5L turbo engine with stop/ start. The LT model adds LED daytime running lamps and 8-way power driving seats. A 2.0L turbo with an 8-speed transmission is available in the LT and Premier models as well, starting at $29,495 and $31,795 respectively. Malibu 2.0T models offer an-estimated 22 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway.
All models can be equipped with state-ofart safeties technology including Lane Keep Assist, Front Pedestrian Braking and Low Speed Front Automatic Braking. Chevy offers those, and more, in a $1,195 package, which may be the lowest price yet for a similar package. Don’t buy a new car without these life-saving technologies, please.
Teen Driver—available on LT and standard on Premier trims—helps support safe driving habits by muting the audio or any device paired with the vehicle when front-seat occupants aren’t wearing their seat belts. It is also the first in-vehicle system in the industry that lets parents view information on how their teenagers drove the vehicle.
Glad Mom didn’t have that back in the day. I’d still be grounded.
All Malibu models offer good reasons to buy, but the smart play here is clearly the Hybrid.
It does many things well, beginning with putting power to the wheels in a buttery
fashion more fitting a car costing twice as much. An all-new, direct-injection 1.8L four-cylinder engine is mated to a two-motor drive unit, slightly modified from the 2016 Chevrolet Volt. Combined, the two systems give the Malibu a combined 277 horsepower and 375 ft.-lbs of torque, quick enough to zip from zero to 60 in less than 7.5 seconds—fast for the class.
An 80-cell, 1.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack provides electric power to the hybrid system. It can power the Malibu Hybrid up to 55 miles per hour on electricity alone. The gasoline-powered engine automatically comes on at higher speeds and high loads to provide additional power. The system sorts out how much power from each to use, and changes are imperceptible from inside the cabin.
Chevy engineers also did a superb job blending regenerative braking and mechanical braking, employing a brake-by-wire system, also borrowed from the Volt, to makes the handoff between the two systems. Brake pedal feel is linear and predictable.
Also new this year is a stronger, lighter body structure that contributes to efficiency and driving dynamics. Greater use of high-strength steels enables engineers to design the body structure with thinner components in some areas, delivering comparable crash performance with lower weight. The all-new body structure accounts for more than one-third of the Malibu’s nearly 300-pound weight reduction.
The result is a family sedan with surprising road-handling capability.
This is another great car from the folks behind the big gold bow tie. The Malibu Hybrid was a runner-up for Motor Trend’s Car of the Year, snaked by its cousin the all-new Camaro. Frankly, I think Chevy just hit back-toback home runs.
Bottom Line: If you happen to believe that fuel prices won’t stay low forever, or that saving money on gas is just a smart thing to do. Go drive the new Malibu Hybrid. You’re gonna like it.