In the week or so since I bought my 'bu (a '1LT' on 9/9), it's mainly been confined to city streets and occasional short jaunts on the interstate (in city). Today though I gave myself a good excuse to hop on I-80 and do the round trip to school (which I had been looking forward to like you wouldn't believe).
The custom cloth buckets are firm and supportive for a 5'10" 135lb guy like me and have good grip, keeping my butt planted front and center when sudden lane changes or other construction related snafus demand quick moves, with some at speeds up to 65mph (my section of I-80 is carved up pretty good east and westbound....).
One thing that always bugged me about my Voyager is that by the time I'm 3/4 of the way into my trip there/back.....my back is stiffened to the point where I'm constantly shifting around in the seat to regain some semblance of comfort. Not a problem with this ride.
The overall isolation you get in the car can not be overstated. Once I got on the interstate, got up to speed and set the cruise at a hair over 75, it was as if I was floating on air. Even when hitting rougher patches of concrete and passing gargantuan semis, I felt like I was sitting in a tomb. That's not all bad though, because the stereo system more than made up for it.
For the baseline factory system (at my dealer, the only examples with the upgraded Pioneer setup were the top-dawg LTZ's), it's incredible.....a quantum leap over whatever Chrysler put in my van & the Delco/Bose setups in the '86 Century & '91 Delta 88 that used to occupy my garage. Compared to my Dad's Accord (that has a tiny factory sub in the trunk), I can tell mine thumps way deeper & louder (and that's without a sub) with no distortion. Equalizer options/controls are great and hooking up my iPod mini only makes things better.
Using the aforementioned Accord as a reference, road manners are similar IMO, but the Malibu has a more 'planted' feeling on the road and the steering gives better feedback (though that's not saying too much for cars in this class). Power is phenomenal given the car's small engine and delivery is silky smooth, making the ecotec nearly a dead ringer for the 2.4L in the Honda (down 9HP--160--vs the 'bu's 169.), though the sound is
slightly coarser.
For people who like to keep one hand on the shifter, pretending their slushbox is really a stick (like I did most of the way back....haha), the center armrest provides a generous amt. of travel back/forth and is covered in a pleasant feeling soft touch vinyl (or leather?).
Storage options abound and with me carrying a cell phone, ipod, garage opener, shades & other assorted nick-nacks/necessities, the deep well storage bin in the armrest as well as a compartment atop the dash provide some great convenience as well as relief from overcrowded pockets.
The A/C provides hurricane force relief on warm days when rolling down the windows isn't an option (I kinda like to keep them up when I'm barreling down the interstate at nearly 80mph....) and cools the car remarkably quick. Same with the heat (the last few mornings I've got out of work, it's been in the low 40's and the windows have been lightly frosted).
A great thing too has gotta be the style factor. Some hate it, others (including myself) like it. Rolling around campus mid-morning, I definitely caught some glances, esp. up around the Student Union where people like to chill outside on nice days. My older brother (owner of an '06 325i and soon, an '08 G37 coupe) rented one just a few weeks ago and after I sent him pics of mine, recounted how much he loved his rental, giving the interior esp. high marks and asking me
"how much extra did you shell out for that chrome?" (the wheels--std on 1LT's).
So yeah, all in all it's a definite winner from Chevy....something they should've been building 10yrs ago! If you're in the market for a 4dr of moderate size, you'd do well to put the Malibu on your list.
