01 malibu LS

[GMfan1111]

Hi guys I've had my malibu for a couple of years and i figured I'd write a long term review for it. Its my first formal review so please bear with me

I Bought my malibu LS 3 years ago from a prior owner for around 8000 dollars (its probably depreciated several thousand by now) and its a pretty decent car for the price. Anyway I'll split this review into three categories so reading will be simpler

Interior - The Interior of my LS is typical GM plastics with a strip of "real" burlwood trim along the dash and black plastic for the buttons and door trim. I have cloth seats and they are somewhat comfortable but these seats have horrid back support and as such my back slides around left or right when making a sharp turn. but the seats do have power adjustable capability and can accommodate a wide variety of drivers though people 6 foot and above should stay clear of this car. the backseats are comfortable as well though legroom is quickly gobbled up when the front seats are moved all the way back. the car is also surprisingly quiet below highway speeds but get up above 65 and you are greeted with loud wind noise The only major gripe that i have about the inside of this car is the Stereo. I have the "premium" stereo with RDS capability and while it does offer a few sound modes and other cool stuff the speakers in the front doors are weirdly shaped and caved inward on the center. This setup provides great bass but the notes in higher ranges are virtually non existent even with the treble settings turned up. The CD player also skips when going over potholes and sometimes when selecting different songs the CD player will not read the track selected and pop the CD back out. and for the people that like to post (this thread is worthless without pics) I'll be posting pics here tommorow

Exterior - This cars styling is not designed to be attention grabbing nor is it meant to exude sportiness. Instead it helps blend in to the crowd so to speak and overall the styling is subdued and maybe considered bland by some people.

Performance - 97 to 03 bus had two engine options a 4 banger and the 3.1 V6 making 170 horsepower. I was blessed with the latter engine and I highly recommend it to any prospective Malibu buyers. The 3.1 gets the car up to 60 fairly quickly but getting up to 70 and up requires the gas pedal to be almost at the floor for any substantial acceleration to occur. but of course this is a car that was built to be reliable dependable transportation rather than be a star performer out on the track. The Malibu also has good braking power but be prepared for moderate nose dive when executing a sharp stop. I also get decent fuel mileage from my engine at around 23 miles per gallon and i have lasted at least several weeks on a single tank of gas.

Overall this car has been a good purchase and other than a problem with the ABS (which was solved by doing a wire splice at home) and a lock cylinder replacement it is running just fine. However when the time comes to get a new car i will not be getting a second Chevy as i want a car from one of GM's other brands preferably Buick or cadillac

[gwwyjjliu]

Great review. I have fond memories of my 2000 Malibu LS which I bought new and sold in 2004 with over 70,000 miles on it. It was a great car, an extremely reliable and faithful daily driver with a good balance of fuel economy and performance.

[GMfan1111]

Originally Posted by gwwyjjliu

Great review. I have fond memories of my 2000 Malibu LS which I bought new and sold in 2004 with over 70,000 miles on it. It was a great car, an extremely reliable and faithful daily driver with a good balance of fuel economy and performance.

Thank you I was going to post pics but Michigan's crazy weather (a snowstorm) held things up but i'll post some soon I did some light interior modding to make it more livable in winter and to make it look better anyway i'll be sure to post them ASAP

[2005 Equinox LS]

My grandmothers 1999 has been really good other than having to replace a brake line. Of course it only has 16,000 miles on it now. She bought it off the showroom floor.