Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx

Perian · 07-08-2005, 07:46 AM

Link: http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-sst...7114521.column

Newsday Road Test: July 8, 2005 - Chevrolet Malibu Maxx

Wrong car at the right price: Malibu offers value, little else.

Anybody can offer a cut-rate product that looks it. Genius is building something that can sell at a Wal-Mart price but looks expensive.

Some of General Motors' Japanese competitors do that very well.

GM has failed to do that, though, in the Malibu four-door sedan and Malibu Maxx five-door hatchback. So, while the two vehicles are practical and conservatively handsome cars at fair prices, they're not the kind of standouts that GM needs to bring new shoppers into its showrooms.

I can think of no compelling reason except price to recommend them over their targeted competitors like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Mazda 6.

On the other hand, with reasonably quiet cabins, competent handling, some clever people/storage touches in the wagon-like Maxx and an excellent crash-test rating, there are no compelling arguments to be made, either, against the Malibu or Maxx.

I sampled a Malibu sedan late in 2003 when the duo first arrived, and my impressions were in this space Dec. 5 of that year. It was an LT - the middle of three equipment and trim levels - and I was impressed with the look and feel of the interior materials. In contrast, the interior of the five-door Maxx that I sampled recently seemed strictly Wal-Mart, with dreary upholstery and cheap-looking plastic everywhere. Maybe my reaction was prompted partly by the blah beige color and the lower LS trim level.

On the upside, the Malibu and Maxx prices currently are reduced by a $2,000 rebate. Both also are included in GM's employee discount program, which means a saving of about 4 percent off suggested retail, calculated before the rebates are subtracted, according to GM.

My Maxx tester had a sticker price of $24,240 with freight, a V-6, automatic transmission, optional side and curtain air bags, antilock brakes, traction control, a power driver's seat, power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and air-conditioning. It also had power windows, locks and mirrors; remote starting; a steering wheel that tilts and telescopes - even a $1,000 rear-seat DVD entertainment system.

That's a lot of value.

If it doesn't shock and awe, the Maxx at least delivers what it promises.

The Maxx has the same adequately energetic 200-hp. V-6 as my test sedan, and the Maxx evidenced the same "torque steer" on hard acceleration - manifested by a tugging on the steering wheel. Its exhaust system produced the same rotten-egg odor - hot catalytic converter I assume - as that of the sedan I drove.

The four-wheel independent suspension and the variable-assist electronic steering are calibrated with a greater emphasis on comfort and ease, respectively, than on enthusiastic driving.

On sale since the 2004 model year, the five-passenger Malibu and Maxx share structural basics with each other and with the 9-3 sold by GM's Saab unit and the G6 sold by Pontiac. The Maxx's wheelbase is 6 inches longer than the Malibu sedan's, though, providing 2.5 inches more rear-seat legroom. The Maxx is, however, a half-inch shorter overall than the sedan.

The Maxx also comes with larger, 16-inch wheels and wider tires, whose bumping and slapping sounds accounted for most of the noise entering the tester's cabin.

The Malibu sedan is available also with a 2.2-liter, 144-hp. four-cylinder.

List prices for Malibu sedans start at $19,825 with freight. The Maxx begins at $22,090 with freight.

Both engines use regular unleaded gas and, by an Environmental Protection Agency estimate, get miles per gallon in the low 20s in the city and about 30 on the highway. Some reviewers have termed the V-6 noisy, but to me the sound was pleasant. Car and Driver magazine said zero to 60 mph took 8.7 seconds in a V-6 Maxx.

If it was weak aesthetically, my Maxx's interior worked well ergonomically, with two exceptions: The gauges were nearly unreadable at times during the day because of sun glare, and the front bucket seats had little lateral support.

Switches, though, are generally well-located and all are self-explanatory. The Maxx's rear seatbacks fold down in a 60-40 arrangement to provide a large flat cargo area. The rear seats can be adjusted fore and aft by almost 7 inches, and their backs can be adjusted for slope - both nice features.

A fixed sun panel is installed over the passenger area, with a split shade.

A panel in the Maxx cargo area can be adjusted to three levels and can be set partly outside the car for tailgate parties. This feature looks clever, but it's in the way when you have tall items to carry. And the tester's shelf rattled annoyingly. I think, if it were my vehicle, I'd be tempted to take the thing out, toss it in the garage and forget about it.

There's also a 12-volt power outlet in the Maxx cargo area.

The front passenger seat's back folds flat to further enable the carrying of long items such as ladders or lumber.

The four-speed automatic transmission can be shifted manually via buttons on the side of the console-mounted shift lever, after the driver pulls the lever backward from drive into low gear.

The Malibu sedan gets a top, five-star rating for frontal crash protection from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (There are no separate ratings for the Maxx.) With the side air bags, which are standard in LT versions, the Malibu gets five stars for the driver and four for a rear-seat passenger in the agency's side-impact test.

Take some advice: Don't buy one of these cars without the side bags. Here's what the safety agency says on its Web site about the side-impact test of a Malibu without them: "Safety concern: During the ... test, the head of the driver dummy struck the upper trim of the top of the window opening, causing a high head acceleration. Head impact events resulting in high accelerations have a higher likelihood of serious head trauma."

The reliability picture is mixed, for now at least. Consumer Reports says in its 2005 new car issue that first-year reliability of the Malibu sedan and Maxx have been "subpar." But market researchers J.D. Power and Associates term overall reliability "among the best." Both organizations base their ratings on owner responses to surveys, so it's not clear why there are differences.

Competitors abound in the midsize sedan category, but few of them have five doors like the Maxx. You might want to compare the Maxx, however, to small wagons such as the Mazda6 and Subaru Impreza and Legacy.

Perian · 07-08-2005, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perian

I can think of no compelling reason except price to recommend them over their targeted competitors like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Mazda 6.

On the other hand, with reasonably quiet cabins, competent handling, some clever people/storage touches in the wagon-like Maxx and an excellent crash-test rating, there are no compelling arguments to be made, either, against the Malibu or Maxx.

Well what do you know...He thought of some compelling reasons - In the next paragraph no less!

plane · 07-08-2005, 09:10 AM

Do you think some auto journalists write like that because they think it makes them look "cool"? Well here - let's see if this works.....

I can think of no compelling reason except boredom to recommend this article over dialysis machine shop manuals, except for its poor writing, conflicting statements, and the author's overall stupidity. In conclusion, hitting your head with a very large hammer or engaging in a cut-rate lobotomy will be much more pleasurable than reviewing this article in any significant manner.

Arizona Slim · 07-08-2005, 09:53 AM

Sounds like the interior was what the reviewer really didn't like. The rest of the review is not bad at all, but it goes to show what a cheap interior can do to someone's oveall impression of a car.

**nsap** · 07-08-2005, 09:57 AM

He contradicted himself throughout the whole article. Make up your mind! Like, not like? I am getting a vibe that he deep-down liked the car, but didn't want to come out and say it since well, its not an import.

**paul8488** · 07-08-2005, 10:05 AM

I don't mind bad reviews of GM vehicles when the author is clear and points out where their opinion comes from. This isn't one of those. If you ignored the part where he says flat out he doen't like it, the article actually sounds like a positive one.

atomicshark · 07-08-2005, 10:07 AM

If you read the article it turns out he has a lot of good things to say about the Malibu Maxx. He even thinks the engine sounds good and has good power.

I think his point is that the Malibu and Malibu Maxx are not head and shoulders above the competition, and in reality if you choose one over a Camry you are no better or worse off.

His criticisms were fair, aesthetically it is bland, but so is the Camry and Accord, they were meant to be. He did tout it's engine, safety, ergonomics and value. Those are the things most people look for in a car.

I wish the title of the article wasn't so sensationalist. I think by that alone it would turn an import intender away and make a domestic fan angry when in reality the article is pretty fair and the Malibu actually looks pretty good after reading it.

IMPALAon20s · 07-08-2005, 10:13 AM

dumb review. he bashes the malibu, then brings it back up.. he never did really offer anything negative to say about it. except about sun glare off guages, and color? typical pro-import car review.

ponchoman49 · 07-08-2005, 10:14 AM

I know of 4 people that passed up the current Malibu because of those Walmart cheap seats that are hard and very unattractive plus it's higher than a base Camry MSRP. Of course those Employee discounts have lowered the base price at about $16,200 for regular sedan with no options which does undercut the Toyota. If this was being offered at the time that may have swayed them in the Malibus direction.

IMPALAon20s · 07-08-2005, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsap

He contradicted himself throughout the whole article. Make up your mind! Like, not like? I am getting a vibe that he deep-down liked the car, but didn't want to come out and say it since well, its not an import.

maybe he has split personality like Lord of the Rings "Gollum and Smeagol". lol

Phillip · 07-08-2005, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsap

He contradicted himself throughout the whole article. Make up your mind! Like, not like? I am getting a vibe that he deep-down liked the car, but didn't want to come out and say it since well, its not an import.

I agree that there were times in which this review was contradicting and ofttimes elusive. However, the vibe I got is that while the Malibu isn't a bad car, it largely fails to to distinguish itself within its respective segment...at least as far as this author is concerned. There's value, but GM's not the only one playing that hand.

runningshoes · 07-08-2005, 10:25 AM

"i can think of no reason why this car is better than the camry, etc. i can also think of no reason why this car is worse than teh camry, etc."

i don't see the problem that this guy does. its as good as the competition, at a better price.

how does the author manage to make that into a negative?

KingElvis · 07-08-2005, 10:28 AM

Why can't the question be whether Camry/Accord offer some "shocking," clear cut advantage over the Malibu?

**TaHoE** · 07-08-2005, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponchoman49

I know of 4 people that passed up the current Malibu because of those Walmart cheap seats that are hard and very unattractive plus it's higher than a base Camry MSRP. Of course those Employee discounts have lowered the base price at about $16,200 for regular sedan with no options which does undercut the Toyota. If this was being offered at the time that may have swayed them in the Malibus direction.

Are you kidding me!!

The seats in the Malibu are made in France and are some of the best, most comfortable seats I have ever sat in!

mikehamm45 · 07-08-2005, 10:40 AM

I can offer a reason for not buying a accord, camry, altima, or mazda6...

Being DIFFERENT!!!

Lets look whats at what else is availible in the midsize sedan market for a change.

Why does everyone think better of themselves that they bought an Accord or a Camry?

To me these cars are the quivelaent of a light blue shirt.

07-08-2005, 07:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Perian News Contributor Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New York Drives: 2008 Saab 9-5 Sedan Posts: 4,069	Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx Link: http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-sst...7114521.column Newsday Road Test: July 8, 2005 - Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Wrong car at the right price: Malibu offers value, little else. Anybody can offer a cut-rate product that looks it. Genius is building something that can sell at a Wal-Mart price but looks expensive. Some of General Motors' Japanese competitors do that very well. GM has failed to do that, though, in the Malibu four-door sedan and Malibu Maxx five-door hatchback. So, while the two vehicles are practical and conservatively handsome cars at fair prices, they're not the kind of standouts that GM needs to bring new shoppers into its showrooms. I can think of no compelling reason except price to recommend them over their targeted competitors like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Mazda 6. On the other hand, with reasonably quiet cabins, competent handling, some clever people/storage touches in the wagon-like Maxx and an excellent crash-test rating, there are no compelling arguments to be made, either, against the Malibu or Maxx. I sampled a Malibu sedan late in 2003 when the duo first arrived, and my impressions were in this space Dec. 5 of that year. It was an LT - the middle of three equipment and trim levels - and I was impressed with the look and feel of the interior materials. In contrast, the interior of the five-door Maxx that I sampled recently seemed strictly Wal-Mart, with dreary upholstery and cheap-looking plastic everywhere. Maybe my reaction was prompted partly by the blah beige color and the lower LS trim level. On the upside, the Malibu and Maxx prices currently are reduced by a $2,000 rebate. Both also are included in GM's employee discount program, which means a saving of about 4 percent off suggested retail, calculated before the rebates are subtracted, according to GM. My Maxx tester had a sticker price of $24,240 with freight, a V-6, automatic transmission, optional side and curtain air bags, antilock brakes, traction control, a power driver's seat, power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and air-conditioning. It also had power windows, locks and mirrors; remote starting; a steering wheel that tilts and telescopes - even a $1,000 rear-seat DVD entertainment system. That's a lot of value. If it doesn't shock and awe, the Maxx at least delivers what it promises. The Maxx has the same adequately energetic 200-hp. V-6 as my test sedan, and the Maxx evidenced the same "torque steer" on hard acceleration - manifested by a tugging on the steering wheel. Its exhaust system produced the same rotten-egg odor - hot catalytic converter I assume - as that of the sedan I drove. The four-wheel independent suspension and the variable-assist electronic steering are calibrated with a greater emphasis on comfort and ease, respectively, than on enthusiastic driving. On sale since the 2004 model year, the five-passenger Malibu and Maxx share structural basics with each other and with the 9-3 sold by GM's Saab unit and the G6 sold by Pontiac. The Maxx's wheelbase is 6 inches longer than the Malibu sedan's, though, providing 2.5 inches more rear-seat legroom. The Maxx is, however, a half-inch shorter overall than the sedan. The Maxx also comes with larger, 16-inch wheels and wider tires, whose bumping and slapping sounds accounted for most of the noise entering the tester's cabin. The Malibu sedan is available also with a 2.2-liter, 144-hp. four-cylinder. List prices for Malibu sedans start at $19,825 with freight. The Maxx begins at $22,090 with freight. Both engines use regular unleaded gas and, by an Environmental Protection Agency estimate, get miles per gallon in the low 20s in the city and about 30 on the highway. Some reviewers have termed the V-6 noisy, but to me the sound was pleasant. Car and Driver magazine said zero to 60 mph took 8.7 seconds in a V-6 Maxx. If it was weak aesthetically, my Maxx's interior worked well ergonomically, with two exceptions: The gauges were nearly unreadable at times during the day because of sun glare, and the front bucket seats had little lateral support. Switches, though, are generally well-located and all are self-explanatory. The Maxx's rear seatbacks fold down in a 60-40 arrangement to provide a large flat cargo area. The rear seats can be adjusted fore and aft by almost 7 inches, and their backs can be adjusted for slope - both nice features. A fixed sun panel is installed over the passenger area, with a split shade. A panel in the Maxx cargo area can be adjusted to three levels and can be set partly outside the car for tailgate parties. This feature looks clever, but it's in the way when you have tall items to carry. And the tester's shelf rattled annoyingly. I think, if it were my vehicle, I'd be tempted to take the thing out, toss it in the garage and forget about it. There's also a 12-volt power outlet in the Maxx cargo area. The front passenger seat's back folds flat to further enable the carrying of long items such as ladders or lumber. The four-speed automatic transmission can be shifted manually via buttons on the side of the console-mounted shift lever, after the driver pulls the lever backward from drive into low gear. The Malibu sedan gets a top, five-star rating for frontal crash protection from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (There are no separate ratings for the Maxx.) With the side air bags, which are standard in LT versions, the Malibu gets five stars for the driver and four for a rear-seat passenger in the agency's side-impact test. Take some advice: Don't buy one of these cars without the side bags. Here's what the safety agency says on its Web site about the side-impact test of a Malibu without them: "Safety concern: During the ... test, the head of the driver dummy struck the upper trim of the top of the window opening, causing a high head acceleration. Head impact events resulting in high accelerations have a higher likelihood of serious head trauma." The reliability picture is mixed, for now at least. Consumer Reports says in its 2005 new car issue that first-year reliability of the Malibu sedan and Maxx have been "subpar." But market researchers J.D. Power and Associates term overall reliability "among the best." Both organizations base their ratings on owner responses to surveys, so it's not clear why there are differences. Competitors abound in the midsize sedan category, but few of them have five doors like the Maxx. You might want to compare the Maxx, however, to small wagons such as the Mazda6 and Subaru Impreza and Legacy.

07-08-2005, 09:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
plane 6.0 Liter LS2 V8 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Just right here Drives: 1980 'Vette Posts: 4,972	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx Do you think some auto journalists write like that because they think it makes them look "cool"? Well here - let's see if this works..... I can think of no compelling reason except boredom to recommend this article over dialysis machine shop manuals, except for its poor writing, conflicting statements, and the author's overall stupidity. In conclusion, hitting your head with a very large hammer or engaging in a cut-rate lobotomy will be much more pleasurable than reviewing this article in any significant manner. __________________ Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character. Henry Clay

07-08-2005, 09:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
Arizona Slim 6.0 Liter Vortec V8 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Lonesome Crowded West Drives: 04 GMC Sierra 06 Dodge Magnum Posts: 1,508	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx Sounds like the interior was what the reviewer really didn't like. The rest of the review is not bad at all, but it goes to show what a cheap interior can do to someone's oveall impression of a car.

07-08-2005, 09:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
nsap Administrator Join Date: Jan 2003 Drives: 2006 Pontiac G6 GTP 2009 Ford Focus SEL Posts: 15,044	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx He contradicted himself throughout the whole article. Make up your mind! Like, not like? I am getting a vibe that he deep-down liked the car, but didn't want to come out and say it since well, its not an import. __________________ E-Mail Me Engine Guide Updated!! -- Revised layout, more info., up-to-date

07-08-2005, 10:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
paul8488 GMI Staff Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: France Drives: 2007 MBK Flipper Scooter Posts: 13,402	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx I don't mind bad reviews of GM vehicles when the author is clear and points out where their opinion comes from. This isn't one of those. If you ignored the part where he says flat out he doen't like it, the article actually sounds like a positive one. __________________ *The department of redundancy department.* Last edited by paul8488 : 07-08-2005 at 10:09 AM.

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07-08-2005, 10:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
atomicshark 6.0 Liter LS2 V8 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 4,429	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx If you read the article it turns out he has a lot of good things to say about the Malibu Maxx. He even thinks the engine sounds good and has good power. I think his point is that the Malibu and Malibu Maxx are not head and shoulders above the competition, and in reality if you choose one over a Camry you are no better or worse off. His criticisms were fair, aesthetically it is bland, but so is the Camry and Accord, they were meant to be. He did tout it's engine, safety, ergonomics and value. Those are the things most people look for in a car. I wish the title of the article wasn't so sensationalist. I think by that alone it would turn an import intender away and make a domestic fan angry when in reality the article is pretty fair and the Malibu actually looks pretty good after reading it. __________________ 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt - 9,800 miles 2008 Saturn Vue - 6,300 miles 2004 Pontiac GTO - 71,864 miles atomicshark's flickr gallery

07-08-2005, 10:13 AM	#8 (permalink)
IMPALAon20s 4.4 Liter Supercharged Northstar Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: HOUSTON Drives: 02 impala Posts: 2,094	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx dumb review. he bashes the malibu, then brings it back up.. he never did really offer anything negative to say about it. except about sun glare off guages, and color? typical pro-import car review.

07-08-2005, 10:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
ponchoman49 4.4 Liter Supercharged Northstar Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 2,244	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx I know of 4 people that passed up the current Malibu because of those Walmart cheap seats that are hard and very unattractive plus it's higher than a base Camry MSRP. Of course those Employee discounts have lowered the base price at about $16,200 for regular sedan with no options which does undercut the Toyota. If this was being offered at the time that may have swayed them in the Malibus direction.

07-08-2005, 10:25 AM	#12 (permalink)
runningshoes 3.8 Liter Supercharged V6 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: jersey Posts: 717	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx "i can think of no reason why this car is better than the camry, etc. i can also think of no reason why this car is worse than teh camry, etc." i don't see the problem that this guy does. its as good as the competition, at a better price. how does the author manage to make that into a negative?

07-08-2005, 10:28 AM	#13 (permalink)
KingElvis 6.0 Liter Vortec V8 Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,637	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx Why can't the question be whether Camry/Accord offer some "shocking," clear cut advantage over the Malibu?

07-08-2005, 10:40 AM	#15 (permalink)
mikehamm45 2.0 Liter Supercharged ECOTEC Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 128	Re: Scathing Review Of Chevy Malibu Maxx I can offer a reason for not buying a accord, camry, altima, or mazda6... Being DIFFERENT!!! Lets look whats at what else is availible in the midsize sedan market for a change. Why does everyone think better of themselves that they bought an Accord or a Camry? To me these cars are the quivelaent of a light blue shirt.

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