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MT: 2016 Chevrolet Malibu 1.5T "Most Improved"

5K views 32 replies 20 participants last post by  MiatsoCi 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
2016 Chevrolet Malibu 1.5T First Test
Christian Seabaugh/Motor Trend
November 29, 2015



While not completely satisfied with the LT, Motor Trend finds significant improvement:

On the street, the new Malibu 1.5T is a pleasant surprise. Based on my experiences with the base engine in the last Malibu, I expected this one to be a dog. I’m quite happy to report that’s no longer the case. Although the last Malibu had lots of trouble dealing with freeway travel, whether it was merging, staying in one gear, or just not being a noisy box of bees, the new one has plenty of power to quickly and quietly merge on to the freeway or pass traffic, and it doesn’t have trouble picking and choosing a gear. From a ride and handling perspective, the 2016 Malibu is a major improvement over the old car. The suspension is compliant and happily soaks up bumps, and steering feel is pretty good considering the Chevy isn’t designed with sporty driving in mind.
Full Article at link above.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Good to see that the new 'Bu is being well received. It's a solid review and hopefully an uptick in sales will follow.

I hope that other media outlets also notice the updates and GM gets some positive buzz for the product.

However, I also hope that GM doesn't let the car wither on the vine. The GM Brass have a way of letting that happen with many of their products. Things are so competitive today that there has to be competent and note-worthy updates to the vehicle during it's life cycle.

GM has a lot of balls to juggle, but there's something to be said about learning from rivals. For example, the updated Ford Escape that just debuted in L.A. makes the current one look like it's standing still. FoMoCo put a lot of work into the update; inside, outside, and under the hood. It's really impressive how much they massaged into their MCE and it should help Ford maintain their momentum in the segment.

By comparison, Ford's MCE makes GM's update of the Equinox/Terrain look like a half-a$$ed attempt and borders on being condescending to consumers. Granted, they sell a lot of Escapes and the next 'Nox/Terrain aren't that far off. Nevertheless, the point remains that GM should have either moved up the refresh and/or done more to make it look like they're trying.

Let's hope that GM's product planners understand this. Customers today have a lot of choices. They need to update the product in more timely/significant manner. I hope they take that to heart with the new Malibu so it can build momentum on the reviews it is already receiving.
 
#10 ·
GM knows how to do a refresh, the theta CUVS didn't really get one. The 2014 Lacrosse was a refresh- the interior center stack and gauge cluster was changed and more features were added along with exterior tweaks. Also, dont forget the 2014 Malibu which got new center stack, new base engine and exterior tweaks.
 
#3 ·
I'd like to see a comparo between this 1.5 and an earlier-era 3.5. Just for fun, ya know?
 
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#4 ·
To me the utlimate Malibu would be the overall quality of product that we see with this Malibu combined with the formal elegance of the 2008 Malibu. Many competitors are doing the swoopy coupe-sedan thing, and while it looks great, there's only so many vehicles that can do it before that too becomes mundane. The 2008 Malibu was very tasteful and upscale looking. This is also what I like about Chevy's latest Impala, which is traditional yet classy without being boring. Many competitors are getting more aggressive rooflines and sport sedan styling. So ultimately I think there's a market for GM to do something a bit different.
 
#5 ·
I think its interesting they complain about the cloth dash, everyone likes the cloth dash in my cruze. The vinyl dash looks cheap. Also I'm pretty sure the top end model has vinyl on the dash also despite what motortrend is saying that its leather. I highly doubt that. Also I think the base 1lt interior from the pictures looks very nice.
 
#6 ·
My new Car and Driver has an early review of the Malibu, it was mixed, but overall positive. Much of it was tired talked about past Malibus and how bad they were. It's so hard for Chevrolet to shake its piss poor reputation, but to be fair to C&D, with the with the last gen Malibu being so mediocre, it has been largely self inflicted.

"Most improved" from MT is good to hear, but I'm more interested in the Malibu fairs and ranks in a head to head comparison test.
 
#8 · (Edited)
At the track, the 2016 Malibu 1.5T accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds, only a tenth of a second slower than the last 2.5-equipped Malibu we tested. The Malibu is also a touch slower than the equivalent Ford Fusion—the last Fusion we tested, a 2013 SE equipped with a 1.6-liter turbo-four and six-speed auto, needed 8.2 seconds to hit 60 mph from a standstill. At the dragstrip, the 2016 Malibu takes 16.5 seconds to go through the quarter mile, hitting 84.6 mph in the process. That class-competitive performance is 0.1 second behind the old Malibu’s time and 2.1 mph slower than the old model.
Uh....so thanks for giving us a slower car? Are we supposed to be impressed that Chevrolet decided to finally offer enough interior space for a family in their family sedan?

Honestly, the review was not exactly glowing. This is a competitive segment and Chevrolet is far from an established player among mid sized cars like Nissan, Honda, and Toyota. If they don't stand out in some way, they lose. Based on what I've read about this car from Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and other publications... it's another mediocre mid sized rental queen from Chevrolet. Another also-ran that is not much more than an improvement over the previous mediocre model.

Also, what were they thinking with that front end? There's three different grills with three different shapes, three different materials, and no cohesive design. The new Cruze proves that Chevrolet can make an attractive car. This new model Malibu looks like the front end was designed by someone who didn't communicate with whoever designed the rest of the car.

Nothing about this car would get me to trade in our Honda Accord for it. I appreciate the improvements, but I don't see the Malibu jumping from worst to first with this redesign. They were firmly behind the Koreans, and I don't see them breaking any new ground with this new car.
 
#11 ·
I wasn’t particularly fond of the last-generation Malibu. Compared to the competition, it was loud, unrefined, dynamically flawed, and remarkably cramped inside. The “emergency refresh”—GM for “Oh, drat, we forgot we had competition”—was but a small improvement. The new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu is the first clean-sheet redesign since that frankly quite awful car, and thankfully it appears that Chevy has taken a lot of the constructive criticism it received regarding the last-generation car to heart.
Apparently my ears need checking. The Malibu is easily the quietest car in its class in the outgoing form. The only real problem with that car was the small back seat like its sister the Regal.
 
#12 ·
There were definitely many problems with the previous generation Malibu. I do agree that the interior noise wasn't one of them.

As a side note, Car and Driver tested a $34,000 2.0T version of the new Malibu.....and posted a top speed of 156 mph. That's about the only thing that stood out. They complained that the 2.0T offered V6 fuel economy and not quite V6 acceleration.
 
#29 ·
This is a rich looking combo:
The interior color scheme of that Malibu Premier is beautiful, embodying a proper "saddle" theme.

Buick offers a saddle themed interior in the Regal, but only the top portion of the dash and interior door panels are saddle colored. The seats are black. :confused:
 
#23 ·
How does this car have LED tail lamps and it's big brother (Impala) doesn't?
Great question! It's rather odd. As with the two previous generations, 2016 Malibu only offers LED tail lamps on the top model (Premier). All other Malibus use incandescent tail lamp bulbs.

Interestingly, the refreshed 2016 Honda Accord got LED tail lamps across the entire model lineup from the base LX to the top trim Touring.
 
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#27 ·
I just spent an entire week in a 2016 Malibu LT Limited with 6500 miles on the clock. I don't know what Motor Trend is talking about with there statement: Although the last Malibu had lots of trouble dealing with freeway travel, whether it was merging, staying in one gear, or just not being a noisy box of bees. My rental's best feature was performance whether it was in the city or on the freeway. This 2.5 196 HP engine effortlessly pulled this car up to 60 and not once did I think it was under powered. The old trusty stop watch confirmed it. 0-60 was 7.4 seconds not 8.4. Manually shifting, which puts it in performance mode, dropped that number to 7.05 seconds. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is class leading acceleration, not surprising considering it has the most torque in it's class at 191 LBS FT. As for engine noise it never once was intrusive and not one person who rode with me thought it was buzzy and loud. In fact one Altima owner said it was quieter than his 2013 Nissan.

If anything the 3 things that disappointed me most of the 2014-16 Malibu is the stop start system, an occasionally clunky trans axle and gas mileage was far below what the sticker said. I couldn't get any better than 30 on the open road! Ride/handling/quietness/steering/acceleration and braking were all very good. So was front seat comfort and the very easy to use touch screen with it's handy underside storage. After a week with this car I came to the conclusion that a few niggles aside I could very easily live with this car and enjoy driving it. It's rather low mileage may have been partially due to colder temps and only 6500 miles on the clock because I have achieved better in 2014 stop/start carts.

With that said I cannot possibly see the new 160 HP Malibu being anywhere near as quick as my Limited rental even with the weight loss which is akin to having another person and a small child aboard. There was no mention on how the stop/start behaved or what they got for mileage which should be better than the outgoing model. Good to hear that back seat room is improved but I need to see this cloth material to see what makes it like a 1990's Lumina.
 
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