The Detroit News's view

Chevy Malibu’s good, but not great

The redesigned 2004 Malibu sedan is the most important car launch at Chevrolet — and at General Motors Corp. — in many years. After all, Malibu is a direct competitor to the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, the top two sellers in the mid-size segment. Moreover, Camry and Accord are widely acknowledged as the benchmarks in the class, in terms of quality and content.

We recently drove an early production Malibu LT that was pretty well equipped and priced at $25,720. Paul proved to be a harsher critic of the new Chevy than Anita.

HE: Yow! Not a word out of my mouth, and you’ve already set me up as the bad guy. Let me get totally out of character then, and tell you all the things I like about the new Malibu. The chassis is terrific. It’s basically the same platform that GM uses for the Saab 9-3 and the Opel Vectra and Signum over in Europe. Thanks to that chassis, the Malibu has a smooth ride with responsive handling — a great combination that continues to elude many of its mid-size competitors. And the 3.5-liter V-6 engine is pleasantly peppy, with better-than-average fuel economy.

SHE: Oh, I’ve read about this approach in pop psychology books. Isn’t this called “two positives and then a negative?” So what’s the negative?

HE: GM still hasn’t come up with a product that meets or beats the Accord and Camry on all the critical checkpoints, notably quality and price. I have to say that I was shocked to see the rubber gasket along the base of the windshield was misshapen and twisted — something that simply would never get out of a Honda or Toyota assembly plant, including the ones in Ohio and Kentucky. If I were a consumer who’d just plunked down nearly $26,000 on my new Chevy and saw that, I’d demand my money back.

SHE: Aren’t we getting a little histrionic? Wouldn’t you merely take it in to the service department and have them fix it? I’m taking the long view. We had a couple problems with our test Malibu, including the new remote-start system that we couldn’t get to work. It turns out we forgot to hit the power door locks first. But I have to defend the new Malibu. It’s better than the old one. Period.

HE: You didn’t let me talk about pricing. I think I can put things in perspective quickly. Chevy dealers advertising in our local paper’s classified section are offering brand-new 2003 Malibus for sale for as low as $13,000. That’s for a loaded Malibu with a V-6, air conditioning, CD player and full power accessories, and a sticker price of around $19,000, before rebates and additional discounts. So I have to ask — is the 2004 Malibu with V-6, air,CD player and full power accessories worth twice as much as the 2003 model? Or to put it another way, you can drop nearly $26,000 on a new Malibu LT like the one we tested, or spend $1,000 more and get a brand-new BMW 325i.

SHE: You’re going to start doing the grocery sh opping from now on. I’m sure you’ll save us some money, with that steel-trap mind and comparison-shopper mentality. I still say the new Malibu is better than the old Malibu. It has an updated cabin with trendier, better-quality materials, including bright-metal accents. I drove several Malibus in the past few months and found them to be quieter and more powerful than the previous model. It’s a decent and worthwhile American family car.

HE: I’m not arguing that at all. My point is, for the money, you should expect and demand better. The competition is just too darn good, in nearly every respect. But I happen to agree with you that the new Malibu is an improvement. I just wish GM would have set the bar a little higher. For the same money, the new Saab 9-3 is a much nicer car inside and out.

SHE: You’re forgetting that the Malibu LT that we drove has tons of standard features, including heated front seats, antilock brakes with traction control, side-curtain air bags for front and rear passengers, power adjustable pedals and steering-wheel controls for audio and climate. Plus you failed to mention that people can order a base Malibu for $18,995. For me, the new Malibu is easy to live in, with plenty of room for front and rear passengers and lots of trunk space.

HE: If GM can nudge the quality up a notch, I think the new Malibu is a solid four-star car. But it still has a few more miles to go before it’s truly competitive with the best in the class.