Overview & Reviews

Since its debut back when the Beatles were singing about holding hands, the Chevrolet Malibu has gone through several iterations. The initial lineup consisted of rear-drive midsizers that included coupes, sedans, wagons and the legendary, high-horsepower SS-badged muscle car. After a downsizing in the late 1970s and a quiet death in the early '80s, the Malibu was reincarnated as a smaller, anonymous, front-wheel-drive favorite of rental fleets.

The two newest generations of the Malibu have been much improved, however, and are more deserving of some "Love Me Do." Though it generally falls a little short of class-leading status, a new or late-model used Malibu is still a solid choice for a midsize family sedan thanks to its strong performance, composed and quiet ride, handsome styling and advanced electronics features.

Current Chevrolet Malibu
The current Chevrolet Malibu comes standard with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 196 horsepower. From there, shoppers can go either the performance or fuel economy route. The former is satisfied by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 259 hp. The Malibu Eco, on the other hand, features a 2.4-liter four-cylinder (182 hp) connected to a mild hybrid system that helps return nearly 30 mpg combined. The base engine achieves the same fuel economy, however, so we see no reason to select the Eco for this model year. All Malibus come standard with front-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission.

Four Malibu trim levels are offered: LS, LT, LTZ and Eco. The base LS is nicely equipped with alloy wheels, cruise control, air-conditioning and a power driver-seat height adjuster. The LT has three sublevels (1LT, 2LT and 3LT) that add perks like dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver seat, a 7-inch touchscreen, the MyLink interface with smartphone integration and upgraded audio with iPod/USB connectivity. The LTZ boasts leather upholstery and heated front seats. Aside from its hybrid hardware, the Eco is equipped much like a 1LT. Options, depending on trim, include xenon headlights, a navigation system, Pioneer audio and safety features such as lane-departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert.

In reviews of the latest Chevrolet Malibu, we've identified its ride quality and refinement as particularly strong points. Impacts rarely filter into the cabin, which remains whisper-quiet at highway speeds. Moreover, all Malibus enjoy an abundance of soft-touch materials, decent-quality switchgear and an attractive dashboard. The main downside is a relative lack of rear-seat legroom. Overall, the Malibu doesn't fully stand out from the talented crowd in this segment, but it's still a solid choice for family sedan shoppers.

Used Chevrolet Malibu Models
The current-generation Malibu was introduced for 2013. It brings welcome improvements in refinement, feature content and efficiency relative to its predecessor, though shortcomings like limited backseat room persist. For 2014, this Malibu received numerous revisions aimed at quelling early criticism, including a fuel-economy bump for the base four-cylinder, more torque for the turbocharged engine, revised suspension tuning and some new interior features. These changes didn't make a big difference in terms of the car's place in the family-sedan pecking order, but they do render the 2013 model marginally less appealing as a used option.

The previous-generation Malibu was produced from 2008 through 2012. With its crisp, tailored lines, this Malibu looked more like a luxury sedan than its forgettable predecessor. Its cabin was similarly handsome, with a stylish design and two-tone color schemes that stood out from the crowd (while disguising less-than-ideal materials).

Throughout its life, this Malibu was available in four trims (LS, 1LT, 2LT and LTZ) and with a choice of two engines. A 169-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder was initially standard on all but the LTZ, but for '09 it became available for every Malibu. That year also saw a six-speed automatic transmission replace the original four-speed unit on all but the LS and 1LT trims, though every Malibu got it a year later.

A 3.6-liter 252-hp V6 served as the optional engine upgrade (though it was initially standard on the LTZ). This always had a six-speed automatic, as well as a different steering system than the four-cylinder. Its hydraulic steering (versus electric) offered more weighting and a bit more road feel, but neither system was really a standout in the class. Similarly, this Malibu's handling in general was responsive enough, but few would deem it sporty.

Our staff was impressed by many aspects of this Chevrolet Malibu. Its combination of handsome looks, a spacious and attractive cabin, competent performance and a quiet ride gave Chevy a serious player in this tough segment. Subpar rear seat space and hit-or-miss interior construction were notable drawbacks, along with a few missing features like a navigation system. Besides its transmission, changes were restricted to features availability, with items like Bluetooth and an iPod interface eventually added.

The previous Chevy Malibu was offered from 2004-'08. As there was that one-year overlap, Chevrolet distinguished the two different Malibus by calling the retiring version the "Malibu Classic." In addition to a sedan body style, the outgoing Malibu was also offered in a longer-wheelbase hatchback version called the Malibu Maxx. Compared to earlier Malibus, this one came with more powerful engine choices, a roomier layout and safety features like available side curtain airbags and adjustable pedals.

Base LS and midlevel LT models made up the bulk of the Malibu's production. The lack of style and performance was addressed in 2006 when the lineup was beefed up with the leather-trimmed LTZ and high-performance SS. For power, this generation offered a 2.2-liter four-cylinder rated at 144 hp (LS and LT models), a 217-hp 3.5-liter V6 (standard on the LTZ and optional on LT) and a top-dog 3.9-liter V6 with 240 ponies for the SS. All were hooked up to a four-speed automatic transmission, and the SS featured a manual-shift mode.

In reviews, we commented favorably about the car's smooth ride quality and roomy interior. Noted downsides included a lackluster cabin and subpar braking and handling. We'd suggest choosing one of the V6 engines, which provide an agreeable combination of performance and fuel economy.

The preceding Chevrolet Malibu generation was sold during the 1997-2003 model years. In 2000, the front styling was modified to be more Impala-like and the 3.1-liter V6 was improved with more power. Minor detail changes like exterior/interior trim revisions, automatic headlamp control, new audio systems with a CD player and new colors carried the Malibu through its next few years. We were fans of this Malibu at the time, viewing it as something of an overlooked gem in GM's lineup, but its advancing age and spotty consumer reviews make it a tricky used-car selection.

User Reviews:

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  Unknown - 2018 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Marlene Bradley. - September 24 - 1:13 pm

  These are beautiful cars, comfortable, great mileage, colors are great! (especially the tan/gold! Sorry I sold mine! But bought another! So far its doing great, just not as fancy as.my 2018! Why is Chevy not making them anymore?? I don't understand.

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  Enjoyable car, but not best of the best - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Brad - December 29 - 3:53 pm

  Ive had the car for a year now. Ive never owned a car that had an MSRP of over 25k, so I only have so much to compare it to. Overall I have greatly enjoyed owning this car. For the bad: In that time, I have had it in the dealership for issues three times. The first was the airbag module gave up the ghost (it just popped the warning light, nothing bad occurred). Second time was for an OnStar module recall. Third time was for the hands-free calling not working. Turned out the hands-free calling not working was because they put in the wrong OnStar module during the recall appointment. All of the work of course was done for free as it was under warranty. Each time they arranged a loaner car that was in impeccable condition. Each time the dealership was friendly and polite. For the good: I have found this car to be quite comfortable. It is by no means a luxary sedan, but six hour drives in it didnt overly fatigue me or expose uncomfortable parts of the seats. It handles quite competently under all the weather conditions Ive had it in (hot, cold, rain, and wintery mix) and has always made me feel safe. It has plenty of power to get up to highway speed by the end of the on ramps. I was originally skeptical of the electric power steering but have come to enjoy how precise it seems to be. I personally like the stop-start tech, and it does seem to legitimately boost MGP. Of course, it remains to be seen what the extra starts does in terms of engine wear. I like the styling in general, and I like the accent lighting and size of the buttons on the various dash controls (for when wearing gloves). I especially like that it has power seat high adjustment on the base model. Annoyances: in the base model, bluetooth does phone calls but doesnt support music streaming from your phone. This seems to be purely a software roadblock put in place to try to sell the higher trim levels. The times the start-stop does NOT kick in seem to be a bit random sometimes. I know it is based on battery levels and accessories in use and whatnot, but I see no reason why after driving 20+ minutes highway time in mild weather, with minimal accessory and HVAC use, why it would not stop the engine when you pull up to a stoplight at the bottom off your off-ramp, when you are not doing stop-and-go traffic. Also, while the transmission is largely competent, it does not seem as smooth or as intelligent as comparable Mazda models that my friends have.

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  Solid traveler but lacking acceleration oomph! - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By K Beyer - November 17 - 1:54 pm

  Recently had to have a rental while my 07 Camry V6 XLE was in for collision repairs. Let me say right away I never was fully satisfied with my Camrys ride. Its far too taught and the ride reminded me of a go-kart. The Camry is fast and nimble, but hard to endure on long road trips. As soon as I sat into the Malibus driver seat, I was instantly comfortable. Of course, its a 2015 and its not a sport edition, so it may be disingenuous to compare the ride comfort of the Camry vs the Malibu, but even the later 90s Camry had a better ride than the 2007 Camry. One thing my V6 Camry is good at however is acceleration. Its a loud V6 at idle, but it moves swiftly. The base engine Malibu on the other hand is too slow on acceleration, and when it does respond, it is anemic and I almost feel like I may be injuring the thing when I step on the gas. But the ride is awesome. Comfortable without feeling too plush, and not claustrophobic like some other newer model cars. Visibility is not great, but no worse than the Camrys. What ever happened to large side and rear mirrors of yesteryear? The materials are much better than my Camry or any Chevy I had been in recently. Overall, if it holds reliable, this would be a solid choice if the base engine was quicker. If you can afford a step-up in engine level (turbo or a v6), it may just be perfect.

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  Team Malibu All The Way - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Jonathan Ubben - October 27 - 12:05 pm

  Bought my 2008 LTZ 2.4L used in February 2011 with 28k on the clock. Soon after, the electric door locks failed - would not stay locked. Replaced under warranty. March 2012 the drain tubing from the sunroof came loose and ended up filling the passenger footwell with water. Self-diagnosed and repaired with a bit of silicone putty and super glue. New tires at 77k. Routine oil changes and brake fixes - but one time in North Carolina the front calipers wouldnt fully release. $200 to re-build the calipers. At 85k, replaced timing chain and intake/exhaust solenoid valves @ $1500. Around 88k, the service air bag light came on. The dealer has told me the seat-heater melted the passenger sensor module and both need to be replaced @ $1100. Currently unresolved. Now the good stuff: This is the best car Ive ever had. Ive found myself wanting more power at times, especially when climbing mountains across the country, but the 2.4 is sufficient. Great mileage, also. Ive been getting about 25 mpg combined with mixed city/highway driving. Seats are totally comfortable - 7,200-mile cross-country road trip @29 mpg with zero complaints. The front doors do open a little bit far, but they have three stages where they stop. #2 is a good opening point. Its still a little bit difficult to tell exactly where the back of the car is when backing in somewhere, but Ive gotten used to it. Not looking forward to the labor-intensive process when a headlight goes out, but I changed foglamps myself without issue. I would buy it again (but I would get the V6).

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  Chevy all the way - 2009 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Juana la Cubana - October 17 - 9:55 pm

  I bought my chevy at a used dealership. I saw the car and knew that car was going to be mine. I purchased the car at 91k miles. Now at 140K miles I havent had a real issue. The car was and is well kept with the oil change,breaks. Only thing is that the accelerator is kinda slow to pick up to a high speed. Changing the car light is a pain in the butt. Chevy was charging me 150.00 to change one light bulb because they had to remove the whole bumper. Lucky we know a guy who knows a guy that had a shop. We ended up paying 50.00 to change 2 light bulbs which isnt bad at all. Love Chevy. We have a Malibu and want a Silverado !!!

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  2013 Malibu - 2013 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Tanya - August 30 - 10:46 pm

  I just got my 2013 Malibu I really like the car but I only had it a week & its overheating already gotta take it 2 get fixed asap

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  A 12 year review - 2002 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Jason - August 26 - 6:57 pm

  I bought my Malibu in 2003 when the transmission in my old Grand Prix started to go. It was a rental previously, and I knew this going in. I will say though, despite its faults, I have a hard time saying the car is complete junk, because my kids (ages 9-11) rode in it when they were babies. I will start with what I believe to be the minor faults, but they can cost: 1. 15 inch tires are getting hard to come by now, and being FWD, it eats up tires quick, if not rotated properly. 2. It only uses the front disc brakes for stopping, thus eats brake pads fast. The drums are only used for parking brake. That said, I will now go into the more expensive repairs I have had: 1. Fuel pump went out 5 years ago, driving down the road. 2. The starter has a safety switch, that will go bad in time, and require replacement, unless yu know how to bypass it, which I did. 3. The biggest....the head gaskets from the factory, are junk and a ticking time bomb. He manifold gaskets are plastic and will crack in time. You will start to lose oil and coolant once they do. I overheated the car 2 winters ago, causing the heads to warp, which required mill work, than changed the gaskets with Fel-Pro gaskets, use regular coolant, and since than, the car drives almost like new. It was a complete PITA to get the top half off and put back together. Just beware that if you have one, and are approaching 150k miles, you have a time bomb on your hands. I recommend flushing the cooling system, to help slow down erosion of the gaskets. Total time and money, we spent 4 days, and around $400 to fix. 4. The fan sensor, which turns the electric fan on and off, went bad, which caused my overheating problem. Would have cost $500 for a new one, but rigged a wire and toggle switch, and it now works. I just have to remember to shut it off, or I will have a dead battery. Interior: Not much, very basic, which I like. Over the years, the arm rest on the drivers door has developed a hole, a couple holes in the driver seat, and the headliner is starting to droop some. All in all, I would have to say that through it all, I should have considered more when buying a car, but I cant complain 100%, because after some work and money put in it, it still runs. Would I recommend it to anyone else? No, especially for anyone wanting a car that lasts a while. The only reason we put money into it, is because we couldnt afford to buy a new vehicle. After the first of the year, the Malibu will be retired to a local driving car only, and one used for a backup, as I will hopefully have a new vehicle.

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  Almost an excellent vehicle - 2011 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Chris S - August 9 - 2:10 pm

  I bought my 2011 Malibu LT2 back at the beginning of 2015 and have been using it for nearly 8 months. I opted for a V6 because it was such an excellent price that I figured "why not?". That engine has some pull to it (roughly 250hp) and sounds pretty smooth. The only problem is the advertised fuel efficiency numbers arent quite right. In the city of Seattle, I get around 15-17mpg and on the freeway, if I am on cruise control between 60-65, I get sneak up to 29-31mpg (with a level road surface). Any incline will drop the hwy mileage to around 24-25mpg. Stop and starts with the V6 are what really murder your fuel efficiency here. The seats are almost fine, but my back will hurt after long drives because the seats force your shoulders in a bit and my upper back is forced back - almost like a mild squeeze. Smaller bodies probably wont notice this as much (Im 62 and have a wider build that the average person), but its an annoyance. The quality of the Malibu LT2 is inconsistent. I have some kind of leather/suede-fabric hybrid that makes cleaning a bit tougher than it should be. The dashboard and door panels are composed of a cheap plastic material that scratches easily. The instrumentation and radio/temp controls are fine. Nothing fancy but nothing to complain about. The 6-speaker system is adequate for most people. You can get reasonable volumes without distortion in the audio but the system is built to cap everything off in that department before you hit those higher volumes that would degrade your listening experience. Ive heard a 2013 Malibus 2LT/LTZ stereo which uses a Bose system (I think) and its a step up (though still doesnt quite compete with some higher-grade car stereos out there). As for reliability: Ive had my car in a couple times this year - once for a piston replacement (fortunately under warranty, but just barely) and the other for simple coil and spark plug replacements, which are actually easy to replace, I just hadnt learned how to do it yet (a YouTube video can literally save you $500 in parts and labor for replacing one or multiple coils that sit atop your engine). All in all the Malibu for this year is decent. It has a solid look to it and offers decent options, depending on what trim you end up with. The LT2 or LTZ vehicles are the best available so if you do buy one, try and look for those trims. But from what Ive been hearing about the newer Malibus - youre better off buying used 2014 and beyond because the 4cyl is closer to the Nissan Altima fuel efficiency ratings and the quality of the cabin materials has drastically improved. The 2016 Malibu is the first really desirable Chevy sedan Ive laid eyes on and makes me think the company could give Ford a run for their money in the next few years.

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  A good car - worth the value - 2011 Chevrolet Malibu
  By ehicks87 - June 26 - 10:26 am

  All around good car. I do about 80% highway driving and get an avg 31 mpg. People have to realize that this car is not a powerhouse if you drive it like a high school-er you will be disappointed in your gas mileage. Treating your car nice goes a long way- tires-brakes-suspension-etc. Anyways, theres something about this car that makes me miss driving it when Im in another vehicle. Especially my wifes dodge dart turbo..... Man that thing is a piece of crap.

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  Good basic sedan, but not a top choice... - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By jeffyb - June 23 - 8:36 am

  1600 miles on my 2015 Malibu LS company car so far. GM has made many improvements over the years. My 2009 Malibu was not a reliable car. For a good, basic family sedan, the 2015 Malibu is a decent choice. Its fairly comfortable. Acceleration is good. Gas mileage running about 28mpg avg so far. Exterior looks great and the new standard aluminum wheels are nice. Paint is nice as well. Much improved over older GM quality. Modest handling. FM reception terrible. Rear view is awful. Many blind spots. This is all great unless you just happen to test drive a Honda Accord, Mazda 6, or Nissan Altima (among others). I would recommend any of those over this car if it was my money on the line.