While the South Korean and German automakers continue to chip away at Honda and Toyota's mid-size sedan market share, the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu stays in the mix to provide a solid domestic alternative.
The Malibu, which is loaded with advanced safety technology, but lacks a diesel or hybrid engine choice, is no less worthy of a test drive.
Our $35,000 crystal red tester had a sporty appearance that is hard from afar to distinguish from the larger Chevrolet Impala. Chrome trim outlined the windows, grille and door handles, and 19-inch aluminum wheels completed the look.
The Malibu's $890 advanced safety package was full of technology usually reserved for the luxury segment. Included in the package was a blind-zone alert with a warning light that blinks in the side-view mirrors when a trailing vehicle enters the driver's blind spot.
The sedan also had a forward collision alert that uses a camera in the windshield to warn the driver if the Malibu is rapidly approaching another vehicle. Other features included were lane-departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert combined with a rear view camera, which made backing out onto a busy street less stressful.
Most of the features could be customized or shut off.
The downside is many of the systems' sensors are in the sedan's bumper and windshield, which means keeping the Malibu clean is a must especially during the winter.
A turbocharged 4- cylinder, 2.0-liter engine had me guessing until I looked under the hood. I could have sworn the Malibu that churned out 259 horsepower was packing a 6-cylinder, especially considering how the Chevy hustled off the line with 295 lb.-ft of torque. A tapshift manual-matic shifter allowed me to wind out the six-speed automatic transmission. Our tester got 30 miles per gallon on the highway and 21 mpg in the city. Chevy also offers the Malibu with a 2.5L, 4-cylinder engine with direct injection and 196 horsepower. The larger, less powerful engine yields an additional six miles per gallon in fuel savings on the highway.
The sedan was smooth through the turns, holding its line through highway ramps and on twisty back roads. Road noise was hardly noticeable during long drives on the Mass Pike.
A jet black interior with leather seating featured an eight-way power adjustable driver's seat with two memory settings. The front seats were heated and had dual-zone climate controls. I found an abundance of storage cubbies, cup holders and a handy cellphone slot on the center console. Pairing my iPhone was trouble-free via Chevrolet's Mylink touchscreen. Music stored on my phone was easy to call up on the screen and sounded great through the nine-speaker Pioneer entertainment system with a 250-watt amplifier.
Other features that caught my eye were a push-button starter and a fuel-saving stop/start function that automatically shut the engine off when the car was stopped and seamlessly restarted when I took my foot off the brake. Backseat legroom was less than I would expect for a mid-sized sedan.
The 2014 Malibu falls behind the Accord, Camry, Passat and Sonata when considering the most fuel-efficient mid-sized sedan; however, the Malibu does provide a solidly built, fun-to-drive and easy-to-park alternative. The Ford Fusion deserves equal consideration when shopping for a mid-sized sedan.
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