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All-New Malibu is Larger, More Reliable, More Technological and Efficient

16K views 47 replies 31 participants last post by  tonytr3 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
New hybrid sedan projected to offer segment unsurpassed 47 MPG combined.
GM
April 1, 2015


DETROIT – Chevrolet today introduced the all-new 2016 Malibu – a completely restyled midsize sedan engineered to offer more efficiency, connectivity and advanced safety features than ever.

An all-new hybrid powertrain, which leverages technology from the Chevrolet Volt, will help offer a GM-estimated 48 mpg city, 45 mpg highway – and 47 mpg combined, unsurpassed in the segment. The Malibu’s standard 1.5L turbo powertrain is projected to offer 37 mpg highway.

The 2016 Malibu is also longer and lighter, with more interior space and improved fuel efficiency. Its wheelbase has been stretched close to four inches (101 mm), and it is nearly 300 pounds (136 kg) lighter than the current model.

“Midsize customers tell us they want great fuel economy, connected technologies, wrapped in a gorgeous exterior. This is exactly what the 2016 Malibu was engineered to do,” said Jesse Ortega, Malibu chief engineer.

The 2016 Malibu goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2015. Additional vehicle highlights:

  • Available segment-exclusive OnStar 4G LTE in-vehicle connectivity as well as available wireless phone charging

  • Agile, sophisticated and sleek exterior design incorporates sophisticated details that advance Chevrolet’s signature cues

  • Standard preventive safety technologies include 10 standard air bags, with available features such as Forward Collision Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

  • Automatic Parking Assist is also available

  • All-new Teen Driver feature, which allows parents to view their kids’ driving statistics, such as maximum speed, warning alerts and more

  • All-new, power-dense Ecotec 1.5L turbo engine with fuel-saving stop/start technology is standard, offering a GM-estimated 160 hp (119 kW)

  • High-output 2.0L turbo with GM-estimated 250 hp (186 kW) is available and is mated with a new eight-speed automatic transmission.

The new Malibu will be offered in L, LS, LT and Premier trims, as well as the Hybrid model. The Premier trim, Chevrolet’s new uplevel designation, debuts in the 2016 Malibu. Additional model and trim details will be announced closer to the start of production.

Additional Photographs


















 
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#4 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

EIGHT-speed trans? They've been buying Chrysler rejects!
 
#5 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

Looks like a tighter, sleeker Impala. Wish they would offer it here with the 3.6 V6 from the Impala though. It should be a proper pocket rocket! It might even tempt me to trade.
 
#6 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

You guys LIKE how that looks? I think that oversized grille dead center ruins it. Plus the awkward shapes going on where the fog lights used to be.

This thing comes with a wheezy little 1.5T base engine (160 hp/184 lb-ft) and a detuned 2.0T with 250 hp and 258 lb-ft.

I am so disappointed. I really don't like where Chevy design is headed.

 
#18 · (Edited)
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

You guys LIKE how that looks? I think that oversized grille dead center ruins it. Plus the awkward shapes going on where the fog lights used to be.

This thing comes with a wheezy little 1.5T base engine (160 hp/184 lb-ft) and a detuned 2.0T with 250 hp and 258 lb-ft.

I am so disappointed. I really don't like where Chevy design is headed.

Yeah, front end looks kinda busy. Looks pretty bad.

Looks good from the side and rear though! Interior doesn't look bad, just reminds me of an interior you'd see in a compact car..

I wonder how the 1.5T will perform in this. Lol.

2016 Malibu. "When the going gets tough, shrink down an Impala and use 200, Fusion, Sonata design cues"
 
#8 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

I like the style and I like that they went back to a longer wheelbase.
Not crazy about the engine choices.





 
#9 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

I do like the interior. It's simple and elegant.

But I still can't get over the face and dropping the 196 horsepower 2.5L for a strung out pint-size turbo.
 
#11 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

I like the interior very nice, and nice looking car, looks like a Fusion/kia/hyundai/Avalon ...if you saw it from the side you wouldn't know till you saw the front (front is hot), hope they incorporate some fog lights.
I'll wait for the 2018 after all the bugs are out before I'd consider a trade in.
 
#14 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

Man, if this new Malibu don't favor the Impala a lot. On the lot I'd have a time deciding which one to get since the 2016 Bu and Impala are so similar. I do like the interior though no question but I thought the styling would be a little more original. Why did they have to dumb down the turbo engine and for that matter all of the engine choices? Guess I don't have to worry so much now about the trade-in bug hitting me.
 
#15 ·
Re: 2016 Chevy Malibu - Official

Meh. It has its strong points, but overall I'm unimpressed. Looks to me sort of like a Chrysler 200 on the outside. I DO NOT like the engine choices at all. No thanks.
 
#22 ·
I also think it looks great. I'm happy gm dropped the 2.5l for a 1.6T.
The car is 300lbs lighter and I'm sure it will feel a lot quicker than the 2.5l. The 1.6l turbo should have most of the torque in the low rpm range and keep it all the way up, just like the current 1.6t thats in the european gm cars, so the power will be where you need it, not like the aspirated 2.5 where you got to rev the crap out of it to make it move.
The detuned 2.0 is not gonna be that bad when put together with the 8speed trans.
 
#25 ·

I agree, the design of where the fog lights were give it an odd shape and appearance,




though I like the interior layout, longer length, and side profile!
My understanding is that they have borrowed some tech from the Chevy Volt, that
is why the Malibu Hybrid smaller 1.5L engine combines and switches between
battery pack and engine or both to some degree for better mileage,
same concept as the volt...
Cost is ultimately going to be the deciding factor toward success or failure
plus if they don't overstate MPG estimates!




(Disclaimer: I am not an expert, and never claimed to be, if I have an opinion
that differs from yours, "relax" please don't get upset)


(Malibu 1LT with Auto-stop/start "build date April 2014")
(Real world MPG "Manual calculation")
(EPA est. (25 mpg city)-speed average 21 mph,)
(EPA est. (36 mpg hwy)-speed average 48 mph)
(50/50 city/hwy-(29 mpg) estimated ave speed 34.5 mph)
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml
"Pigs will fly before my Malibu EPA mpg est. becomes reality!"

http://www.intellichoice.com/1-12-2014-53226-56/2014-chevrolet-lt-1lt-4dr-sedan-real-mpg.html[/QUOTE]
 
#26 ·
That center grille has been what I'd call "smallerized" from all the gaping holes found in so many modern cars. It's "better" than those but is still too ugly to be acceptable to me. I also don't think the large grille opening and the rest of the front end below it go with the styling of the rest of the car, which actually looks pretty decent. A new shape to the interior is interesting to look at but I'm a pragmatist at heart, so if it's laid out for efficient operation and logically grouped then I'm good with it, but I haven't spent any time studying it (and probably won't).

Wheezy engines seem to be more in vogue just to meet Federal guidelines on efficiency. I wonder when they'll decide that making heads that flow better along with intake and exhaust improvements to match will net them more power and/or less consumption. They can apply those methods to any engine and get all the improvement they want, and customers who'll rally behind them since they'd be making stuff that actually works well instead of stuff that needs to be touched by the aftermarket to do so.

But I digress.

The car looks like a Hyundai Elantra, with a splash of BMW on the front when viewed from the side.
 
#27 ·
Folks, the smaller turbo engine is a 1.5, not a 1.6. Fusion probably drove GM in this direction. The hybrid is a 1.8. According to the press release anyway.

I doubt there will be fire sales on the '15 since it sticks around as a '16, along with the new one. GM touts its reduced incentives every month in its sales reports.

Those might be LED fog lights...why cars are dropping fog lights (Sonata comes to mind) is beyond me. But front lighting has advanced very quickly in the last 2 years; they might not been needed anymore.

Little things (no lockable govebox, for instance) suggest continued cheapness. How much can a mass ordered glovebox lock cost, now really.

Trunk looks like it's lost cu ft in size. Just like the '08-'12 did over the prior version.
 
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