I purchased a Malibu Premier with Driver Confidence packages I and II, all the electronic aids. Package II can only be had if you buy Package I. Three features standout for me: Semi Auto Parking Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Assist.
Semi Auto Parking Assist, works well, I have been very successful everytime I used it properly. It was scary the first few times because the wheel starts turning by itself and the Malibu seems to get so close to the parked car in front of you - but - you gain confidence in it. The parking can do parallel and perpendicular. The DIC gives you prompts to stop, go into reverse or forward. You control the brake. To perpendicular park, you hold the parking assist button down to change modes. I did not understand that at first and wound up running into the curb a couple of times before I got it. I wanted to parallel park but the car was going into perpendicular parking mode.
Adaptive Cruise Control is great. You choose following distances between you and the car ahead of you, long, medium or short. Then it will continue to work from hiway speed to 1 mile per hour without gas pedal input from you. So this is great in slow moving traffic situations that I face on L.A. freeways. As long as you do not come to a complete stop, the cruise control is active. When you do come to a complete stop it will turn off and you have to manually resume it.
Lane Departure Assist is a hint of the driverless car. It sees the lane markings on either side of the car and will mechanically nudges the car steering wheel towards the center of the lane as you venture towards either lane marking. If you use your blinker as you change lanes nothing will happen but again it is a little disconcerting the first few times it happens. There is a slight vibration and it begins to nudge the steering wheel back towards the center of the lane you are in by offering resistance to your driving input - if you meant to change lanes but did not use signal.
Semi Auto Parking Assist, works well, I have been very successful everytime I used it properly. It was scary the first few times because the wheel starts turning by itself and the Malibu seems to get so close to the parked car in front of you - but - you gain confidence in it. The parking can do parallel and perpendicular. The DIC gives you prompts to stop, go into reverse or forward. You control the brake. To perpendicular park, you hold the parking assist button down to change modes. I did not understand that at first and wound up running into the curb a couple of times before I got it. I wanted to parallel park but the car was going into perpendicular parking mode.
Adaptive Cruise Control is great. You choose following distances between you and the car ahead of you, long, medium or short. Then it will continue to work from hiway speed to 1 mile per hour without gas pedal input from you. So this is great in slow moving traffic situations that I face on L.A. freeways. As long as you do not come to a complete stop, the cruise control is active. When you do come to a complete stop it will turn off and you have to manually resume it.
Lane Departure Assist is a hint of the driverless car. It sees the lane markings on either side of the car and will mechanically nudges the car steering wheel towards the center of the lane as you venture towards either lane marking. If you use your blinker as you change lanes nothing will happen but again it is a little disconcerting the first few times it happens. There is a slight vibration and it begins to nudge the steering wheel back towards the center of the lane you are in by offering resistance to your driving input - if you meant to change lanes but did not use signal.
or auto parking. I am European so I do not have any problems with parking in a tight space, but I really would like to have the ACC. I haven't gone yet to the dealer to ask whether the upgrade is possible. I believe it has all the hardware required for ACC since it has the camera, the sensors and displays, even the head up display indicator. It only lacks the electric parking brake.
