[yellowcouch]

I am thinking about buying a 2011 Malibu LTZ V6.
I rented a LT1 form Enterprise and was very impressed with the ride quality and how quiet the car was. Especailly when compared the the Honda Accord EXL V6 if was thinking about getting.
My question....Does the ride quality or the smooth quiet ride suffer at all when going form the LT1 17' inch tires to the upgraded 18" tires that come standard on the LTZ models. I assume the handling would be improved.

Also i noticed the V6 steering is hydraulic as compared to the Electric steering in the LT1. What is the main difference in steering feel between the two.
The LT1 i rented had a very loose steering feel to it

Thanks for your help

 

[Silver LTZ]

Ride will be similar. A little stiffer do to the larger tires, but a worth the trade off for the better handing/looks. The steering feel sucks in all Malibus, doesn't matter what set-up it is to be honest.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I had 18's on my '09 2LT and have them again on the '11 LTZ. Both cars = V6, same tire brand and size.

When I had the suggested 30 psi in the tires on the '09 it was mushy and tended to drift. Ran the pressures up to 38 front / 36 rear and that helped a lot.

Test drove the '11 and right away it felt nicer but I attributed that to the lower pressures. I ran them up to 38 / 36 and the steering got better but, as expected, the ride suffered.

The tires on the '09 were scuffing the shoulders badly and that's what lead to raising the psi. Doing so I also discovered that it didn't feel so slippery on wet roads. Regardless, the tires suck. If you get one, have enough in your budget to go get some good tires. Search the threads on here and you'll see a number of recommendations.

Hydraulic PS doesn't have the issues that EPS does. Even with gas prices expected to rise, if I was buying it at that time I'd disqualify any Chevy with EPS in favor of getting HPS. However, SilverLTZ has a Mazda with EPS and is quite satisfied with it. Check around.

 

[08chevymalibultz]

Research the Reliability and Resale Value of both cars and then make a final decision! These are two major factors along with total cost of ownership after buying any Vehicle! I very much like the Malibu design looks better than the Honda Accord’s but I have also owned more than one Accord and can say they hold their Name Plate and they hold-up very well in the Reliability and Resale Value. The Vtec Engines are very good in the V6 & 4. After you look at all of these factors between the two, it all comes down which one you like the most and which one is going to fit your needs the most! The Malibu & the Accord are both nice cars, some have + and - if compared between the two!


Good Luck!

 

[Sandhopper]

Love the power of my 09 LTZ V6 A6. Not sure I would be nearly as happy with the 4 cyl.

 

[Bedbug]

Yellowcouch

Here is a bit of advice. Go to active topics and pick the topic -- 1year review of my 2010 LTZ. I would say go through as many topic here as you can. You will get a good feel for the car and any issues before you buy it.

Do your homework first.

 

[EAZYZ]

I am thinking about buying a 2011 Malibu LTZ V6.
I rented a LT1 form Enterprise and was very impressed with the ride quality and how quiet the car was. Especailly when compared the the Honda Accord EXL V6 if was thinking about getting.
My question....Does the ride quality or the smooth quiet ride suffer at all when going form the LT1 17' inch tires to the upgraded 18" tires that come standard on the LTZ models. I assume the handling would be improved.

Also i noticed the V6 steering is hydraulic as compared to the Electric steering in the LT1. What is the main difference in steering feel between the two.
The LT1 i rented had a very loose steering feel to it

Thanks for your help

The LTZ is an ubelievable car and rides very, very smooth. The V6 gives you more than enough jam yet still gets awesome fuel economy and the hydraulic steering allows you to have far more "road feel" vs. the electric steering option.

I bought the my malibu for a smooth ride, luxury options, and performance. So far I have yet to be dissappointed. This car is a winner, plus you get a great warranty.

 

[BillD64]

I have an 08 LTZ with the 4 cyl/6 spd and 17 inch wheels which came stock due to the special option which made the 4 cyl available in the LTZ that model year. I do a lot of performance driving in a Corvette and instruct high speed driving at a couple of tracks in the Northeast. Despite all of the hoorah about steering feel you will learn how the Malibu feeds back what the tires are doing and you will know what the car is doing. The feel is there and a person familiar with the car will know. The tires on the 17 inch wheels will roll over more under hard cornering and will start to slide sooner than the lower profile tires on the larger rims. Otherwise, handling is fairly good given the car is a 4 door family sedan and GM kept a lot of its German roots (it is basically an Opel). The car will dive into a corner and if you anticipate the throttle response correctly will power out nicely. With the 4 cyl you have to keep the revs up high to keep the car moving. Most American drivers have trouble doing this for some reason or other. The V6 probably doesn't require as much attention in this area but it still sucks in comparison to my 505 HP 7 Liter Vette. With that car all I have to do is think of increasing throttle and it charges forward. We made a trip to western Michigan about 18 months ago and were driving on crowded two lane roads. I was able to pass easily by keeping my foot to the floor with the revs up. There was no imprecision in the handling when I pulled out of or back into right lane. Since I started driving in the 50s I know how to pass on a 2 lane road, which is pretty much a lost art nowadays.

My wife and I have had our car since Aug 08 and it runs great, gets good gas mileage. The only issues we have had were a problem with the throttle and transmission control and the brake switch with less than 500 miles on the car, an issue with the HVAC blower motor where it would start making a ringing noise at a certain speed, and a loud popping noise in the roof whenever we took the car through a car wash with the high speed blowers blowing down on the roof. It sounded like somebody was walking across the roof. All problems were resolved by the dealer. We both really like the car and are glad we purchased it. It doesn't get quite as good of gas mileage as my wife's 99 Saturn SC2 but does have a lot more room.

Differences in reliability ratings are hard to pin down (why does one car get a good rating and another car made on the same line that is identical except for the label on it get a different rating). The only thing I can say is it appears there just isn't that much difference in reliability and durability between any of the makes/brands available in the US Market. Perception still rules and the domestics have gotten a bad rep but when you look past it they are competitive in that area but still are not competitive in resale value due to the rep.

Bill

 

[DrivenDaily]

That brings up another question related to what BillD64 just said: I've noticed the lag between stepping on it and anything happening. It seems to be a step backward in performance. I've seen a throttle response booster advertised on TV for drive-by-wire systems. Is that something that would improve the response on our cars?

Your post took me back to learning how to drive as well. My first attempt to pass a sand truck was definitely a noob move. I pulled into the oncoming lane, then shifted down, then accelerated. Not how to do it, but I was 16. With continued instruction I learned how to see the hole in the traffic coming up and gauging my acceleration to fill it as soon as it got to me, then use my momentum to leap frog past the car and pull back in. With so many 4-lanes I'm losing that art, but they are safer and more convenient.

 

[dpopeck]

With the 4 cyl you have to keep the revs up high to keep the car moving. Most American drivers have trouble doing this for some reason or other. The V6 probably doesn't require as much attention in this area .... Since I started driving in the 50s I know how to pass on a 2 lane road, which is pretty much a lost art nowadays.

Absolutely agree! The 4 cyl is quite happy and peppy when revved. It's not happy when caught in too high a gear. The tranny really likes to get in 6th gear quickly.

You really have to floor it for it to downshift. Otherwise, it seems like you're pushing down and nothing's happening. Hence a lot of the "it's a dog" comments.

I've started using the paddle shifters more on my daily highway commute. Wish they were a bit quicker though. But they work great for holding a gear, so that you can pass with authority.

 

[Silver LTZ]

That brings up another question related to what BillD64 just said: I've noticed the lag between stepping on it and anything happening. It seems to be a step backward in performance.

That is 100% programming. GM wants the car to stay in the highest gear possible as much as possible for better mileage. If GM wanted to, they could make it downshift 2 gears in a second....the EPA killed that. Although the A6 on the Corvette thankfully still will do that.

 

[BillD64]

After reading these last two posts I cant wait to get off work and drive home and take the long way. Thats some good stuff.

You do have to watch yourself when doing things like that. Last May I was on a trip to a very important personal meeting about 120 miles away. Most of the way I was on two lane roads trying to run about 65 in a 55 mph limit. After getting held up by two very slow cars that would speed up when passing zones came along and then slow down when there was a double yellow line and finally getting by I was a little frustrated. Then I came up on 3 cars running about 60. When I got to this one straight I could see about a quarter mile to the oncoming car so I dropped the throttle and pulled out. Just as I was next to the third car I went by a cop car sitting in a bunch of trees on the left. He got me for 85 and it didn't take that little 4 banger to get to that speed.

Bill