2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ - 4 Cylinder Family Sedan Comparison - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

MT Technical Director Frank Markus examines one of the best looking cars in our 4-cylinder family sedan comparison

Transcript

00:00 We're here in front of a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu.

00:07 This is a car that has really excited the press and the customers alike.

00:10 It's a really good looking car.

00:12 This one's a four cylinder powered by a 2.4 liter Ecotec, good for 169 horsepower and

00:17 160 pound feet of torque.

00:19 New this spring in the top of the line LTZ model is a six speed automatic, something

00:23 you can't get in a Camry or a Accord.

00:25 So that's a nice little trump card for this car.

00:27 The 2008 Malibu four cylinder is available in a number of different flavors.

00:31 It starts with the LS at $20,295.

00:33 It comes with a four cylinder, four speed automatic combination.

00:37 We don't like that quite as well.

00:39 Next up there's a hybrid version.

00:40 It's a mild hybrid so it's quite affordable at just over $24,000.

00:43 It's got a belt alternator starter kind of system.

00:46 Our top of the line one is just over $26,000.

00:50 That's getting a little pricey in this class but you do get a lot of stuff with that.

00:53 All Malibus come pretty well equipped.

00:55 One star is a standard on all of them as is XM satellite radio, traction control, all

01:00 the safety gear you would want and it's also a very large car.

01:03 A lot of interior space and it's a really good looking car too.

01:07 Style is not always top of mind when people are designing these family sedans.

01:11 Weighing in at just over 3,500 pounds, the Malibu is one of the heavier cars here and

01:16 it also has tall gearing which was sort of designed to try and get the gas mileage up

01:20 a little bit.

01:21 And combined the car ends up feeling a little bit sluggish.

01:24 You have to prod the accelerator a little harder than you do in many of the other cars.

01:28 Also it affects the handling a little bit along with these rather unaggressive hand

01:32 cook tires that they've fit this car with.

01:34 So there's a little more tire squeal and a little bit lower limits.

01:37 I noticed that the Stabilitrac stability control system was intervening a little bit more in

01:42 this car than it was in most of the others on our twisty road section.

01:46 At the test track, the Chevy Malibu accelerated from zero to 60 in 8.8 seconds and through

01:50 the quarter mile in 16.7 seconds at 84.3 miles per hour.

01:54 About mid pack performance in this group.

01:59 Stops from 60 required only 116 feet which is quite a short distance for this class.

02:07 On our figure eight course, it ran 28.4 seconds at .58 G average.

02:12 Again, a good mid pack performance.

02:15 Lateral acceleration was .81 Gs for max lap.

02:18 At the end of the day, I love the way this car looks.

02:22 I'm very comfortable driving down the road in it.

02:25 I think it's a little expensive for what you get and I wish it didn't weigh quite as much.

02:29 But it is made in America which also counts for an awful lot these days.

02:32 [music]

2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ - 4 Cylinder Family Sedan Comparison

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