- Editor:
- New Car Test Drive
- Price As Tested:
- $28,585
“A solid midsize sedan as good as Toyota and Honda.”
The Chevrolet Malibu cabin is beautifully done, with tight fits and no gaps. Everything is within arm's reach and easy to operate. The instruments are easy on the eyes.
The most noticeable interior feature of the Malibu, other than the roominess front and rear, is the dual-cowl dashboard and instrument panel layout inspired by vintage Corvettes. This design is brought into the 21st century with wood and metallic trim and a very pleasing blue-on-white instrumentation graphic treatment that's flooded with blue light at night.
Less noticeable are thoughtful features such as ambient lighting. A feature associated with expensive luxury cars, and recently popularized by Mercedes and BMW, ambient lighting helps the driver and front passenger find secondary controls and items around the center console. A cubby on top of the dash is convenient for smaller items and is a very useful feature.
Cloth, faux-suede and leather interior options are available. The standard interiors are monotone, but several two-tone interior combinations are available, including a dramatic black-and-saddle leather combination that's very attractive.
We found the leather seats in the Malibu LTZ quite comfortable. Piping in a contrasting tone dresses them up. The front bucket seats are somewhere between sumptuous and luscious in the way they look and the way they sit, and are very comfortable and supportive.
The long wheelbase affords each occupant plenty of room, and there is ample headroom and legroom in the rear compartment for six-foot-plus passengers. The backs of the front seats are dished out to add knee room. The rear seatbacks flip down to provide a pass-through to the trunk.
While the trunk has 15.1 cubic feet of cargo volume, the stylish rear pillars are pushed to the far back of the car, creating a small trunk opening that won't accept large boxes.
Cubby storage includes a dashtop storage bin, door cubbies, and seatback pockets. We've never cared for roll-up sliding covers on center consoles due to their ability to attract crumbs, dust and debris. Ambient lighting for the overhead console and door-pull pockets adds convenience.
Overall, the Malibu interior is attractive and comfortable. The quality of the interior materials is good. It doesn't bowl you over, nor does it reek of cheap plastic. We think the Malibu's interior compares well to the cabin of the Honda Accord. In fact, it may be more attractive, though the material on the steering wheel hub and the hard plastic on the lower dash aren't as nice. However, the Malibu has an attractive leather shift boot when the leather upholstery is chosen, and the Accord does not.
Every Malibu comes with satellite radio and the latest version of OnStar with Turn-by-Turn navigation. However, there's no GPS navigation system, nor is there a back-up camera. Chevrolet says many people prefer to use their portable GPS units and relatively few want to pay for an OEM navigation system. We've heard that view from respectable drivers, but we prefer in-dash units. We've found OnStar works well, however, and we encourage owners to try it.
Big knobs and buttons and an elegant design make operating the audio and climate functions easy. In fact, we found it easier and less confusing to make adjustments in the Malibu than in a comparably equipped (without navigation) Honda Accord. The Honda seemed less intuitive and convenient, the Chevrolet seemed more intuitive and convenient. Unlike the Accord, the Malibu has the audio controls at the top, which is better because people tend to fiddle with sound systems more than temperature controls.
Remote starting is available. This lets the driver start the car by pressing a button on the key fob from the comfort of the house on wintry mornings, allowing the car to warm up while the driver sits inside sipping coffee. That same feature can be used with air conditioning on sweltering summer afternoons.
