Chevrolet looks to start the 2012 calender on the right foot with the launch of the 2013 Malibu Eco this January, and has priced the vehicle at $25,995, which includes a $760 destination charge. Compared to traditional hybrids, the eAssist-powered Malibu Eco is the cheapest consumers will find in the segment, while returning up to 26 mpg in city driving and 38 mpg on the highway. Sure, those stats aren’t as good as the 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway figures seen in the $29,395 Ford Fusion Hybrid, but the Malibu Eco does come with a more powerful 182 horsepower engine and more affordable base price.
The all-new Malibu Eco is different from today’s model inside and out, and looks fantastic in person, if you ask us. From its athletic sheet metal to its hushed interior, this new mid-sizer has everything it needs to stand out in the segment. It will also offer the Chevy MyLink infotainment system, and comes with eight standard air bags. Consumers can spec out the Malibu Eco with four option packages, with package 1 being the most basic and package 4 being as good as it gets.
Look for a more affordable, un-e-Assisted Chevrolet Malibu to launch sometime in the summer of 2012. For more details, we invite you to look at the press release below.
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Comments
The base Prius is cheaper, and the last Malibu Hybrid was a non-starter. Why double down on failure?
But it’s a PRIUS. It’s also not the vehicle the Malibu Eco is looking to compete with. GM feels the timing was wrong with the previous BAS hybrids, but nowadays they seem to be a big part of the company’s future product plans.
The trouble is that to industry outsiders or the consumer base as a whole the Malibu ECO will be compared to the Prius. I hate the damn Toy too, but perception is everything, and re-educating customers is a task too big for any company when it comes to a new product launch.
Prius is not a competitor to malibu. That’s where the Camry hybrid comes in even though it’s a full on hybrid. But I just don’t see the hat on this car though
The Sonata Hybrid (40/36) and the Camry Hybrid (42/39) have about the same price but gets better mpg, And I think the Sonata looks better.
The price should have been 22k, than it would have been a good deal. Unless the malibu is a much better car then the camry or sonata or upcoming accord and fusion. Which I doubt considering GM’s late entry into the market and their traditionally lackluster midsize cars. I think the new malibu will simply be on par with its rivals instead of besting them, though im sure it will capture market share it wont be like the cruze or be the the new “camry”. Therefore to be the bestseller it needs to have a price advantage. Hopefully the non-eco malibu can fulfill that role.
The redesigned Malibu (2008+) is far from lackluster. Your point on the Cruze is spot on though. The Cruze is far and away the best buy in the lineup right now.
True, but compare it to a 2008 Accord, and if you take away the opinion based looks issue, and look at fuel economy, quality, interior, reliability, and other stuff, and you can clearly see which car is better.
I would have to disagree with you on the quality, interior, and reliablity though between those two but carry on.
Vic, I have owned both cars, admitingly the accord longer than the malibu, and I know there are factual differences between the two. I guess that the interior is semi opinion based so im going to leave that alone. But as on reliability and quality, i will contest. On the malibu I experianced transmission and overheating issues while nothing major ever happened on the accord. On quality, the door panels on the malibu were loose and shaky and felt like they would come of, some interior trim parts were easily broken, the seats already show signs of wear. the door locks stopped working and other issues. While most of the issues were minor they make all the difference between a good car and a great car, the accord really has had no problems so far. Just a question, have you owned both cars for a lenght of time? I have never had another malibu so maybe mine was just like that and other malibus are better.
Well I have own a G6 (similar to Malibu) after the Accord since I found out that I had more problems on the Accord than the G6… Both are 08s though.
a pirus is not a car a soap box ..use a pirus to go only corner store,…and the sonata is a temporary car before you get a real one..lol
Have you driven a 2011 Sonata?, if you have, then I am shocked you would call it a temporary car.
To be honest I find the Sonata Hybrid ugly. the front end of that car looks like a catfish that wants to hunt little small fishes………. totally a turnoff.
Yes, with sonata hybrid front end, its either a love it or hate it, however I think we can all agree that the rest of the car is well styled.
yes but in a few year??? I’ve seen a lot of reviews that the Sonata Hybrid kinda sucks and drives like…well, crap…
I have never driven the sonata hybrid, just the regular sonata, so maybe youre right, though since the regular sonata drives well, I would think there isnt much of a difference between the two when it comes to driving dynamics.
Oh and I have found that relying on personal experiance is best as even reviews from reputable sources can be misleading sometimes.
That i’d agree… I just heard from Alex here and he said it just not connecting so ya….
I have no hate on Sonata in general ( I do like how they did with the exterior on the outside of the regular ones). I just think Malibu looks better than the Optima, Sonata, Camry (except SE) and so on.
Just finished watching Chevy: 100 documentary on Velocity. There were many takeaways from the film, one was insight on who is designing the cars GM is introducing to market as we speak.
I just don’t get this new Malibu. In the Chevy: 100 documentary, Ed Welburn VP of GM Global Design takes us through elements of the design of the Camaro and Malibu. He says there were two teams involved in final design for Camaro, and of the two competing teams he gave the losing team the Volt. This is crazy because I think the Volt stands out as forward-thinking, sporty, aerodynamic and non-stereotypical. He never says directly the winning Camaro team took on Malibu, but he does point out all the obvious Camaro design cues on Malibu. Now Malibu is GM’s most important single new model rollout in years due to it’s position to make inroads in it’s very large and heatedly competitive segment – the stiffness of it’s competition and the sheer size and potential of the car in international markets. Malibu ends up a mish-mash, looking as if it was designed by committee, not passion. In the end, it seems nobody won and everybody got a piece of Malibu. The curving, staid interior shows Camaro instrument binnacles and roundish, Oldsmobile-esque elderly features. We’ll not discuss the grotesque fake wood treatments ( ala 1970s ) but I will say – MALIBU BUYERS DO NOT WANT TO FANTASIZE IT’S A CAMARO. The sole purpose of a new Malibu is to entice current Camry/Accord or Corolla/Civic owners to move over to this new high-quality GM product. GM seems to be preaching to the choir with this design. Think of great Malibus of it’s heyday…No car on the street looked close to the mid seventies Malibu with it’s sexy curved surfaces and sporty interior. Back in those days GM didn’t design by consumer test group – it used it’s “gut” to make interesting shapes. Take the plastic chrome trim line that runs the center length of Malibu’s dash and HVAC vents – look how it just ends at the door handles – with no continuity in the door panel or the door handle inset. It just looks sloppy. Where are the interesting shapes of the stunning new Cadillac interiors?! Sure die-hard Chevy folks will repeat buy – but that is not the goal of Malibu. 2013 Malibu looks like a puffed-up Korean-designed Cruze with Camaro pieces tacked on! GM touts a “dual cowl” interior, I see no indication of two cowls – I see overtly rounded edges that don’t excite the eye and look contemporary.
For all the discussion here of relatively new player ( successful player ) Hyundai, and no matter where one stands subjectively on it’s design inside and out, one must admit Hyundai took some chances. The last gen Sonata and Elantra were solid cars , but so plain looking nobody noticed. Hyundai swung for the fences with these new designs and the market response is huge. Now GM needs to look at such upstarts to compete. We can’t diss Toyota, because the last gen Fusion Hybrid uses Toyota HSD and still outperforms this not-yet-released next-gen Malibu Eco where it counts in this segment – efficiency. We can laud GM for cooking up this new light hybrid tech on it’s own where Ford outsourced.
My prediction is that GM will have to compete in this segment with price. Performance shootouts with it’s rivals will also give us a better picture. The jury is out on Malibu’s quality – I agree with other posters that GM still can’t match Honda or Toyota on reliabity and long-term quality. Toyota Camry buyers repeat buy because the little things American cars deal with such as glitchy broken interior parts, rattles and electrical issues never happened to them. Remember, once bitten twice shy. This is why the Volt is the first American car I’ve considered buying in 25 years. First off, GM needs to screw together this new generation of autos with lasting reliable quality.My brother just bought a used 2004 4 cyl Accord for his daughter to go off to college. He liked the car so much he kept it! Seriously, he gets over 34 mpg hwy and the car with mid-high miles looks near as good as showroom new! When he’s ready to buy his next new car ( he’s already talking Accord ) where is he going to look?”
There are nice touches in the new Malibu ( the indirect lighting in the interior is nice….but WHY TURQUOISE?! )
James,
I really agree with alot of the points you make in your comments, not just this comment, I read all of your comments on different topics. It’s just that you just seem to be really biased. Im sure you could contribute even more with your comments if you could be nuetral and examine things from the others sides perspective. Remember your lashing attack on the new trailblazer. That was really biased and filled with prejudice.
Not trying to offend you and hopefully you can take this positevely.
Babersher,
I grew up in a Chevy family, and in the ’60s my dad was the #1 Cadillac salesman in the USA, so yes – you’re spot on, I am biased.
Actually, the only true bias I have is that as an American, I want to be proud of the products ( fewer each day ) that bear the MADE IN USA label. I think we should be able to lead in the automobile industry as we once did so many years ago. By lead, I mean, innovate, create and produce competitive products rather than rely on slick salesmanship and patriotism to move iron. For decades, like you, I’ve been told that “engineered in Germany” meant the best ( even GM’s Buick TV ad spots for TV and print state “engineered in Germany!” ) – and many times, this proved true. When I was a kid a drank the Kool-Aid of GM, and owned a ’70 Monte Carlo 454 and still own a ’57 Chevy 3100 series pickup. When the day came I earned enough to go buy a brand new vehicle, time and again I was met by shoddy fit and finish, plasticky materials and machines by American companies that just couldn’t match up to anything made overseas. It got so insulting that foreign companies stuck our noses in it by setting up shop on our own shores to avoid tariffs and import costs and just built longer-lasting, better fit, more stylish cars right here on our own turf!
When my dad, a die-hard GM guy ( trucks, Chevys, Cadillacs ) long retired, began opting for Honda Accords, Toyotas and Mercedes – I know things had turned full-circle. One cannot buy American just for the sake of buying American. If these companies turned out inferior cars, there’s nothing patriotic about supporting them – only encouraging them to take advantage of a once loyal customer base. Everyone works hard for the money to buy what for most is the second largest investment they make in a material item. Like you – as a “car guy” I loved reading about race cars and the latest, hottest Corvette…But because GM made a Corvette, Indy and NASCAR engines didn’t mean I was going to just buy into sales hype and roll with a Chevy as my daily driver. Pride doesn’t come from the label on the outside, but from the quality of the piece on the inside. Imports had double overhead cams, multiple valves per cylinder, aluminum engines and every sort of innovation – and GM had cast iron blocks, overhead valves and vibration – and interiors made of the same plastics as my childhood model cars! It seemed years and years would pass before GM felt it had to compete on content.
GM, burdened with too many divisions, humongous labor agreements and severence packages was going down like the Titanic – it was incredibly sad. We all knew that if they just made the cars they were capable of, people would buy them – be proud and tell their friends and neighbors. When they started rejuvenating quality it was too late, the writing was on the wall.
Today – we see interesting happenings in the “New GM”, some very fascinating. GM has a new lease on life, and new labor agreements ala: Sonic, and reopened factories buzz with new hope. To me, the brightest star of all is Volt and Voltec technology. GM had this gem loaded in the breach – fired it, and stuck with it to fruition. Today, with all the knocks and hits Volt is taking in the press ( undeserved ) it soldiers on, hopefully to a bit more affordable gen II with higher capacity batteries and even more capability. Volt got my attention in 2007 – and I said if they ever built it, I’d consider buying one. As of now, I’m saving my pennies and dimes.
I truly want GM to succeed and they’ve made several right moves. More than half of Volt buyers are conquest customers – many buying GM for the first time. This is what GM needs to survive and prosper. And that is my bias if you can call it that – I want GM to break out of the old formulas they’ve relied upon for decades and become faster to pick up and retool with market trends. Everyone knows GM can build a better Camry – IF THEY WANT…and Volt shows they can leapfrog current hybrid development and come up with something completely superior and new. Volt kind of holds GM to a new standard – We want GM’s products to do to their segments what Volt did to it’s.
If by “bias” you mean I am not a GM fanboy – you would be right. I call ’em as I see ’em, and I hope for all of us the General can duke it out with it’s rivals and come out on top. I do think it’s gonna take better efforts than 2013 Malibu and a Colorado-spinoff Trailblazer to do it.
James,
Well Said, and I completely agree with what you said, However I was not refering to what you are talking about, I meant you are too biased towards electric power and liberal themes.
James,
Accords are fine cars until you have to rebuld the transmision or the entire engine. I have known several people who have had to have major engine rehauls on their Hondas. I don’t buy the Honda superior quality thing, now grantid there are many who have had great success with their Hondas just as there are many that have had great success with their GM. Personally I like Hondas and have considered Hondas but when my friends hondas engine completely pooped out at 80,000 and he was meticulous in taking care of it some red flags went up.
Yabadabadoo,
Well, depends on the car, one cannot generalize a brand and say every Honda is a quality car, or every chevy is a gas guzzler. Some GM cars, like 1997 malibu are crap, while others like the GMT trucks are excellant. Some hondas like the 1998 civic are quality cars while the element is not that great. I have a accord with 250k miles still running like a champ, I also had a Saturn SL with 200k miles still running great. So both automakers make some good cars while they also make some bad cars. To be honest, im not sure hondas like to be maintained, they like to be abused then they run longer.LOL
Babersher, Absolutely right… A friend has an Accord (bare bones) that I like a great deal its functional transportation, but in the back of my mind I wonder, let’s face it Jonas are not what they used to be, a 1990 accord could be driven almost 4 ever.