Upcoming Chevrolet Malibu Refresh Reported To Address Rear Seat Leg Room
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Perhaps one of the biggest head-scratching moves in recent memory was for GM engineers to shorten the wheelbase of the new Chevrolet Malibu from the old one — while nearly the rest of the competitive segment did the opposite. As a result, while the Malibu still features decent room for occupants, vehicles like the new Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, and Volkswagen Passat feature even more, and it’s been one of the reasons the new Malibu has been lambasted by critics, as well as things like underwhelming fuel economy numbers. As a result of the negative press, GM has reportedly pushed a refresh for the vehicle into high gear, and is set to debut by the 2014 model year.
The latest word as to what to expect from the refreshed Malibu is that the rear-seat legroom issue will be addressed. This should help make the vehicle more competitive in the unforgiving segment, as will a face lift that follows Chevrolet’s new design language seen on the 2014 Impala.
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Your post on Facebook asked “The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu is said to have more rear legroom than the current model. Though it’s not clear how.”
Easiest solution would be to ‘dish’ the back of the front seats more than they already are. They could make the rear bench more bucket style so you’re ass sinks back further, too.
Simple. Get rid of the back seats altogether. Plenty of room for legs…..maybe not so much for butts.
On the plus side, with no back seat, the Malibu would have, by far, the best trunk space in the segment.
No doubt the legroom will come from both the front seats and the trunk. I told them it was too small for the USA, but they cancelled my contract to f*** em.
Hey Alex or Manoli – Is this guy legit? Somehow, I have my doubts. I figured GM fastlane was more his stomping grounds…
I have met the “real” Bob Lutz on a few occasions, read his books and seen several interviews with him.
That ain’t him…
ha no that isn’t Bob Lutz. He is still a consultant for GM, anyways.
Oh god. It’ll literally be an Impala with a Malibu badge, thus creating the first ever rebadge within a brand.
That would be the main concerned they need go address but if they can can they add some air vents and maybe something cool like maybe add a length adjustment like how it has on the Peugeot 6008. That kind of feature only offers on luxury cars only and if the Malibu has one that would make it the class exclusive in my opinion
My guess is that Bob Lutz isn’t commenting here… although if he’s not, he should be. And if he was, he would have some class and less crass.
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-chevrolet-malibu-spy-photos-news?src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1458_6651298
I like the comment “some class and less crass”. My wife has leased late model Malibu and we liked them – particularly the LTZ model with the V6. But the car doesn’t have enough ‘wow’ factor for my taste. The car competes in the family sedan segment and according to the MotorTrend comparison I read, the car fails in 2 areas – gas mileage and rear seat room. The family sedan segment is pretty ‘bland’ in my opinion but people who buy or lease these cars would probably like a little more pizzazz between the 4 wheels and something to set it apart from its bigger GM siblings or the other cars in its peer group. Load up the interior (much like Hyundai does with their Sonata model) and give the exterior some distinguishing design characteristics and GM might have a winner. I’m not sure that Malibu buyers are looking for retro design elements, but the Malibu name comes with some heritage. I’m not sure how you bring this out.
So its smaller than the competition. Is the Solution by an Caprice? Ooops not sold to Tax payers who own GM….
The tax payers don’t own GM, get over yourself and that notion.
As I’ve already said, it’s not just the seats that are the problem. GM more or less ruined the Malibu’s debut by first equipping it exclusively with that dreadful mild-hybrid system. It needs to do some rather large ad-campaigning to get the car noticed for MY2014. And what’s worse is that GM now has an even-better Accord and Fusion with which to compete for attention…