The 2023 Chevy Malibu is the eighth model year of the ninth-generation nameplate, introducing a handful of updates and changes as compared to the preceding 2022 model year. Now, GM Authority has learned that the 2023 Chevy Malibu will no longer offer the Premier trim level, nor will it offer the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LTG gasoline engine and GM 9-speed automatic transmission.
According to GM Authority sources, the Premier trim level will be repackaged as the 2LT trim level with the introduction of the 2023 Chevy Malibu. Previously, the 2022 Chevy Malibu Premier was offered as the range-topping trim of the lineup, as well the only Malibu trim available with the 2.0L I4 LTG gasoline engine and GM 9-speed automatic transmission. As GM Authority covered back in May, the 2022 Chevy Malibu had an early build-out date for the 2.0L I4 LTG gasoline engine, and given the LTG was the only engine available for the 2022 Chevy Malibu Premier, the Premier trim level also had an early build-out date.
Now, with the Premier trim level repackaged as the 2LT trim level for the 2023 model year, the 2023 Chevy Malibu 2LT will be available exclusively with the turbocharged 1.5L I4 LFV gasoline engine, mating with the MRG continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), a combo previously offered for the rest of the 2022-model-year lineup (every trim level except Premier).
Additionally, the new 2023 Chevy Malibu 2LT will lose some features compared to the previous 2022 Chevy Malibu Premier. These include Heated rear outboard seats (RPO code KA6), Bright sill plates (RPO code B7T), and Power outside mirrors with integrated turn signals (DWK).
For the sake of comparison, turbocharged 1.5L I4 LFV gasoline engine is rated at 163 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 184 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm, while the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LTG gasoline engine is rated at 250 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 260 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm.
Under the skin, the Chevy Malibu rides on the GM E2 platform. Production of the 2023 Chevy Malibu is slated to begin in September at the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas City.
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Comments
The reality is that basic four door sedans are almost as commoditized as cargo vans. Chevrolet built very few Premiers in 2022, and I suspect Toyota, Honda, and Nissan build scant numbers of their higher performance engines in the Camry/Accord/Altima.
To be honest, I think you’d have to be kind of a fool to drop the extra $10k for the Premier. At the same time you’d have to be kind of a fool to buy the base model.
I guess what I’m saying is, just go get a K5 or something.
That’s exactly what I did. I went and got a Kia K5 with awd for around 28k. Has more features, feels more peppy despite only 20 hp and 10 lb ft of tq difference on a heavier platform. Nicer interior, doesn’t have the same floor material as its dash. It feels like a more upscale car than what the Malibu Premier is. Which is the Malibu’s highest trim
This is a function of the Trade Imbalance and currency imbalance between Korea and the United States
It’s built in Georgia.
It’s also their bread and butter car. Chevy/fords bread and butter are trucks and SUV’s. The traverse was a by far the superior vehicle over the telluride per selected trim. Ditto explorer.
KIA’s “bread and butter” vehicles are their SUVs/crossovers. The K5 sedan is hardly a profit maker for them. K5 sales are down 30% compared to last year, and there are rumors coming out the current K5 will be the last and the car will be canceled at the end of the current run.
How do you like the Dog Leather seats? What do they smell like when they get wet?
Days on sales lots for the anemic 1.5L..7 days. Maybe the 40+ mpg on the highway out trumps 0-60 for the masses
Malibu@ 135k.. expected troubles/repairs.. less than 1000$..
K5 @135k..50% chance it is scrapped or a buy here pay here queen
I have driven the 2.0 Liter Malibu. It drives and handles quite well. No one in these comments has apparently driven one. It has become dated in styling due to lack of updates and the lack of public interest in Sedans of all makes. But as recently as 2016 Malibu accounted for 227,881 Sales on the year and 102,652 in 2021. Sales were severely hampered by chip shortage in 2021. I do not like the de-contenting but it is expected give the the current model reaching the end of it life cycle. It would be great the have a new Electric Malibu or Impala but this does not seem likely given the popularity of SUVs CUVs and Trucks of all kinds.
* 2015 and 2012 Top Safety Pick – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
* 2014 Top Safety Pick + – IIHS
* Five-Star Overall Vehicle Score for Safety – U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
* Best Car for the Money by the U.S. News & World Report
* Chevy Malibu has received a Segment Award from the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study for 2014 2015
* Chevy Malibu Ranked Best Midsize Car In J.D. Power 2022 Initial Quality Study.
Yep, GM screws up another winner! Why? I love the Premiere trim in my Equinox.
As predictable as always. I called this out several years back and got many down votes on it. What do they say now? So the current Malibu with its lowest in class 160 HP engine will be relegated to rental car status just like the Nox and Terrain. It gets the usual GM treatment here- let rot on the vine, decontent, eliminate anything resembling fun and then claim it never sold. The fact they didn’t even give the 1.5 a power bump above it’s low 160 rating after being out for a staggering 8 years speaks mountains on what this company is all about!
I will take 184 ftlbs and 163hp over 184hp and 163ftlbs any day. It is all about where you use the power and where it is coming. In a vehicle like the Malibu & Equinox, no one cares about the high rpm hp and is never in that range, but they are 98% of the time under 4k rpms pulling from stop lights and chugging up hills in the interstate. 20 more HP isn’t much, the 1.5 is a good little motor and plenty adequate for the 95% of buyers that don’t care or know what is in their vehicle. They would rather it drive better and on regular gas getting good mpg which is exactly what is does in a competitive (but on the lower end) of the competition.
Glad that your happy with 1995 power levels like the Chevrolet Lumina of that time era had using a NA pushrod 3100 V6. The rest of us would like something that tries to compete with 2020 era tech, especially when we pay well over 30K for a GM vehicle.
23-27 k for the LS-2LT
I was not talking about the base stripper models. I was referring to the LT and whatever the 2LT trim will be. For your reference the LS starts at 24495 with zero options, the RS starts at 25495, the LT starts at 27895 and the 2LT will be well over 30K considering the current Premier starts at 34595!
So the LT, which typically stickers for 30-32K with a few options packages still comes with a 160 HP lowest in class output 1.5T while literally every other competitor has more standard and optional power.
Kia K5- std 180 HP with 1.6T and available 290 Hp with 2.5T
Toyota Camry- Std 203 HP 2.5, available 3.5 V6 with 301 HP
Hyundai Sonata- std 191 HP 2.5, available 290 HP 2.5T
Honda Accord- std 1.5T 192 HP, available 2.0T with 252 HP
Who cares about HP, it’s all about the MPG and comfort! What else do you need? Lumina obviously had a worse gas mileage compared to the modern Chevy 1.5L turbo!
37-45 mpg on the highway speaks volumes at 5$ per gallon
It takes a lot more gas to get your power in the higher rpm range. High torque on the low end is cheap power.
I, personally, am of the opinion that it’s way past time for automakers to figure this power situation out. Including for the customers who don’t care about what’s under the hood, because that’s part of their job, is to look after the customers.
As long as I’ve been old enough to pay attention to cars, I’ve been hearing, reading, and experiencing how underpowered most cars are, and there’s no valid reason for it.
Not only is it a rip-off to the buyers who are paying good money, there’s also the safety aspect. The bigger and more possibly dangerous a vehicle is, the more power it has… so the faster it can go, and usually the factory-stock speed limiters are looser, too…
But it’s the smaller cars that would more likely have a need to be able to go faster and reach higher speeds, and are less of a risk if they do.
So why are towering pickups and full-size SUVs available with a selection of engines with ridiculous power figures? But people who can’t afford them, or don’t need to waste the money, are stuck with 168-170 horsepower in a more attainable… but still too expensive… mid-size sedan or compact SUV?
Because car makers can’t figure out how to tune their vehicles reasonably enough so that the average driver has a vehicle that’s safely and satisfyingly quick, but also gets affordable MPG? No. This is 2022. Fix it.
I get it if the base engine is all that’s selling, and I get there’s people out there who don’t care if their car has enough power, because they don’t think that much about it. That’s not an excuse for the car makers. They need to start doing their jobs correctly and outfitting their cars with better effing base engines so that everyone who buys the car benefits from it. Rather they know it or not.
The 2.0-liter in the Equinox should have been the base, for example. And if they wanted to offer an engine upgrade, it should have been something more exorbitant that was actually worth the amount of money they charged for it.
You must be smoking something to think Equinox is a fleet queen. This is not 2003.
Go to the rental lots, I guess you do not rent.
Rental queens are.
Hyundai,
Kia
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Toyota
GM, Ford are nowhere in fleetsales at this time.
Funny but both of my local Enterprise rent-a car locations regularly stock both Malibus and Equinoxes.
So they say. See if you get one when you get there.
I got one last week.
I agree. Why they keep dropping the 2.0 liter engine as an option I can not understand. Are they trying to get their mpg numbers down because they can’t any other way? Stupid government requirements.
Just imagine if GM sold the Bolt twins in numbers as they do for the Malibu.
Dead car … driving.
The new 2023 Chevrolet Malibu…now available exclusively in Rental Car Trim!
This looks like another extremely poor gm decision, but it might be the clearest sign yet that gm is planning on an electric sedan and doesn’t want a 2.0l to steal sales.
GM sending a clear message that the ICE Malibu is going to go. Well, at the very least they should give the higher HP rated 1.5L turbo.
Its goingvtp be a sad day
More action to push Electric.
Hilariously underpower all but the absolute pinnacle models.
Make every gasoline fueled vehicle so unbearably slow it forces the market.
Pass everything but a charge port.
Sometimes when someone lacks something charitable to say, its best to keep thoughts to themselves
So why are you talking then?
Boo. Glad I have a ’21 Premier. The 250 HP engine is quite zippy, impressively zippy. And I like having a real transmission. Stupid decision GM.
the article said the new 2LT is “replacing” the Premier. I wonder if that means you now pay the same money for a 2LT as you would have paid for a Premier, but now you get a 1.5T and a CVT instead of the 2.0T and 9 speed auto.
The Malibu Premier was a solid car. That 2.0T LTG was a nice engine, my Camaro has the same engine. 20 PSI boost, 0-60mph in 5.4s, 275hp, 290ftlbs of torque. If I had a Malibu Premier, I would be happy to have it.
I like my ’21 premier a lot. Fantastic car. Chock full of features. Some of which I’m surprised exist in a Chevy, like heated rear seats, and ventilated front seats. The engine is quick. I was on the expressway a few day ago, and needed to pass someone at 70 mph. The car moved LOL.
That 2.0L turbo LTG was a very nice engine. I love it in my Camaro, I’m happy I bought that over the V6.
GM has become quite adept at de-contenting and making their vehicles less competitive. I guess they are trying to force its demise or push people toward EV’s which all GM cares about at this point.
Only if they take the presidencies of OPEC and Russia.
Would have been cool if one person at Gimp Motors sent the Malibu off with the SS option. What’s that? The 2.7 Silverado motor with the 310/430 hp tq option. Too much you say?, we’ll just check the RS order box. Good for 310/390 power. I’m putting my order in as I write this. 🏁🍻👋
At the risk of the environmental police knocking on my door, I will not buy an electric car, not ever. Thanks anyway. What I would like is a 6 cylinder comfortable sedan. Always have and always will. Yes, I’m a mid-century gal.
Yes ma’am! I agree with you.
I’m with you Sister, a decade over mid-century. My first car was a 1974 Monte Carlo 350hp V8. Bought my “Retirement” car in 2018, 2018 Malibu Premier with all the bells and whistles in Cajun Red, she jumps when I tell her too, and some silly fool kids think they want to play with a grey-haired old lady, hah can’t beat her. I drive between Maryland and North Carolina regularly average speed between 80-90 mph at night. Love my Malibu, Hate Woosie no get up and go vehicle’s. My 2.0 and Twin Turbos are Fine, Also, other than routine maintenance and switch to Sport Touring tires no major service issues in over 5 years!
Malibu Premier is a solid respectable car, it’s too bad GM is scrapping it for a smaller engine and CVT transmission. It was way faster than the Civic Sport turbo and costs about the same price.
BTW its not a twin turbo, its a single turbo with twin scroll.
Reading that the 2023 Malibu will no longer offer the 2.0 engine, rear heated seats, bright sill plates, and No Power Side mirrors , tells me they really have very little interest in this model, and are sending it out to pasture to die. A very bad decision. Just watch, Honda, Toyota, Nissan , Hyundai, Kia and others will continue to market their sedans. Just throwing in the towel just helps them by having one less competitor. Am disappointed with GM in this decision. Maybe it is time for me to join the other millions who have abandoned GM, and also Ford, and be a customer of a Asian car maker . I can see this as a end of an era
Though this does sound like a typical GM boneheaded move, if you want a 2.0 that badly you can get one in a RWD CT4 for $35K…..
even the LSY 2.0T used in the base CT4 is a downgrade from the 2.0T LTG. The LTG used in the Malibu Premier/Cadillac ATS/Camaro 1LT made 275hp and the LSY makes 235hp. Seems strange to me that the newer cars are taking a step backwards.
There has to be a reason for it. I have 2016 Premier a great car. Why drop the Premier and add a LT2. When they dropped the 2.0 LT in the Equinox, they left Premier with 1.5 LT. They do sell many Premiers. Why not just the lesser 1.5 LT. Why Brother having an LT2 again. Three thinks I can come up with 1- Last year Dropping it in 2024 or early in 2024. 2- A new Engine and did want to see a non Premier with it. 3-A Production Issue trying to put out more cars this will speed up the line and they bring Premier back the next year. I was going to get a new one the last year. But not unless the Premier is back. Maybe my last Chevy no SUV for me!!!
Have you tried a CUV? For just a few dollars more the Cadillac XT-4 is an nice change. Very comfortable, reasonable power, more storage space , not hard on gas, chair height seats so no climbing up out of a sedan( like the old days ) not high like a pick up either. And thats before all the Cadillac touches.
The Malibu is now the equivalent of the A-Bodies surviving well into the 90s, except frankly those cars had way more character and sold better. The 1.5 as the only engine choice on Malibu and Equinox is pathetic. I know they put all their eggs in electric but do they really think their whole customer base is migrating there by end of decade?
Ironically the A-body cars like the Ciera and Century had a 3300 Buick V6 that made 160 HP and 185 torque back in 1989 and weighted around 2800 LBS for a sedan. Fast forward 34 years later and here we are with 3100-3200 LBS midsize Malibus with an engine that makes 160 HP and 184 torque! Now that’s progress.
I would add, having a 2017 1.5 Malibu, that it can pull 45mpg at 73 mph for hours on end on the highway and on regular gas. Thats is some progress on that part.
I have a 2017 Premier with 35k it runs and drives like new. The 2.0 Turbo has a set of balls on it , you can walk away from traffic with just a stab of the gas pedal. Try that with a 1.5 anemic weak boat anchor of an engine. I still get 22 around town and 35 on the highway….gas mileage is for pussies anyway!
GM has given up on bread and butter sedans, at the worst possible time! Gas is expensive making more aerodynamic and lighter cars a better option than trucks and SUV’s. If you don’t build cars that are popular, how is it possible to convince consumers to try your EV’s? GM is always one generation behind the competition, playing catch up. I like the Malibu, I had a 2016 LT 2.0 and it was great car at the time. By 2020 it needed updates to keep it relevant. I thought with fewer divisions that would be possible, after restructuring that should have been a priority. I can’t tell anything has improved, the updates on trucks and SUV’s are too slow to keep up with Ford and Ram. Improvements should have been pre Covid, I hope the billions spent on EV’s payoff. It will take two decades to transition to EV’s, I hope government mandates don’t bankrupt too many manufacturers. If consumers won’t buy the EV’s, the industry is screwed! I personally have owned two EV’s, I like them for city commutes. But, I wouldn’t give up my ICE vehicle, I need an alternative. Diversity is better for the grid and energy reliance. Blackouts would make us vulnerable as a nation. Consumers will decide what’s best, not politicians.
I’m 69 years old and have owned a lot of cars through the years, mostly GM. I am retired, with 38 years in an American steel mill, so in order to support American industries, and fellow American workers, I’ve never considered an Asian vehicle. Lucky for me, I’ve never liked them. I know we have all the Richard heads in the audience who say “oh, but they’re assembled in the U.S. so they’re not really foreign! Long story short, the profits from the manufacturing and sales go to the parent company, and benefit that country’s economy. My wife picked out our current car, a 2021 Malibu Premier. It’s white with dark atmosphere interior, and we flat out love it. I’m pretty sure it would give ‘my late (stolen, stripped, and burnt!) 65 Goat a run for it’s money in the quarter, and is 1000% more comfortable and capable in handling. Just sayin’!
Some of you guys are are a bit late to the wake. As the owner of a 2009 LTZ (a great car, I would have replaced it with another in 2012 – but they dropped the V6. I thought Chevy might see the error of their ways with a later model year – but no. I haven’t been without a V6 (Grand Prix, GrandAm, Terrain, LaCrosse, Enclave) since. Now looking for something smaller, I find myself limited to a 4 banger. (If I stay with the General after 50 years). Slim “Pickens” seems to dictate otherwise.
I got a 2016 Malibu Premier 2.0T in Jan of 2016 when the first shipment of the new body style came to my dealer. Every vehicle I have ever owned has been a “sleeper” sedan. This car was seriously underrated in every way. I loved every minute of owning this car, it was plenty powerful and also got excellent gas mileage! I wish GM (and the other American car companies) would actually try to be competitive in the sedan market, this vehicle was proof they could be competitive if they tried. This segment is not dead, look at Camry and Accord sales. It’s too bad GM is full of greedy execs (Barra especially) and they are only interested in vehicles that they make an absolute killing on or this electric GARBAGE. They are SELL OUTS. It has forced me, a previous GM only owner, to leave GM and purchase a 2023 Camry XSE V6! Which is honestly by FAR the best car I’ve ever owned. Thank you Toyota for offering me a real sedan!