Sharing my 2024 Chevrolet Malibu LT with a mini review!
Had a baby last year and was looking to upgrade to a midsized sedan/suv for easier installation of car seat. I checked some midsized suvs and sedans however most of them were selling way above MSRP here in Canada due to "shortage" (Camry, Rav4, CRV, Accord etc - 8000$ over the MSPR and up to 15000$ over for some desirable hybrid models!). I refused to pay any exuberant amount over the MSRP and started looking for options that had some sort of deal going on. Chevy was selling at 0% Financing + it had employee pricing going on. Hence got myself a Chevy Malibu LT off the lot. It was dealer spec-ed and not my own build. Hence I got what the dealer selected in options. I do think I got myself a good deal compared to what other brands were selling for (I have approx. saved over 10 thousand dollars over a Camry). This is the 9th gen of Malibu and has been sold since 2016 without major changes, the drive terrain is shared with Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs. Its a 1.5L Turbo engine which has pretty decent fuel economy. Size wise it is slightly bigger than a Camry. It offers a tad bit more rear leg space and boot space. I had driven this car before as a rental and had liked the drive of it. The mid range is pretty strong and has ample passing power. Although, it is slightly underwhelming to launch from 0~20 kmph due to CVT transmission. I added extended warranty and prepaid maintenance to it the deal as well for peace of mind.
The goods:
1. Power is sufficient, turbo +CVT makes a good responsive combo once the car is rolling. Turbo lag is minimal/unnoticeable. It makes 164Bhp@ 5700 rpm but more importantly a peak 250NM of torque at only 2500 rpm - this is where all the zoom comes from in this power terrain. JD Power reliability rating of 84/100 is a pretty decent score. Camry scores 86/100 so pretty comparable there. A lot of manufacturers screwed up 1.5 Turbo engines. Ford Eco boost engines notoriously self destruct. Even Honda's 1.5L turbos were troublesome. So I did take up my time to research the power terrain and it seems its a solid one. Well.. fingers crossed!
Fuel economy is good, I have gotten as low as 4.7L/100kms! Which is 21.28 km/liter! Although this is only achievable when cruising on the highways. More realistic combined economy is like 6-7 L/100km depending on you foot.
Chevy has made the car slightly bigger yet ~200 pounds lighter than Camry. Hence contributing to the fuel savings.
Standard features like lane keeping assist, front collision warning with automatic breaking + pedestrian detection. 10 airbags. Auto high beams. Wireless android & apple car play. Chevrolet app supporting remote start/unlock/tire pressure/ system health etc. Chevrolet OnStar safety and road side assistance. Heated front seats. Power driver seat with lumber support.
Sleek design! Its a good looking car IMO!
The bads:
1. I am a bigger guy and my right knee hits the dashboard unless I take the seat quite back. This is due to a protruded design of the dashboard. Rear leg space behind me is compromised by about 1.5 inches if I take my seat back and create about 1.5 inches of distance between my knee and the dashboard(V.Imp for safety reasons). That's a bit annoying, I wish there was a nice place to rest my right knee on.
No blind spot monitoring, although I don't mind. I had to install a small blind spot mirror anyways. (If it had blind spot light + blind spot camera then I would have really missed the feature!)
No adaptive cruise control - although it does have lane keeping assist.
What I miss:
2LT or Premier model - its no longer offered in Canada. Premier model used to come with a quite powerful 250 bhp 2.0L Turbo and had every option you could think off! Discontinued in 2022. 2LT is only offered in states, it has heated steering wheel and adaptive cruise control + blind spot monitoring + leather. Basically everything that I miss in LT model is offered in the 2LT trim. Chevy offers a lot of technology packages, so if I was ordering the car myself, I would have either ordered a 2LT or added appropriate upgrade packages to include adaptive cruise control and BSM etc.
Basically.. the car isn't missing features. My dealer build and spec-ed this car and he missed out on some good features which I would have liked. Still - no deal breakers. I still very much like it and am enjoying it! Alhamdolillah!
Add ons I installed:
- Floor and boot liners
- Anti rust treatment
- Front end PPF film to prevent rock chips.
- Vantrue 3 channel 4K dash cam with 512 Gb card - hard wired and with working parking mode.
- Specific fit high quality leather seat covers - airbags compatible.
- Rear 3 windows 20% legal tint. Factory tint was 70%.
Some pics:
