Malibu Hybrid... WHY???

Why would someone buy a Malibu instead of a Prius? Because they have have different requirements than you do. I'm sometimes surprised at the narrow-mindedness here on Prius Chat. Yes, most of us have a Prius and like the car, but to say that people are stupid to buy a different car is going a bit far.

So let's see why would you buy a Malibu instead of a Prius?

Exterior appearance: The Malibu is the traditional 3-box design that is preferred in the US. The Prius is a hatchback, which in the U.S. is widely regarded as only fitting for a budget eco-car. Face it, the number one thing that sells cars is looks. (I personally think my Prius is ugly, but bought it anyway for the mileage and versatility of the hatch.)

Interior: The new Malibu has a fantastic interior that is class-leading. The painted plastic dash in the Prius should cause Toyota to hang it's head is shame. The Malibu also has very good ergonomics and simple to use and well laid out controls. This compares to Prius with it's touch screen climate control that is horrible ergonomically.

Ride: The Malibu rides well and exhibits very little body-roll for this class of vehicle. The Prius has more body-roll than my dad's old Oldsmobile 98! The handling of the Prius just plan sucks.

We all know that the Malibu is not a real hybrid. It is a car with auto-stop capability. The only reason that the Malibu's electric motor can move the car at all is to classify it for the federal tax credit. It is a car for a different buyer than the Prius. I know lots of people consider 25 mpg highway to be "great" mileage.

BTW, I've actually driven the new Malibu. How many of the people giving their "expert" opinions why the new Malibu is "Junk" have actually bothered to get behind the wheel?

 

For the record, I think the non-hybrid Chevy Malibu is a great car (I even mentioned the good reviews in my first post). What I have problems with is the hybrid version. I was very happy when I heard that Chevy was putting out a hybrid Malibu and it was initally on the top of my list until I actually drove one and read the specs/reviews on the hybrid performance, at which point I became both furious and insulted that GM would put out such an inferior product whose sole purpose is to simply jump into the hybrid market and produce a car that classifies it for a tax credit. This car is nothing more than a hoax and slap in the face to consumers and hybrid technology.

BTW, I just sold my last GM car last night (a 1996 Chevy Monte Carlo). I sold my 1998 camaro this past summer and I now own two Toyota hybrid vehicles. :smokin: I have long been a supporter of GM products but no more. I even have a GM credit card that I have recently stopped using. The hybrid Malibu fiasco was the last straw for me!

 

I will admit to being prejudiced against GM vehicles.

But I still think that GM is doing a disservice to the acceptance of hybrids by producing a vehicle that does not provide any real advantage over the non-hybrid version. It doesn't get (much) better fuel economy and it doesn't lower emissions.

So, I think some people will want to buy "American" and will end up with a "Hybrid" and eventually may realize that they paid more money for nothing. And they will think hybrids are just a scam.

If you go to other auto oriented websites, you can already find people who believe the Prius is a scam. We don't need more of those people.

 

At least the Malibu Hybrid is a step in the right direction. Frankly, it could have been a lot worse. Consider how things would likely turn out if the 'old' GM would have went with a complete hybrid system that had a huge jump in MPG, but also a substantially more complicated (and expensive) hybrid system to deliver it.

In the past, GM would have been more than content to let their consumer base be the test bed for such a vehicle, with accompanying dire consequences. A single hybrid (any hybrid) with 'much worse than average' reliability could cast a pall over the entire class, regardless of the manufacturer. GM's eighties' diesel engines, along with Cadillac's failed attempt at 4-6-8 variable displacement of the same era, are two of the more prominent examples.

With GM making 'baby-step' incremental improvements, one would hope that the eventual outcome will be far more preferable. The original Prius, although a fine car, wasn't a home-run out of the box, either.

 

I see the Malibu "Hybrid" as an example of the minimum equipment that all vehicle should have. The Malibu Hybrid is really just a 4 cylinder Malibu with an engine stop / start feature. Since it is pointless to idle an engine while stopped, all cars should incorporate this system. It is a stretch to call it a hybrid though.

I don't see any reason to swear off GM products because you don't like what they called one of their vehicles. I also don't blame GM for exploiting the tax credit loophole. It is a smart way for them to charge more for a vehicle because "Uncle Sam" will pick up part of the tab. Same thing with the E85 flex-fuel loophole. Any company would be foolish not to take advantage of such programs.

 

I'll agree w/you 100% on that part. However, I think it's a BIG mistake to buy any first model year GM product. Their track record for reliability on 1st model years is lousy and even for some that have been sold for a long time is still bad.

I don't feel the current gen Malibu has good exterior styling at all nor did the previous gen. It's subjective though, but up next to its competitors, I'd say its styling is inferior to at least the Altima and Camry.

I also strongly disagree that "the number one thing that sells cars is looks." If that were true, sports cars like the Mazda Miata, Nissan 350Z and Corvette would sell in HUGE numbers, but they don't. See Top-20 selling vehicles in U.S. through January 2008 for the top selling vehicles in the US? Do you think the top 3 selling vehicles (Ford F-Series truck, Chevy Silverado and the Toyota Camry) look great? I sure don't. I dislike the styling of the current gen Accord even more (is a step back from the previous gen) yet it's #4.

I frankly feel the Prius is funny looking too, but it's been making the top 20 list recently.

I've not driven a current gen Malibu but I have sat in one and checked out the interior in detail. To me, it's not really anything write home about. It still has the rental car look and feel to some degree but at least GM is at least competitive to others in its price range (unlike the horrible Tupperware interiors before Lutz came to power/had influence). If you want to go see and feel interiors that have high (apparent) quality and feel, check out those from Lexus and high-end Mercedes.

When I first saw the current gen of Prius in its first year, I was surprised at how good the interior actually was for a car they were losing $ on that time. It was a huge step up from the previous gen.

I'm glad that you at least acknowledge it doesn't deserve the hybrid moniker. As others have stated earlier, it has little real gas mileage improvement, no improvement in emissions, it's even slower than Prius and has ranked dead last in every comparison w/other competing hybrids in its class (namely HyCam and Altima Hybrid).

 

I agree 100%.

I swore off GM (at least for now) for several reasons. First, over the past several years I have test driven several of their cars and was disappointed with either the comfort, the interior quality, the engine performance (or by the agricultural sound of their engines) and by the generally poor reliability ratings they get in Consumer Reports (this varies widely by model and year). Secondly, I have made the decision to henceforth only drive alternative fuel or hybrid cars that leave a low carbon footprint and lesson our dependicne on oil (saving money on gas is not my primary objective). Again, GM is not providing me with what I want. Sure, they have E85 but try finding an E85 pump!

I was actually quite excited when I first heard about the Volt, but who knows when a viable production model of that car will be available. Hydrogen? Fuggetaboutit - at least for another 10-15 years.

In any case, I believe that consumers should drive the market and not the other way around. I'm helping to drive the hybrid market by buying Toyota and boycotting GM until they can give me something I want in a car.

 

apparently, the Malibu is not a Prius competitor. somewhere I've read it's to be in competition with Accord and Camry. Well, let's see how the sales numbers shake out. I'm certainly not trading "up" anytime soon to a Malibu. Of course, I've been tooling around in a Prius the past 3 (holy crap, going on 4 years!), conserving SIGNIFICANT fuel and HUGELY lowering emissions, and enjoying the ride everyday. When will GM have a car that can say that? THAT'S where the competition is right now and the foreseeable future.

 

Sports cars may look good but they are not practical for most people. I guess I should clarify. Number one is money but once a person has decides what class of car they are going to buy, looks then becomes the primary deciding factor.

I don't think that trucks look great either but I know a lot of people that prefer the look of a truck to a car. Trucks look tough and "manly" while cars are weak and "girly". It's not just men either. My wife prefers the look of trucks over cars. Her first 3 vehicles were trucks until I convinced her that no matter how ugly a station wagon looked, a 50 mpg TDI wagon was just as useful as her Nissan Frontier and would save use $300 a month in gas.

I guess I should say thank you for your complement. I was the product engineer responsible for the leather-wrapped cockpits in the Mercedes GL and AMG M-Class SUV's until I left Delphi (now INTEVA) at the end of 2007.

Yes, a Lexus or M-B have nicer interiors than the new Malibu. They are also in a completely different class of vehicles. The Malibu has the best interior in it's class, no competition. The two tone ebony/brick leather interior is particularly nice.

 

"The Malibu has the best interior in it's class, no competition. The two tone ebony/brick leather interior is particularly nice."

Are you "trading up", then, from the car in your signature and buying a Malibu hybrid?

Many think the Prius interior is great, many think it's crap. I think it's class-leading...but the Prius is not in the Malibu class, per some reports. I would think it would be a direct competitor, but I don't write the reports.
Sedan/wagon, all midsize. I suppose if the malibu hybrid came in a hatch/wagon form, THEN it could be Prius-classed. Still, it really depends on what people want in a car. If utitlity of a hatch/wagon is not even on the radar, then the Prius would be second choice versus a sedan w/trunk, notwithstanding efficiency and up front cost.

Personally, I can't see an advantage of a sedan that just hauls people and some luggage. The Prius, on the other hand can (and has in my experience), hauled MANY hardware store items (8' lumber, 10' gutters, full-size wheelbarrows, bags of easily loaded/unloaded dirt, which in a trunk are hard to lift in and out) that, if I drove a sedan, I'd rent a truck, or have it delivered (or ask the neighbor with a Prius. )

Again, some people could care less about this "need". If you prefer lower MPG and a sedan look, more power to ya. I do wish buyers would consider that utility is a bonus in the Prius, as is the MPG. Lower emissions should be the ulitmate goal of a hybrid. THAT is definetly NOT on enough people's shopping criteria.

 

Well what would you expect from Mr Lutz? He's already said hybrids are just a gimic. With an attitude like that, I fear the Volt developement will be doomed. Why they don't unload him is one of the mysteries of life.

 

Just to stir the pot a bit, here's Warren Brown's review:

washingtonpost.com

excerpt:

"We don't particularly like the tested hybrid version of the Chevrolet Malibu. It gives us barely two miles per gallon more in the city -- 24 miles per gallon, compared with about 22 mpg for the regular four-cylinder Malibu, which we much prefer for its fuel economy. On the highway, where most current-generation hybrids go to sleep, mileage performance between the regular four-cylinder Malibu and the Malibu Hybrid is a wash, about 32 mpg."

 

The Prius is "ugly?!" And the Malibu has "fantastic interior?!"

I am afraid, these are statements which exemplify why the US auto industry can't design cars which are successful exports (Jeep and a few Fords excepted.)

You are correct, looks are very important, and as long as companies like GM run focus groups among the over 70, or the "gold chain," or the White Castle crowd, their market will continue to shrink.

Having said this, the Malibu is indeed a step in the right direction, as it is not offensive. It makes a decent rental, which is what its faith would most likely largely be.

 

Pretty much... I suggest you sit in a Malibu before you judge it. That said, if you like cheap and hard plastic, than the Prius does have a lot more of it than the Malibu...

 

I'm talking about the NEW Malibu not the OLD Malibu that you have probably had as a rental.



I'm also talking about the materials, fit and finish, and integrity. Things like bumps, dents, color consistency (both on a single panel and from panel to panel), airbag read-though, etc. The new Malibu has soft touch materials throughout and a great instrument panel. The panel gaps are tiny, very similar to the Mercedes cockpits that I was responsible for. (I know because I took my feeler gages with me and checked panel gaps and measured V-gaps.) On my test drive through some very rough downtown streets the dash had no rattles, squeaks, or other unpleasant sounds.

The same cannot be said for my '05 Prius or the '08 Prius I looked at during the Birmingham Auto Show. My Prius has poor panel gaps and hard plastic panels throughout. Some of these hard panels are painted and the paint is easily nicked and flaking off. The instrument panel shows VERY obvious airbag read-though. I can see every airbag seam. (Invisible airbags are laser cut from underside causing a perforated seam that tears open when the airbag is deployed. You should not be able to see this seam.) The seat material is very cheap and showing obvious wear after only 42k miles. The cockpit squeaks and rattles when going over bumps or down a gravel road.

None of this has changed on the '08 Prius except that the painted panels like the glove box now have a textured paint.

 

My 07 has a textured, rubber like material, not paint.

 

No, I won't be buying a Malibu. I have no need for a new vehicle, my VW only has 160K trouble-free miles and the Prius has only 42K. I drive ~40K miles a year so it will be 2010 to 2012 before I'll be looking to replace the VW. The Prius gets driven ~10K miles per year so I have 10 to 15 years to think about its' replacement.

If I was to buy a new vehicle this year it would be a Smart Fortwo Passion. I know everyone says the Smart makes no sense and anyone considering one should just buy a Yaris. Well they both cost about $14K when equipped to my minimum standard. (A/C, PW, PL, ABS, side airbags.) The plus is that the Smart has stability control which is not offered on the Yaris. The Smart uses premium fuel while the Yaris uses regular. Still the difference in mileage makes the Smart 3% less expensive over 250K miles. I commute alone so I have no need for the extra 2 seats. The great thing is with the Smart I could fit the Prius, Smart, and my 3 motorcycles in our garage.

You are preaching to the choir. If you notice I own a station wagon and a hatchback. I look at the space above a sedans trunk as a missed opportunity. However, we are a very small minority. The vast majority of Americans prefer a sedan to a hatch or wagon. Many manufacturers make specific sedan versions of their hatches for the American market. The Toyota Echo and VW Jetta are just two examples. According to edmunds.com there are 179 different sedans and coupes for sale in the US. This compares to only 64 hatches and wagons.

 

IMHO it looks like the inside of a speedboat -- great on the water but something I would like to leave behind when on land.

 

It has the right foundation, like a lot of Detroit stuff over the last few years, but they can't quite do the details and haven't figured out where to stop:

Overall it's a bit too garish, and the two-tone hues are what they used to do in the early '80s (and I don't mean it as a compliment.) And the gold decal is just the touch one would expect

IMO, the Prius' interior is far from perfect, but it is certainly cleaner than the Malibu (mine has softer material on much of the dash.) And soft doesn't mean good design: compare a La-Z-Boy to a Barcelona chair.