Ride Report - 2011 Chevy Malibu 3LT
Jun 30, 2012, 3:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: SYD, Australia
Programs: VA Silver, QF FF, Priority Club
Posts: 923
Ride Report - 2011 Chevy Malibu 3LT
Summary:
PROS
- Quiet interior
- Comfortable front seats
- Well shaped trunk
- Handles well for a relatively large and softly sprung car
CONS
- Not the most fuel efficient
- Lack of power-on/power-off adjustability in mid-corner
- Not the best power/torque delivery curve
- Hefty C pillar makes reversing in parking lots difficult
Being from Australia, I wanted to try a car that is not available there. Was originally allocated a Chevy Captiva but I didn't want an SUV and the Captiva is available for private sale in Australia.
Despite the upsell attempts at the counter to an E Class ($60/day extra!), I decided to try my luck in the Gold Choice lot. There wasn't a heck of a lot, a Nissan Altima, a Cruze, a couple of Corollas. Then an attendant drove a freshly washed Malibu into Gold Choice. I had a look at the mileage, found it had a leather steering wheel, leather seating, NeverLost and took it.
This was a 3LT model tagged YF. It also had XM.
The 3LT has a relatively smooth 3.6L V6. It’s not the most aurally pleasing of powerplants but it does its job. The power/torque delivery curve is not particularly good as it tends to be a bit breathless until about 1800rpm. This meant that a kickdown in gears from the 6 speed auto didn’t always happen smoothly nor did it happen as instantly as it could have. In the mid-range, it pulls strongly although it has a slight raspiness to the engine note. For the most part, I filled it with 91 octane gas, the occasions I filled it with 87, the power delivery was noticeably worse and it actually became a little sluggish. It’s not a small car and particularly off the line, this delivery is important.
Fuel economy is not brilliant, I averaged about 25mpg over a hire of approximately 1450 miles. Admittedly, this included a lot of mountain passes, the Yosemite “crawl”, San Francisco’s traffic, Los Angeles’ traffic but also US-101, California Route 395 and the like.
The Malibu steering mechanism is hydraulic which is preferable in terms of feel to electric. The electric steering systems I have tried have tended to transmit a slightly “remote” feeling. Accordingly, there was a good feel to the steering although the steering wheel itself is fairly large. The general handling is, however, quite good though never would I call it sporting. The Malibu’s suspension is set up on the softer side as befits its general market though. On one occasion in the Sonoma Valley, I turned very very late as I spotted a side road I was supposed to go down too late and the Malibu actually did a fine job of keeping its front end together to stop me going off-road. Credit due also to the Goodyear tyres on 225/50R18 rubber.
The unfortunate thing is that in combination, the car didn’t have great mid-corner adjustability via throttle inputs. While predictable and cornering relatively flat (body roll was never completely eliminated), attempts to tail-on or tail-off the attitude of the car mid-corner via throttle were pretty much non-existent. This dulls the driving experience somewhat and I drove some beautiful windy roads on this trip to really test what the car could do (including Highway 1, Tioga Pass, Highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe, Glacier Point Road). Definite case of having to know the car’s limitations and sticking to them.
The Malibu rides beautifully and is a very comfortable car to cruise in. It is stable on the open road at speed and at low speed around town. Certainly no complaints there.
With the car having done about 23,000 miles when I picked it up the interior was in good condition with the normal scuff marks as befits a rental car. The fit and finish was ok though I wasn’t that big a fan of the faux wood trim. The plastics on the door trims I found a little hard and a bit low-brow. The driver’s seat was very comfortable with a good range of adjust available although lumbar adjustment would have been a nice addition.
The trunk is flat and fairly rectangular. This makes it a very good rental car trunk. It fits 2 x 28” suitcases lying flat next to each other and a 25” suitcase on its side just in the space between the 2 x 28” and the rear bumper together with a backpack or 2. The trunk is well carpeted so it can take a bit of rough treatment from suitcase wheels and the like. The only issue is that due to the shape of the car, the opening of the trunk is a little small so actual loading could be a bit difficult.
The Malibu also had a sunroof which I found to be of limited use as it is a tilt only model. It did prove of some use in Yosemite however, gazing up and also to quickly release the hot air being built up from outside air temperatures of 90F but if it hadn’t had it, I would have been neither here nor there.
I found rear pillar visibility to be poor and this made parking difficult, particularly in dark parking lots. There is a price to be paid for the elegant rear-end design.
All in all, a worthy car that could do with sharper handling and some improvement to its drivetrain but has in its favour a quiet and smooth ride, predictable if not pin-sharp handling, a reasonable feature set and a well thought-out trunk design.
PROS
- Quiet interior
- Comfortable front seats
- Well shaped trunk
- Handles well for a relatively large and softly sprung car
CONS
- Not the most fuel efficient
- Lack of power-on/power-off adjustability in mid-corner
- Not the best power/torque delivery curve
- Hefty C pillar makes reversing in parking lots difficult
Being from Australia, I wanted to try a car that is not available there. Was originally allocated a Chevy Captiva but I didn't want an SUV and the Captiva is available for private sale in Australia.
Despite the upsell attempts at the counter to an E Class ($60/day extra!), I decided to try my luck in the Gold Choice lot. There wasn't a heck of a lot, a Nissan Altima, a Cruze, a couple of Corollas. Then an attendant drove a freshly washed Malibu into Gold Choice. I had a look at the mileage, found it had a leather steering wheel, leather seating, NeverLost and took it.
This was a 3LT model tagged YF. It also had XM.
The 3LT has a relatively smooth 3.6L V6. It’s not the most aurally pleasing of powerplants but it does its job. The power/torque delivery curve is not particularly good as it tends to be a bit breathless until about 1800rpm. This meant that a kickdown in gears from the 6 speed auto didn’t always happen smoothly nor did it happen as instantly as it could have. In the mid-range, it pulls strongly although it has a slight raspiness to the engine note. For the most part, I filled it with 91 octane gas, the occasions I filled it with 87, the power delivery was noticeably worse and it actually became a little sluggish. It’s not a small car and particularly off the line, this delivery is important.
Fuel economy is not brilliant, I averaged about 25mpg over a hire of approximately 1450 miles. Admittedly, this included a lot of mountain passes, the Yosemite “crawl”, San Francisco’s traffic, Los Angeles’ traffic but also US-101, California Route 395 and the like.
The Malibu steering mechanism is hydraulic which is preferable in terms of feel to electric. The electric steering systems I have tried have tended to transmit a slightly “remote” feeling. Accordingly, there was a good feel to the steering although the steering wheel itself is fairly large. The general handling is, however, quite good though never would I call it sporting. The Malibu’s suspension is set up on the softer side as befits its general market though. On one occasion in the Sonoma Valley, I turned very very late as I spotted a side road I was supposed to go down too late and the Malibu actually did a fine job of keeping its front end together to stop me going off-road. Credit due also to the Goodyear tyres on 225/50R18 rubber.
The unfortunate thing is that in combination, the car didn’t have great mid-corner adjustability via throttle inputs. While predictable and cornering relatively flat (body roll was never completely eliminated), attempts to tail-on or tail-off the attitude of the car mid-corner via throttle were pretty much non-existent. This dulls the driving experience somewhat and I drove some beautiful windy roads on this trip to really test what the car could do (including Highway 1, Tioga Pass, Highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe, Glacier Point Road). Definite case of having to know the car’s limitations and sticking to them.
The Malibu rides beautifully and is a very comfortable car to cruise in. It is stable on the open road at speed and at low speed around town. Certainly no complaints there.
With the car having done about 23,000 miles when I picked it up the interior was in good condition with the normal scuff marks as befits a rental car. The fit and finish was ok though I wasn’t that big a fan of the faux wood trim. The plastics on the door trims I found a little hard and a bit low-brow. The driver’s seat was very comfortable with a good range of adjust available although lumbar adjustment would have been a nice addition.
The trunk is flat and fairly rectangular. This makes it a very good rental car trunk. It fits 2 x 28” suitcases lying flat next to each other and a 25” suitcase on its side just in the space between the 2 x 28” and the rear bumper together with a backpack or 2. The trunk is well carpeted so it can take a bit of rough treatment from suitcase wheels and the like. The only issue is that due to the shape of the car, the opening of the trunk is a little small so actual loading could be a bit difficult.
The Malibu also had a sunroof which I found to be of limited use as it is a tilt only model. It did prove of some use in Yosemite however, gazing up and also to quickly release the hot air being built up from outside air temperatures of 90F but if it hadn’t had it, I would have been neither here nor there.
I found rear pillar visibility to be poor and this made parking difficult, particularly in dark parking lots. There is a price to be paid for the elegant rear-end design.
All in all, a worthy car that could do with sharper handling and some improvement to its drivetrain but has in its favour a quiet and smooth ride, predictable if not pin-sharp handling, a reasonable feature set and a well thought-out trunk design.
Jun 30, 2012, 9:49 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: SYD, Australia
Programs: VA Silver, QF FF, Priority Club
Posts: 923
The keytag said it was a 2011 model. Now, the manufacture date was June 2011, which may mean it was a 2012 model? You guys do things different to us here in Australia 
It was an LT model (the badging on the trunklid said so). I assumed it was a 3LT because that seemed to be the only LT model that came with a V6. And I know it was a V6 because it had the twin separated tail pipe.
Don't think it had a Bose stereo. Come to think of it and looking at the 2012 specs online, I think it might have a very early build 2012 Malibu 3LT. Definitely had 18" wheels and it didn't have fog lights.
Where I come from, we drive with minimum 91 octane. I normally use 98 octane petrol here
...
It was an LT model (the badging on the trunklid said so). I assumed it was a 3LT because that seemed to be the only LT model that came with a V6. And I know it was a V6 because it had the twin separated tail pipe.
Don't think it had a Bose stereo. Come to think of it and looking at the 2012 specs online, I think it might have a very early build 2012 Malibu 3LT. Definitely had 18" wheels and it didn't have fog lights.
Where I come from, we drive with minimum 91 octane. I normally use 98 octane petrol here
...
Jun 30, 2012, 10:17 pm
#4
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
Been to Australia/NZ quite a few times and put lots of 91 Octane in rental cars. Rented quite a number of small manual transmission cars due to the price of petro. Also, the rental car companies here in the USA do not have manual transmissions and I prefer driving a manual. (my personal car is a 2005 Toyota Camry 5 spd. I like driving it over my wife's newer 2010 Auto transmission car.
It is always a treat for me (and I save alot of money ^) by renting small manual transmission cars. There are usually just one or two of us so that works out fine.