C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

[newbiestyle]

well my latest issue of C/D came today (march 200 and C/D did a comparison test of the new 2008 malibu LT (4cyl 4spd auto) VS

dodge avenger sxt (4cyl 4spd auto)
ford fusion sel (4cyl 5spd auto)
honda accord ex (4cyl 5spd auto)
hyundai sonata limited (4cyl 5spd auto)
nissan altima 2.5s (4cyl cvt auto)
toyota camry le (4cyl 5spd auto)

Now the reason I'm excited about this test is that the bulk of family sedans that people buy are 4cyls and auto's, so this provides a good test for GM, Secondly, it provides some good test numbers for these cars. ( I was surprised that the malibu was as quick as it was). As of today, C/D has not posted this comparison test on its webpage, so I'm just gonna post up the important stuff/numbers, if you want to read the entire comparison test/article, just pick up the march 2008 issue or wait until I get it linked off of their webpage. Anywas-----

heres how the cars stacked up in a 7 car test---

final results--

1st place-- honda accord ex
2nd place-- nissan altima 2.5s
3rd place-- chevrolet malibu lt
4th place-- hyundai sonata limited
5th place-- toyota camry le
6th place-- ford fusion sel
7th place-- dodge avenger sxt
_________________________________________

acceleration performance tests (no particular order)--

chevrolet malibu lt ---[0-60 of 8.7 secs] [1/4 mile of 16.7@83mph] [top speed 112 mph]

dodge avenger sxt ---[0-60 of 9.0 secs] [1/4 mile of 16.8@83mph] [top speed 117 mph]

ford fusion sel---------[0-60 of 9.5 secs] [1/4 mile of 17.3@80mph] [top speed 111 mph]

honda accord ex-------[0-60 of 8.2 secs] [1/4 mile of 16.4@86mph] [top speed 127 mph]

hyundai sonata lmtd---[0-60 of 8.8 secs] [1/4 mile of 16.8@84mph] [top speed 134 mph]

nissan altima 2.5s----[0-60 of 7.8 secs] [1/4 mile of 16.2@87mph] [top speed 112 mph]

toyota camry le------[0-60 of 8.9 secs] [1/4 mile of 17.0@83mph] [top speed 126 mph]

__________________________________________

epa fuel mileage city/highway (again in no particular order) --

chevrolet malibu lt -- 22/30
dodge avenger sxt -- 21/30
ford fusion sel -- 20/28
honda accord ex -- 21/31
hyundai sonata lmtd - 22/32
nissan altima 2.5s -- 23/31
toyota camry le -- 21/31

_________________________________________

70-0 mph braking tests (again in no particular order)

chevrolet malibu lt -- 170ft
dodge avenger sxt -- 178ft
ford fusion sel -- 172ft
honda accord ex -- 169ft
hyundai sonata lmtd - 171ft
nissan altima 2.5s -- 168ft
toyota camry le -- 170ft
__________________________________________

price comparison base / as tested (no particular order)

chevrolet malibu lt----$20,955 / $21,905

dodge avenger sxt----$20,195 / $20,195

ford fusion sel--------$20,510 / $26,945

honda accord ex------$24,495 / $24,495

hyundai sonata lmtd---$24,395 / $24,485

nissan altima 2.5s-----$21,205 / $23,665

toyota camry le-------$21,735 / $23,883
_______________________________________________

C/D quotes regarding the new malibu-
here are somethings they said about the new malibu-

"Elegent cockpit, superb engine isolation, a handsome lad"
"The best 4 four-cylinder mainstream car GM has ever built"
"Even after 600 miles, it still shocked us to be driving a four cylinder GM product with such terrific engine isolation."
"In this group, the Chevy was quietest at full throttle, a statement we can't ever recall making."
"The headliner looked as if it might have been swiped from a Maybach."
"Elegent cockpit, crisp styling, velvety inline four, can this be a GM product?"
________________________________________________

I find it funny that the chevy malibu lt, has a faster 0-60 and 1/4 mile time than the hyundai sonata lmtd and the toyota camry le.
That it gets better city gas mileage than the honda accord ex, and the toyota camry le.
that it stops faster than the hyundai sonata lmtd and ties with the toyota camry le.
That it has a lower starting price than the honda accord ex, the toyota camry le, and especially the hyundai sonata lmtd,

seems to me like the malibu lt is giving honda a good run for the money, and that it out bargins and out performs the camry and sonata for less money.

On a side note. I find it amusing that none of the 4cyls can get better highway mileage than my 2006 g6v6. (epa rated 22/32) The only 4cyl to get better city mileage than my 2006 g6v6 is the altima. And my car has v6 power!

[Val06SS]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

I like the way GM underrates the MPG the Malibu gets, especially the 4cyl model. Pretty sure 30mpg city is a piece of cake, i know i can get close to 27mpg city driving like an old man lol

[mrslcom]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

They forgot to include the Mazda6.

The Altima is very fast for a 4 cylinder. It's as fast as our GT with a V6.

Too bad the Malibu has one of the lowest top speed.

The Sonata is one of the most expensive? It's even more expensive than the Camry and practically the same price as the Accord? Who in their right mind will pick a Sonata over a Camry or Accord then?

I love the new Malibu. It's a great car. But other than the new styling, I can't see GM made much improvement mechanically over the 2004-07 Malibu. All the hardware are pretty much carried over from that generation. So it's funny how it can go from an under-performing mediocre car to one of the best on the market.

One final note, the EPA gas mileage rating was revised and lowered in 2007, so the 2008 rating is not directly comparable to those of 2006 or earlier.

[mrslcom]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

I like the way GM underrates the MPG the Malibu gets, especially the 4cyl model. Pretty sure 30mpg city is a piece of cake, i know i can get close to 27mpg city driving like an old man lol

You're lucky then. On my G6 V6, I never get more than 20 mpg in the city no matter how gentle and fuel conscious I drive.

[wormhole]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

Thanks for the post, a lot of good info there. I saw it on the news stand today, but didn't have a chance to look through it.

[GTPGuy82]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

so are they out yet? Because I still haven't seen one. And I've seen about two dozen of the new accords...both sedans and coupes

[newbiestyle]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

yes, I've seen plenty, most of them the 4cyl LT model though. The v6 LTZ is very rare. It just depends on what part of the country you live in. I think if you live more towards the coast or in a major city your more likely too see imports than you would a domestic. I know I see a lot more of the new accords in chicago or around boston than I do in kansas city.

[cdipier2]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

the new malibu's styling is starting to grow on me. it dont look half bad at all

im glad that it did good in their tests

[newbiestyle]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

yeah the first time I saw it I wasn't too crazy about it, but every time I see it grows on me more and more. I think gm hit the bullseye with it. They just need to advertise better. Running ads that say " the car you can't ignore" isn't getting the message across. GM is trying to steal people away from toyota and honda especially. If I was in charge, I would run ads that bring up the point that the 4cyl malibu LT is quieter than the camry, faster than the camry, gets better mileage than the camry, has more standard equipment than the camry, and costs less than the camry. That would def get the attention of camry and accord buyers.

[mrslcom]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

GM is trying to steal people away from toyota and honda especially. If I was in charge, I would run ads that bring up the point that the 4cyl malibu LT is quieter than the camry, faster than the camry, gets better mileage than the camry, has more standard equipment than the camry, and costs less than the camry. That would def get the attention of camry and accord buyers.

Camry and Accord buyers are more concerned with gas mileage, quality, reliability, than power, speed, standard equipment, or price.

[ianp]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

The Sonata is one of the most expensive? It's even more expensive than the Camry and practically the same price as the Accord? Who in their right mind will pick a Sonata over a Camry or Accord then?

On the Sonata it's listed as "lmtd". The "Limited" package includes Leather, heated seats. I bet all the other cars in the group had standard cloth.
For instance, the leather package on the Accord would have been EXL, Altima would have been 2.5SL, and Camry would have been XLE. So in actuality the Hyundai is a pretty good deal.

[cdipier2]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

i saw one in black today, it looked pretty damn nice

[newbiestyle]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

GM is trying to steal people away from toyota and honda especially. If I was in charge, I would run ads that bring up the point that the 4cyl malibu LT is quieter than the camry, faster than the camry, gets better mileage than the camry, has more standard equipment than the camry, and costs less than the camry. That would def get the attention of camry and accord buyers.

Camry and Accord buyers are more concerned with gas mileage, quality, reliability, than power, speed, standard equipment, or price.

well the malibu has more power than the camry, is faster than the camry, gets better mileage than the camry, has a nicer interior than the camry, and costs less than the camry.

[stahlight]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

C/D still can't bring themselves to put an American car at #1...

This is part of the reason I look so cynically on these magazines -- simply overgrown advertisements for toyota, nissan and honda.

[ahuhn]

Re: C/D- officially compared the 2008 malibu vs competitors!

i got access to a new malibu today interior is pretty nice the 3 neatest things i saw are the drivers window had an express down and UP feature that was neat. the up does have a saftey and will reverse if something gets in the way. both the interior door handles have a little LED in them for back lighting. and all the exterior lights have a little Chevy logo in them