2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx review from North America

At 6000 miles, CD player failed to eject CD and thus became unusable; will be replaced by the dealer for free (under warranty)

At 7000 miles, There was a slight knocking sound in the transmission, automatically cleared overnight, but still the dealer cleared some stuff in the transmission in a couple of hours.

At 8000 miles, I travelled a long distance in very hot temperatures, and then started uphill and downhill climbs in a national park; the car overheated, and we had to stop for half an hour to let it cool.

Pros: Great ride, handling, steering, comfort, feature-full, very well designed, Great engine, Innovative Maxx concept, great value. Did I mention rear space?

Cons: wind noise; little vague feeling in steering and suspension (which I love actually, but others may not) ; some minor problems with reliability.

Driving experience

There is no match in this price range. I simply love this car -- in fact, I drive the longer routes, so that I can spend more time in it.

The car handles very well, the steering is easy (the variable assist electric steering gives you comfortable and easy control of the steering), ride is quick and very comfortable, the engine hardly makes any sound, car is VERY smooth, a Joyous ride (try it once).

The only caveat -- moderate wind noise at high speeds. I hate the wind noise. (but I think most non-luxury vehicles have similar wind noise)

Comfort & convenience:

Again, among the best in the price range. The seats are spacious, there is lot of legroom, shoulder room, headroom. The rear is the killer. I have the MAXX, wherein the rear seat comfort is unheard of -- with sliding and reclining back seats, and 41 inches of best-in-class rear legroom. The front seat also folds, which is quite useful occasionally (I got a long long cupboard once, kept from right in the back of the car to the front dashboard). The power adjustable pedals, powerseats, lumbar support, manual transmission support, REMOTE START, very convenient front instrument panels (supports lot of customization and information on the front panel -- for example, you can see the current economy mpg, avg speed, oil life; the radio/cdplayer had RDS which allows us to see more data, and to search for particular genres of music on radio, etc), rear wiper, VERY GOOD SAFETY CRASH RATINGS, quite good mileage 21/30 for a V6, delayed lock, etc -- all these features I really love the car for.

Comments

In this price range -- around 20k -- I think this is the best car to buy right now. I test drove and analyzed a lot of cars - camry, accord, civic, corolla, mazda3, impala, stratus, and others. But I think chevy malibu (maxx) stands out.

This malibu IS DRAMATICALLY BETTER than the older Malibu model sold until 2003.

The Maxx concept is particularly the feature you might want to buy this car for -- since this innovative concept is not available in other mid-size sedans (and this is not a Wagon too!)

Whether you have kids or not -- if you drive your friends in your Malibu Maxx once, they will always want *you* to take them for ride! :)

Don't take my words for it -- test drive one and find out. This vehicle grows upon us as time passes, until the time comes when you can't live without it. Incidentally I got to drive this car for a couple of months as a rental car, and then just couldnt buy any other car.