2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 3.6L

Summary:

A beautiful Chevrolet masterpiece in this segment

Faults:

115,000 km - clunking coming from the front end during turns.

113,000 km - replaced one wheel bearing.

105,000 km - the car shut down on the side of the road; turned out the air intake sensor was dirty, no problem since.

100,000 km - sway bar bushings.

100,000 km - ball joint replaced.

100,000 km - lower control arm replaced.

Interior still looks like new. No interior part has faded or worn out yet. No annoying clunking sounds in my interior.

General Comments:

The car is honestly fantastic, fun and beautiful.

It is not "refined" as other powertrains, but the car has actually demonstrated better fuel economy than EPA estimates, and the car delivers plenty of power when I need it.

The sound system is excellent.

This car gets compliments all around.

As for reliability, not bad. I drive on pot filled roads each day on my way to work, so I expect these problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th March, 2014

2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 3.6L V6 DOHC

Summary:

2008 LTZ Chevy Malibu is one slick ride

Faults:

Minor annoyances:

Left rear passenger door lock actuator (solenoid) failed July '09 (a year and 5 months after purchase); door lock wouldn't function remotely - had to lock & unlock it manually.

Dealership replaced actuator the next day, no charge. They even provided quick curbside shuttle service to my house & back.

Driver door lock also acted up, but only for a couple days. It seems to have resolved itself - am watching it.

Parking brake pedal (foot-actuated) is kind of "iffy". It seems to be mounted too close to the left wall of the footwell (maybe the pedal itself is canted in a bit towards the left wall?), so when applying pressure, my foot slips off very easily, causing the pedal to snap back up loudly and violently with a tremendous "WHACK!", after having gone about 2/3 of the way down. The pedal always feels like it's veering off course when being set.

After that, the parking brake alternates between a "mushy" feel, and then it will present normal pressure while being set. It "free-wheels" over the ratchet mechanism, then it fully engages it, with each cycle. It's quite odd.

Excellent, trouble-free 6 speed automatic transmission, with steering wheel-mounted manual shift paddles. Only problem with the tranny in automatic mode is the soft shifts, both up and down. Somewhat hesitant and balky, so the car needs to be prodded. Needs a new shifting program.

In manual mode, the car really comes alive and feels quite sprightly, especially in turns.

One other minor annoyance, which is really irrelevant: this car's top speed is electronically governed to a paltry 117 mph. Why? Most sedans for the American market are governed to 130, and I'm not sure I grasp even that rationale. Sedans = more potential passengers = more potential deaths than coupes?

With 252 bhp on tap, and with a low drag coefficient, I'm quite certain this car can easily top 145 mph.

General Comments:

In all, I love this car. Beautiful design, inside and out. Great lines. I've had owners of new Audis, Jags & BMWs buttonhole me at gas stations, asking things like: "how do you like it?" and "wanna trade?" It gets looks wherever I go. I just notice. It's a handsome car.

I picked my '08 LTZ 'Bu off the dealer lot in Feb. 2008, 1.6 miles on the odometer. Color is "Red Jewel Tintcoat". It came off the Kansas City assembly line as part of a second, early 2008 improved production batch (the late '07 batch apparently had some issues).

Well-appointed interior, excellent, powerful, eight speaker Bose audio with sub, 6 disk CD changer, iPod/mp3 input, Sirius-XM.

Love the heated, 6-way adjustable leather seats (I have the brown/mocha two-tone interior theme). Love the blue lagoon interior accent lighting.

It's very comfortable, very fast (0-60 in 6.5 seconds), and gets reasonable fuel economy, around 16/25 mpg city/hwy. I wouldn't trade the 3.6L V6 engine for the world.

Last September '09 I drove three friends from Bethesda, MD to midtown Manhattan in just under 3 hours and 45 minutes. We left Bethesda on a Monday morning at 4:30 AM and we pulled into Times Square at 8:12 AM on the nose. I used the manual paddle shift mode most of the way. We literally blasted up there. My friends call it "The Fun Car".

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th March, 2010

5th May 2010, 23:57

I can't say this for fact, but I believe it's likely governed at that speed for insurance purposes. Generally the faster a car is capable of going, the more the insurance companies gouge you.