1999 Chevrolet Malibu LS review from North America

I bought this car, 2 days before my college graduation and it was the 'Granny Special' I admit, I went looking for a Buick Century and only drove this car, because it was sitting next to the Century I had previously test driven.

1st impression: Nicer than I expected. The car was very responsive, comfortable and a decent size. Add that to the very reasonable price and I was sold!

1st sign of trouble: 3 days into this new car, there was an problem w/the little green A/C light coming on and off. Quite naturally, the cool air would come and go with this malfunction as well. While this happened, the brake/ABS light stayed on. Though I didn't notice a change in actual braking, the light was hard to disregard. I went back and forth to the dealer and after 11 mos of them, ''not knowing the cause/orgin, I got fed up and made them take care of it before the extended warranty ran out.

2nd Sign of trouble: The front brakes went at about 59,000 miles. the rotors went at about 72,000. Both were less than $200 to fix.

I haven't seen any other 'real problems'

All of the things that impressed me about the car have faded. In fact, I offer this point of example:

Two days ago my buddy rented an 04 rental car malibu, dubbed by chevy as the ''classic''. It was the exact car as mine, but this had a 2.2liter 4 cylinder engine. My car has the 3.1 V6. This new car left mine in the dust. Literally. I know that cars lose a little pep, but that 'pep' that everyone speaks about fades fast.

My previous car, and all my dad's, was a Buick. I like quiet performance, needless to say. This car growls so loud if you punch the gas and the results are hardly neck-whipping.

In fact, my research of other cars --subsequent to the purchase of the malibu--have left me convinced that this car has LOW output for a V6. Need proof? Consider that that the 4 cylinder and the 6 cylinder have no horsepower change. Notable though, is that there is a change in torque between the two.

In all fairness, the car still looks relatively good as it nears its 5th birthday. I have said some pretty negative things, only because I have researched this car and its class counterparts. While Chevrolet may not have broken the mid-sized car mold, (hint, hint: 03 Altima) It is a fairly decent offering in this highly contested car segment.