Comments: 1-15, 16-23
Nothing. I've driven it too short time.
The car is, in my humble opinion, for ones who like a bit faster drive. May the target audience be youngsters looking for comfort or mid-aged looking for sportiness.
It feels stable when cornering near limits. The car sings along with Your energy in one of those days when feeling really good (or bad). Relatively big body has some characteristics of a ship though, so don't loose attentiveness.
The engine, 3.5 V6 is ready to pull. It can give You much of a fun, but automatic transmission unfortunately eats it up to some extent. I haven't tried stick-shift, but still think that the compromise in the car is best balanced with automatic.
Comfort features are more than enough for me. But how it handles bad road conditions, needs a discussion. The thing that in automotive can never be balanced is unfortunately comfortable driving versus fast driving. It is no problem for me to feel bumps if car handles as well as Malibu. But people struggling between sportiness and convenience should decide their preferences before going out for a such corner-lover.
As a summary - if You consider Yourself a person with energy and You don't mind a few bumps on the road (on any road in Your life) then Malibu seems a good choice for You.
I doubt that many "youngsters" are going to be interested in a Malibu.
Unless by "youngsters" you mean those under the age of 50?
The reviewer should try to stick to reporting facts and objective observations, instead of talking about the car singing along with your energy, wth that means. This review has nothing useful to report on the car.
I do not think this was a bad review. I really do not think either, that this, or any other reviewer on this site, deserves to be insulted for sharing their genuine thoughts about a vehicle. It appears you do not understand what the reviewer is talking about when he is referring to his energy, and that is OK. Not everyone has has taken the occasion to study/discover the concepts of being in touch with one's energy and the energy around them, so naturally not everybody will understand. Those that do though, will be less inclined to insult others.
I do not own a Malibu, but have actually rented both 4 and 6 cylinder new generation (2004/2005) Malibu's, on some recent business trips, and was highly impressed each time. I am very familiar with the engineering details of the 4 cylinder Ecotec engine in the Malibu (and other GM models), and feel it is one of the very best 4 cylinder engines available and will exhibit excellent long term durability. I am not as familiar with the inner workings of the 6 cylinder, but know it is an updated version of the Chevy 60 degree OHV V6, bored/stroked to 3.5 L. I cannot really comment in too much detail on that engine, except to say that it performed well, and is based on tried and true underpinnings.
In both trims, the car itself handled extremely well and was very driver friendly. The car had a very solid feel. The quality and comfort of the seats were outstanding, and I thought the car itself was stylish.
I would very strongly consider buying a Malibu for myself, were it not that I refuse to pay what any of the manufacturers are asking for new cars these days, which I view as nothing short of outrageous. I will not play the financing game either. To me, a car is just a shell into which to put mechanical components, and the are not worth anywhere near as much as people are asking for them today. It is exponentially cheaper for me to just to keep what I have on the road.
You want to talk about your "energy", fine, do it in another forum.
This one is supposed to be for reviews of cars, not babbling about singing along with your energy--or why you won't buy a new car!
I LOVED the energy comments! It's full of energy! The Malibu (Maxx in my case) just really livens me up when I drive it.
It's a fun, spunky vehicle!!
:-)
The problem with being critical of "energy" as an automotive attribute is that many technical terms are equally as vague or at least misunderstood. Obviously cars are extremely high on the scale of engineered devices, but manufacturers don't always choose to sell engineering, but rather sell "energy" or "fun" or "sex appeal". It is possible to evaluate a machine purely in terms of engineering metrics, but that would leave out the most important part of it; i.e. the people that actually drive it and just maybe enjoy the feeling of "energy" that comes with the experience.
I am 19years old and I am leasing a Malibu. It is only the 2.2 but wow! The ecotech definitely knows how to handle the weight of the Malibu. I do believe that all youngsters should not cross out the Malibu, not only is it quick, but it looks good too. I personally have found that it is also very good on gas. I would also recommend the 4 cylinder just for the fact that you will not have to worry about the lower intake manifold leaking, as GM is known and hated for. I have had the car for just over three months and the only problem I have come across is the visor mirror covers fall off, but the dealer is taking care of that! All in all, the 2005 Malibu makes GM proud!
I have a 2005 Malibu that I drive 90 miles per day to and from work. It has 19000 miles on it now. It has the 4 cylinder engine and is very economical to drive. I have averaged 35 to 37 miles per gallon. I have had no problems at all with this car. It is very comfortable to drive, it has adjustable pedals which I like, being 6 ft tall. It has amazing headroom and a windshield that I can see through without tilting my head to see the traffic lights. The 4 cylinder may be a little under powered for some people, but I will give the extra power for the economy. It is a very classy looking car for the money. It was window stickered at over 22,000. I wrote a check for 17000.00 with all the rebates. Fantastic car for the money.
I recently purchased a 2005 Malibu from a dealership.
I was told that it had been a rental car, that they had purchased in bulk from a national rental chain.
It had 27,000 miles. on it then.
It now has 30,000 miles., I took it in once for a power steering problem.
The dealership replaced the pump and steering rack, and that fixed that problem.
Since then, it has had a strange electrical problem, where the starter has cut out while the key was held in the ignition on position, the dome light would not come on, and the radio not shut off when the driver`s door was open (only the last two, obviously, I wasn`t trying to start it with the door open),and the power door lock (only on the driver`s side) stopped working (intermittently).
The bad part is other than that, I love this car!
I am not being sarcastic.
It drives great (it is just the 2.whatever litre 4 cylinder)
Plenty of power, and great gas mileage, smooth suspension, all the controls are in easy reach, seats are very comfortable, good radio, just easy to drive and park...
But I have to wonder if I`m having these electrical problems now...
What`s going to happen in another 6,000 miles. when it`s out of warranty?
I`ve had it in the dealership twice to fix the electrical probs., but of course it was acting fine then.
They said they could not diagnose the problem while it was working right (twice)
If they can`t fix it, what`s the point of a warranty?!?
I am wondering if anyone else with this model car has had the same problems.
If you have, please put a review on here saying so.
I will check back.
As a footnote, I did notice that the second time I took it to the dealership, there was a lady with what looked like the same car as mine, MAYBE a year older, whose C.V. joints were bad.
My steering rack in my 2004 Malibu was replaced four times before the car went back to GM under the lemon law. I also had power window issues, fuel gauge issues and a new radio. My dealer was nice enough to work with me and swapped me even up for a leftover 2004 Impala, which I have had no probs with. Good luck and hope you bought the extended warranty.
I have owned a 2005 Malibu (new body-style) since Feb 05. From the first week I have had intermittent problems with starting. I have been very patient about this problem in trying to work with the dealer, but no cigar. I have experienced the following:
1.Turn key all the way to the right and engine doesn't turn over, just hear a brief sound and then nothing... dash lights still working at this point. Try a few more times and then it starts without a hitch.
2.Either using remote start or key start and engine keeps turning over, but never starts, even after key has receded back to non-start position, engine still turns over. Someone told me that some Chevy's have this as a Works-As-Designed feature, so you don't have to keep engaging the key.
This problem occurs with both of my keys. Dealer says he can't fix what he can't see. I say he should try something. Seems to me like a relay issue on problem number one. I can live with problem number two if indeed a W-A-D issue.
Otherwise, a really good car.
I have had an intermittent starting problem as well, but only on the first try. If I turn the key and the dash lights go on and nothing else happens, I just turn the key completely off and retry and it always starts up then. This only happens when the car is extremely cold and has been sitting for hours. I work at an auto garage so I know that it is difficult to diagnose a problem that doesn't reoccur so I haven't bothered taking it to the dealer yet. That would just be a waste of time. Have patience! All vehicle's are man made which means there are going to be flaws! You may get a lemon, but don't let that cloud your judgement!
P.S This is from the 19 year old girl from an earlier review.
Thank you all for making my day. This is the best thread I have read on this site... lots of positive energy, with the inevitable negative thrown in so as to balance things out.
Those of us who understand energy use those instances of negativity as a learning exercise, in which to remain centered with our own energy in the presence adversity. So thank you also, to the negative poster.
I agree that the Malibu is definitely a great car for driving with one's energy. I have driven them on a few occasions, and in all cases, found it to be a very nice well put together machine.
You cannot go wrong with the ECOTEC engine. I own one, but not in a Malibu. As far as 4 cylinder engines go, I would not want anything else. GM has the competition beat with this engine, but of course will never get the credit for it. I do think it was a runner up for Ward's Auto World 10 best engines though. I think it should have made it.
The Malibu is a great car, and I agree with the entry. I have a 2004 LTV6 and I love its power, however, I Don't think Chevy thought this through, I noticed in a previous comment, about the ignition, I have that problem too, sometimes it just keeps trying to kick over, and doesen't. Also the horn had to be replaced, (note: this car is garaged) I drive it to school everyday, and when sombody pulled out in front of me on my way, I went to honk, and nothing happened. They said, they ran a maitnence check on the car, and the horn was never actually put in. Somehow, the fuse for the horn was never there. I noticed this when I lock it, and the lights flash and the horn never blew. but overall, a good car. I'm 18, and I feel like an old man driving it, 3 weeks ago, I traded in for a 2006 Passat.
Not a young persons car? Well then if you want to pay more for a Civic and not get nearly as much equipment, then my fellow young people are passing up a great bargain and a great car in the Malibu. I've driven the previous generation as a daily driver, and when that hits the 300,000km mark very soon, I know I will be replacing it with another Malibu! There definitely is an energy from this car!