2013 Chevrolet Malibu 2.5L

After gas prices started strangling truck sales, the 2008 Malibu was an early bright spot in Chevrolet’s volume-car lineup. The sedan claimed a spot on our 10Best list for 2008, but was not without its shortcomings. Its styling was clean but unexciting, and the back seat in particular wasn’t as spacious or comfortable as those in its chief competitors.

Redesigned for 2013, the Malibu addresses a few of those complaints—and ignores or even exacerbate others. It’s 2.7 inches wider, but the wheelbase is significantly shorter—down 4.5 inches—and rear legroom shrinks by 0.8 inch. Measured interior volume is up 2.6 cubic feet, but the reduction in length means that major gains are in hip- and shoulder room when they really needed to be made fore and aft. The trunk grows one cubic foot, from 15 to 16. Front suspension remains a strut-type setup, and the rear is still a multilink. Variable-assist electronic power steering is standard on all Malibu models.

Chevy also offers a mild-hybrid Malibu Eco and a turbocharged 2.0-liter range-topper with 259 hp, but the car tested here packs the base engine, an all-new naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-four. With a block and head cast from aluminum, dual overhead cams with variable valve timing, and direct fuel injection, the 2.5 is state of the art. With 197 hp and 191 lb-ft of torque, it’s also quite potent—that’s more twist than any other base four in the Malibu’s segment. Better still, its EPA-estimated fuel economy of 22 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway betters last year’s weaker (by 28 hp) base motor. All 2013 Malibus get a six-speed automatic transmission.

Warning: Tirade Ahead!

So the new Malibu’s specs paint a mixed picture. (Less legroom? This is a class in which space and comfort are of the utmost importance.) In person, though, our consensus is that it paints a flat-out discordant picture. Style is an individual preference, so all we’ll say is that we’re not fans.

Open the door, though, and you’ll forget all about the exterior styling. Discretion is not just the better part of valor, it’s the better part of everything. It enables such enjoyable phenomena as social drinking and civil disobedience, but you won’t find discretion in the Malibu’s interior styling. There is an overwhelming assortment of colors, textures, and finishes inside, and our example’s optional two-tone leather makes the Malibu’s cabin look like the equivalent of a Top Chef challenge in which contestants must use every one of a wild assortment of ingredients—including American cheese. We counted at least eight different materials/textures—not pieces, mind you, but different types of material—making up just the front door panel, and we didn’t even count the little parts. The seats in our car were black leather with teal stitching, orange-ish-brown faux-football-look inserts, and piping that was almost the same color as the football-looking swaths but not quite.

That’s Where All the Restraint Went