ArcaMax

There is also the hybrid version of the Sonata to consider. Its MSRP of $25,850 is about the same as the Malibu Eco's price - but the Hyundai hybrid delivers significantly higher MPGs: 34 in city driving, 40 on the highway. Note that the Hyundai hybrid's city mileage is almost 10 MPG better than the Malibu Eco's.

The hybrid Toyota Camry ($25,900) does even better: 43 city, 39 highway. That's nearly 20 MPG better in the city - a tremendous difference - for about the same price. And as with the Hyundai, the non-hybrid version of the Camry nearly matches the MPG performance of the more costly Malibu Eco: 25 city, 35 highway for $21,955 vs. $25,235 for the Chevy.

There's also the Ford Fusion to consider. The hybrid version does cost about $2k more ($28,775) but its fuel economy is excellent: 41 city, 36 highway. And the regular (non-hybrid) Fusion does almost as well as the Malibu hybrid: 22 city, 32 highway - and does it for only $20,705.

A third option you might want to look at is the $25,995 VW Passat diesel. It gets 31 city, 43 and costs only a few hundred bucks more than the Malibu Eco hybrid. I'd personally choose a diesel over a hybrid for the long-haul. Ten or fifteen years down the road, the diesel will probably still be delivering the goods. But over that span of time, a hybrid's batteries will probably deteriorate in performance (ability to hold a charge), reducing the efficiency of the drivetrain and possibly requiring expensive replacement.

ON THE ROAD

The Malibu Eco's hybrid drivetrain is almost unnoticeable unless you happen to notice that the engine has turned itself off while you're waiting at a red light - by visually glancing at the tachometer, not by ear. Or if you happen to be watching the power-delivery display on the LCD flat-screen monitor - which shows you what's going on as it's going on. The auto-start function is seamless . In some hybrids I've driven, you can hear and feel the gas engine re-start. The Malibu is more finessed and refined in this respect.

It also helps that the Malibu has a conventional six-speed automatic rather than a continuously variable (CVT) "one speed" automatic. There's less engine/drivetrain noise when accelerating - although not using a CVT probably cost Chevy a couple of MPGs that the Malibu Eco really could use. The fuel economy benefit is why you're noticing more CVTs in service - including in hybrids such as the Ford Fusion hybrid. (The Hyundai Sonata, on the other hand, uses a conventional automatic and still gets extremely good mileage; with a CVT, it'd probably do even better.)

Acceleration is neither weak nor strong - it's very middle of the road. For what it is - and what most buyers probably expect - it is certainly sufficient. Like almost any new car, once you're in top gear, you can trundle along for hours at 75-plus effortlessly, with the engine barely running 2,000 RPM. Getting to 90, 100 mph - and more - is deceptively easy. There's no sign of strain until you're well beyond ordinary speeding ticket territory.

The tragedy of our time is how effortlessly fast (and fairly fuel efficient when running fast) even "family" type cars like the Malibu are - and how illegal it is to make use of what they can do. Given the realities of the American road, a bit less can't-really-do-much-with-it capability in exchange for better everyday mileage would probably be a good swap. 45 MPG and 100 MPH, all out vs. 37 MPH and probably 120-plus.

Handling is a high point - not because the Malibu Eco corners like a BMW but because the Malibu Eco doesn't corner like most hybrids. It feels... normal. Not tail-heavy (or just heavy) as many hybrids do because, well, they are. Having several hundred pounds of batteries bolted to the floorpan is not unlike having several hundred pounds of bricks in the trunk. The typical hybrid car sways and lurches in the curves and when you brake, you feel all that weight trying to keep right on going. But Chevy has very effectively damped the Malibu's suspension so that the extra weight doesn't show itself like a beer belly in a T-shirt two sizes too small. The Eco even feels eager at a clip just above the legal - and it's only when you're well into the not-legal that it begins to get ruffled. But not unsettled. Just the normal body lean and lower grip threshold you'd expect to encounter in a family-type car being pushed harder than it was meant to be pushed. That's all. The Malibu Eco hybrid feels more steady and confident than a non-hybrid Camry - the best '87 Buick Regal Japan ever made - and a helluva lot more so than a hybrid Camry. It also handles with greater agility/confidence than the Sonata hybrid.

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