ArcaMax

The Chevy Malibu is without question one of the nicest mid-sized family sedans - and best deals going - you might drive home in. But what about the new hybrid version? It's touted as being "green" - like all hybrid vehicles - but will it actually save you some green?

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

The Malibu hybrid is what's known in the business as a "mild" hybrid - meaning that, unlike the Toyota Prius and some other "full" hybrids, it cannot actually be driven (beyond a very slight 3 mph creep) on pure battery power alone. Rather, the software turns off the 2.4 liter gasoline engine when you're stopped at traffic lights or idling in traffic in order to save fuel - quickly restarting the engine once you touch the gas pedal.

The battery pack/electric motor also supplements the 2.4 liter engine's 164 horsepower when you floor it, for what GM claims is better acceleration than the 2.4 liter engine would provide all by itself but without the fuel economy penalty of a larger, more powerful engine. A four-speed automatic transmission drives the front wheels.

Performance is not the Malibu's strongest suit. The car needs 11 seconds or more to reach 60 mph, which is slower than most current-year econo-boxes and about 2-3 seconds off the pace of many non-hybrid mid-sized sedans.

Supposedly, the payoff for going slow on the road is going longer between fill-ups. However, the Malibu hybrid's EPA rating of 24 city/32 highway isn't muchof an improvement over the 22 city/30 mpg performance of the standard (non-hybrid) Malibu with the four-cylinder engine.

RIDE & HANDLING

Excellent ride, not so great handling - probably due to the balance-impeding weight of the hybrid gear, which plumps up the Malibu's curb weight. This is a common problem with hybrids in general - the Prius included. It's a design compromise that seems to go with the territory. Not that it handles poorly; it just feels heavier and more oafish than the standard version. This isn't noticeable at low speeds or even at the speed limit, frankly. It's the kind of thing that comes into play when you're going considerably faster. But of course, most people don't buy hybrids for their cornering prowess and in ordinary driving as most people who would buy a car like this will experience, the car does what it needs to do with competence, if not gracefulness.

STYLING AND UTILITY

The just-redesigned Malibu is a good-looking car; one of GM's best efforts in many years. It is proportionate, handsome - tasteful. And the interior is just as nicely rendered. If you have not been in a GM vehicle in a few years, you'll be surprised how much GM has reformed and made amends for past sins. The Malibu's cabin is as attractively laid out and quality-feeling as any Toyota or Honda. The hybrid version gets some hybrid specifics, including a different gauge cluster with battery/boost meter. Otherwise, there are few obvious clues that it's got different running gear from the non-hybrid versions of the Malibu.

One bit of happy news is you don't lose trunk space to the hybrid running gear - as on many other hybrid models. The huge Lexus LS600h, for example, has a tiny 12 cubic foot trunk. But the Malibu hybrid's 15 cubic foot trunk is just the same as the trunk you'd get in the regular version (and bigger than the $90,000 Lexus hybrid's!).

Hybrid or not, this is a superb family car as good or better than anything else in its price range - import or domestic.

QUALITY/SAFETY

Again, Chevy (and GM in general) has really cleaned up its act. Cars like the Malibu show that Detroit is fully capable of building excellent vehicles - when short term thinking and contempt for the consumer haven't addled its management. The tragedy is that it took GM so long to pick itself up off the mat - and get cars like the Malibu into showrooms. Many buyers - including once-loyal GM buyers - have simply given up in the interim and moved on to brands like Toyota and Honda.

The irony is that GM's current cars may be better than Toyota's in terms of quality/reliability. Toyota has suffered a number of embarrassing public disclosures about less-than-great engineering lately - as well as (deservedly) negative press coverage of the way these debacles were handled. Like GM at its worst, Toyota has become ossified and even arrogant - and is in danger of assuming it can live forever on the fumes of its reputation.

Safety-wise, the Malibu's also got the bases covered. High scores in both government and insurance industry crash-tests. It comes standard with ABS, traction control, stability control and full-row curtain airbags. GM's OnStar system is also included. It can alert emergency crews if you have an accident - but not everyone likes having Big Brother (in the form of  an electronic tracking system tied into GPS satellites) riding shotgun.

Chevy packages the hybrid powertrain with a high level of standard equipment, including automatic climate control air conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels, remote keyless entry and a decent stereo rig with six speakers, MP3 player, single-slot CD changer and satellite radio hook-up.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

The Malibu hybrid has two real problems. First, it is under-powered and not just relative to other mid-size sedans but also to other hybrids. The smaller Toyota Prius, for example, is quicker 0-60, in part because it is lighter and in part because it has a more powerful electric motor/battery pack. I live at a higher elevation (appx. 3,200 ft. above sea level) and drive roads that have fairly steep grades. This kind of driving really taxes the Malibu hybrid; like Capt. Kirk in "Star Trek," you'll be hearing the desperate please of Mr Scott warning you that "the engines willna take anymore!" as you try to keep pace with traffic. Pulling onto a busy road can be challenging if you have to deal with fast-moving oncoming cars. I found myself mashing the gas pedal to the floor more often than I would have liked. If I owned this car, I'd be concerned about how over-the-road longevity would be affected by having to ask so much of the engine so often.

Which brings me to the second - and related - problem. The low-performance might be acceptable if the payoff was high economy. But a 2 mpg advantage? One could probably equal the hybrid Malibu's mileage in the standard Malibu just by driving with a light foot. And you'd only be paying $20,630 (for the high-trim LT; the base model Malibu LS is even less at $19,345) vs. $22,140 for the hybrid.

That's an extra two thousand bucks - for two extra MPGs. Maybe the Malibu hybrid's green in terms of its emissions output (which is lowered by having the gas engine automatically shut down when you're at a traffic light, etc.) But it's hardly green where it really matters to most people - in their wallets.

Even at $3 per gallon, two thousand bucks will buy more than 650 gallons of regular unleaded. Assuming you burn through about a tank per week (15 gallons), that two grand will keep you swimming in "free" gas for one full year, at least.

THE BOTTOM LINE

It's hard to rationalize the economics of the Malibu hybrid. The standard version makes a much stronger case for itself, both money-wise and driving-wise. That said, GM says it will have a more advanced Two Mode hybrid system in the Malibu soon - perhaps by the '09 model year. This system, like the hybrid systems in the Prius, offers the ability to drive the vehicle at road speeds on pure electric power alone for serious reductions in fuel consumption - as well as better overall performance under hard acceleration, courtesy of a stronger supplementary boost from the electric motor/battery pack.

That one might be worth waiting for, if you are really hot to have a hybrid. In the meanwhile, I recommend the standard Malibu. It's a great car in its own right - and in its current form makes a lot more sense than its hybrid stablemate.

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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.