Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

Chevy massively improves the Malibu in style and performance

By Shahzad Sheikh

Click below to watch my 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Turbo Sport Review

Forget the old Malibu, or whatever has gone before, this is a new car, and thanks to perfectly judged new styling that transforms this everyday cruiser into a sharp-suited saloon, this is an appealing looking car.

Inside things are more conventional and familiar, but that’s no bad thing when you need to get on with just getting on. A longer wheelbase frees up more room to bring it in line with the class average when it comes to rear legroom. It’s safe too, with a five star American crash test rating.

There’s two engine options – a 2.0 and 2.5. And you’re now thinking the 2.5 is the more premium model. Nope. That four-cylinder engine produces 186bhp, while the 2.0-litre Turbo four-cylinder churns out 250bhp and 260lb ft of torque, giving it a 0-100kph time of under 7 seconds.

So the full lineup goes like this:

2.5 LS – AED77,600 ($21k)
2.5 LT – AED88,380 ($24k)
2.5 LTZ – AED103,510 ($28k)
2.0 T LT – AED94,600 ($26k)
2.0 T LT Sport – AED99,600 ($27k)
2.0 T LTZ  – AED113,360 ($31k)
2.0 T LTZ Sport – AED118,360 ($32k)

The car featured in this review was a top spec version and proved to be a plush and comfy companion over a few days.

In light of the ‘Sport’ badge and the black bow-tie on the grille (or should that be between the upper and lower slats of the double-grille) the performance is pretty potent. It puts the power down well and the six-speed auto is smooth and slick.

More surprising, as you’ll see from the video, is that whilst the ride comfort was as expected – that is reasonably well controlled and very comfortable – the handling proved better than I initially assessed it to be. A sharper turn-in, more able road holding and positive steering were something of a revelation.

The Chevrolet Malibu is a good-looking, great value saloon that brings the correct combination of ingredients to serve up a solid saloon that earns its place on your short list.