Chevrolet Malibu live at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show

Here’s one car that you could potentially see on Malaysian streets one day – the Chevrolet Malibu. Chevrolet’s D-segment sedan offering used to be split between the US market Chevrolet Malibu and GM Korea’s Chevrolet Epica products, but with the 2013 model year and in line with current trends, both lines have been merged into one global car – the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

Naza Quest has been slowly launching new offerings in various segments. After starting out with just the Captiva SUV and the C-segment Cruze, they’ve gone ahead and added the B-segment Chevrolet Sonic, the Chevrolet Colorado pick-up truck and the C-segment MPV Chevrolet Orlando to the list. Two new segments that they could potentially go into is the large SUV segment with the Orlando-based Chevrolet Trailblazer and D-segment sedan market with the Chevrolet Malibu.

The D-segment has become pretty interesting in the past few years. It has turned from what used to essentially be a Honda vs Toyota fight into quite a vibrant market, with competitors such as the Mazda 6, Volkswagen Passat, Ford Mondeo, Kia Optima K5, Hyundai Sonata and Peugeot 508 luring away buyers that are looking for something differrent than the usual T and H fare. Even Nissan has finally come back into the game with the Teana. Could the Chevrolet Malibu tap into this market?

Built on the Buick Regal’s GM Epsilon II platform, various engines are available with the Malibu depending on markets. There’s a 2.4 litre Ecotec four cylinder making 165 hp and 225 Nm, a 2.5 litre inline-4 making 197 hp and 259 Nm of torque, a 3.0L V6 making 260 hp and 290 Nm of torque, or even a 2.0 litre turbocharged inline-4 making 260 hp and 353 Nm of torque. For diesel heads, there’s a 2.0 litre VCDi engine making 160 hp and 350 Nm of torque.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.