In a curious move, Chevrolet has given it’s D-segment Chevrolet Malibu a facelift just a little over one and a half years after the current 8th generation rolled off the assembly line in October 2011. We featured the original pre-facelift car in our Seoul 2013 live coverage earlier this year.
The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu competes against cars like the Toyota Camry in the US market, while the larger Chevrolet Impala tackles the likes of the Toyota Avalon.
The US market must be really competitive right now, as earlier we saw a facelift for the USDM Civic fast-tracked as well. According to GM North America president Mark Reuss, the mid-sized sedan segment (the D-segment) is the most contested in the US automotive industry, so GM wasn’t going to ‘sit still’ with the new 2014 model year Malibu.
Enhancements include a revised front-end, extra 31.7 mm knee room for the rear passengers, a redesigned center console, 14% more torque for the 2.0L turbo (now 259 hp/400 Nm), a new 196 hp/253 Nm 2.5 litre normally aspirated direct injection engine with variable valve lift control and start/stop technology for 5% better city mileage and 3% better highway mileage, suspension improvements derived from the larger Impala, new safety features called Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, better brake feel thanks to improved booster tuning, and revised transmission programming for quicker shifts.
The extra legroom for the rear passengers was achieved by reshaping the front seatbacks as well as revising the cushion sculpturing and material to allow the passengers to sit deeper in the rear seats. The new centre console has a longer armrest for better comfort, and there is a pair of cupholders as well as dedicated storage for two mobile phones.
The Chevrolet Malibu is GM’s global D-segment car, which merged a line-up that used to offer the Malibu for the US and the Daewoo-engineered Epica for other markets. This means that if Malaysian Chevrolet distributor Naza Quest were to ever decide to enter the D-segment, this would be the car that will be introduced here.
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This one will coming soon to Malaysia under Chevrolet Global Car program.
Going to challenge Kia Optima K5. This is quite a good looking.
It’s good looking indeed, I personally find this as attractive as the Mondeo.
If it comes here with adequate specs(big rims,engine,etc) and priced right (around RM150k-RM160k region) it would be okay or else I dont think many people would buy it.
There’s one hidden at the back of the Chevy SC in Naza Auto Mall Fed Hwy. Very nice looking car. SC staff were evasive when asked about it. Shipping tags clearly show it was from GM Thailand
It’s too close looking to their other sedan here. It is nice though. With good pricing should sell well.
Toyota..u see.
Chevy facelift, alot refinement and upgrade.
Performance UP, FC increase.
But your vios, camry.. facelift…
add kits or little gadget..
learn from them.
In the American car websites ,the hate with this pre-FL Malibu is up there with the Toyota Camry, I have no idea why it’s that bad. It’s a pretty good looking car but the interior can use a little spicing up.
No idea.
Drove a brand new top of the line 3.6 v6 powered model for a week and I have nothing but good things to say about it… Especially if you have prior experience with how bad GM used to make cars. Good power, responsive 6sp auto, good interior, looks pretty sharp, comfortable, handled pretty good (the top model had sports suspension option) for a GM and not that thirsty.
Probably the closest GM got to sell a European tuned car stateside given its based on the Insignia.
Not sure why they messed with the interior. The original dash was way better looking. Case in “don’t fix what ain’t broke”….
My in-laws had one for 2 years..but will be trading up to the new impala once the lease expires next year. The 2.4 4 cyc LS model retailed at 22k after discounts. Cheap!
They also made available 10 airbag option for the new FL. We are still struggling to get 2 airbags as standard on our cars……. Lol.
but the engine use direct injection, can it suit with our low quality fuel?
muscle looking car with Camaro butt….i like it
Sharp looking Very European in appearance.
It looks great ! If I was considering buying a car in the RM150-180K price segment. This (If it comes to Malaysia), the Mazda 6 and the Kia Optima K5 would be on the list.
Back is Camaro’s inspiration! The interior I think is so-so only.