Driving Impressions

By tradition, a family sedan is a modest vehicle of four doors with little aspiration other than providing reliable, economic transportation. But in recent years, family sedans have been aspiring to more. And this is a Chevy with a touch of soul. As promised, it gets going quickly and pulls strongly, well past the legal limit. Shifting is seamless. A powertrain control module keeps tabs on temperature, altitude and throttle position, then adjusts the transmission shift points for smooth or quick shifting depending on conditions. Visibility is good in every direction with just a little blockage at the C-pillars. Seat position is good, the cushions supportive and the steering wheel and pedal relationship works well for short and tall people. The handling--independent suspension all-around--is vastly improved over past Chevy sedans. The ride is solid with little body roll and the steering is responsive and not over-assisted. Our test driving included some rolling, twisting, climbing, two-lane roads in California, and we were pleased at how Chevy's homework--both technical and human factors--has paid off. The Malibu was quiet, comfortable and totally confident feeling.

Final Word

The Malibu was so good it narrowly missed becoming the 1997 North American Car of the Year, an award given by a collection of automotive journalists at newspapers and magazines around the country. The reason was that although as good as it is, it is not a breakthrough, not significantly better than the others in its class. It was a fair assessment. But the new Malibu is an excellent family sedan. It's the best Chevy sedan yet, and should be on the shopping list of every family sedan buyer.