2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Road Test and Review

2017 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid exterior front angle Nicolas Stecher ・ Photo by Nicolas Stecher

There aren’t too many cars traversing the road these days that could make a 500-mile, three-day road trip without a single stop at a gas station. But Chevrolet’s Malibu hybrid was up to the challenge and proved that while crossover ownership is surging, there’s still a lot to like about a spacious, well-engineered sedan. The Malibu hybrid offers otherworldly efficiency returns while still making the drive feel like a road trip — not a commuter sentence. Here is what we learned about the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid.

It's a great road trip car.

When you’re embarking on a 500-mile, 3-day, 7-state tour being comfortable is of primary importance. And in every metric, the Malibu hybrid meets expectations (and often exceeds them). From the quiet of the cabin to the smoothness of the CVT transmission, this is an eminently comfy ride — with segment-leading interior appointments and a surfeit of tech offerings to boot. Whether it was stuck in the gridlock of nightmare DC traffic, swooshing unencumbered on open New England freeways, or negotiating the twisting labyrinth of Boston’s one-way cobblestone streets, the Malibu hybrid was always the most calming presence on the journey.

Photo by Nicolas Stecher

It's more fun to drive than you might guess.

We’ll get to the particulars of the hybrid powertrain in a second, but it’s important to note this isn’t an eco-car neutered of any personality. While its modest 182 horses won’t keep you up at night dreaming of the Nürburgring, the Malibu Hybrid does an excellent job of adapting its Volt/Bolt electrification unit to juice the gasoline engine’s performance at low revs. The instant torque from the twin electric motors can goose the sedan with a surprising amount of low-end push — even more so than the regular Malibu. It’s also composed to drive; its suspension is compliant enough to roll over Manhattan potholes without too much pain while remaining taut and not sacrificing driving precision.

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What about that powertrain?

The Malibu hybrid is the result of knowledge gained through GM’s advanced electrification work developing the Chevy Volt hybrid and Bolt plug-in EV. For the Malibu, the engineers swapped out the Volt’s 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and installed a larger 1.8-liter four-banger instead. While this adds weight (about 45 pounds), it also increases horsepower and charging voltage of the battery pack.

The air-cooled 1.5-kWh lithium-ion battery is installed in the trunk and feeds twin electric motors that can power the midsize sedan up to 55 mph on electricity alone. The petrol engine then comes in for higher speeds, when more power is needed (e.g., driving uphill), or when the battery needs to charge. The combined output from the engine and twin electric motors is 182-hp (at 5,000-rpm) and 277 lb-ft of torque (at 4,750-rpm).

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Fuel Efficiency

When you can drive through the gridlock of Washington DC, then through the traffic of Delaware and New Jersey, and finally head into downtown Manhattan and through New England farmland to reach Fenway Park, all without ever visiting a gas station, you truly have overcome a real-world MPG challenge. This Malibu hybrid’s efficiency is more than impressive: 43 mpg on highways, 47 mpg combined, and a spectacular 49 mpg in cities. The TFT screen in the gauge cluster — set between the speedo and tach — read “507-mile range” when we first slipped into the Malibu, and we never even came close to having to fill up the entire trip.

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A comfy cabin with a few surprises.

The Malibu Hybrid is better looking than many of its segment competitors, a stable of bland commuter-first people movers engineered to get you from Point A to B with as little fuss — and excitement — as possible. With its sloped, four-door-coupe profile, and elegant lines, Chevy designers wanted to move the needle on the Malibu’s aesthetics — even if the linework might sacrifice a bit of rear visibility. This attention to design continues into the interior, where our tester featured a healthy amount of leather (e.g., seats, steering wheel, shifter, armrests) matched to a clean, simple cabin design layout. It's nothing fancy, but it's ergonomically considered and sufficiently spacious for long drives.

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Roomy Interior and Cargo Hold

Part of the enjoyment of driving the Malibu Hybrid is its spaciousness — both for front and rear passengers. We drove our friends around Boston in the back seat and never once heard them complain. The one aspect that suffers in the hybrid vs. traditional Malibu is the trunk, where the placement of the 80-cell battery pack means you lose a little over four cubic feet (11.6 cubic feet versus 15.8) of cargo space. Also, the battery pack blocks some of the rear seat's pass-through access. However, with several bags of luggage between us all, we never found the cargo space to be lacking.

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Batteries (and Technology) Included

The Malibu hybrid comes loaded with standard features like dual-zone automatic climate control, rearview camera, color TFT screen for the driver, satellite radio, keyless entry, steering-wheel controls and an electronic parking brake. It also comes with technoloy like Bluetooth connectivity and Chevrolet MyLink, with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as OnStar with 4G LTE to make the Malibu hybrid a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot. It’s clear GM wanted to appeal to younger, tech-savvy buyers with how they packaged the hybrid.

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Options Galore

Despite how loaded the Malibu hybrid is, there are still option packages available. Our tester came with the Convenience and Technology package (+$895), consisting of a larger 8-inch display, wireless device charging capability, dual USB ports in both the front and back, 110-volt outlet, auto-dimming rearview mirror and remote start.

The Leather package (+$2,140) is also an appealing option — you get a 6-way adjustable driver’s seat with heated driver and passenger seats, and the base 6-speaker stereo is swapped out with a 9-speaker Bose premium system instead.

If you're looking for advanced safety technology, the Driver Confidence package (+$1,195) has it all: Front and Rear Park Assist, Side Blind Zone Alert with Lane Change Alert, Forward Collision Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Front Pedestrian Braking.

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So what's missing?

Funny enough, the Malibu Hybrid is missing many of the cosmetic bells and whistles other OEMs pepper their hybrids with to let the Joneses — not to mention the proud driver himself — know this is an eco-credentialed “green” car. The bodywork is the same as the non-hybrid Malibu; the only clue is the minimal “H” badge over the taillight. Even the interior is spared of that garish Prius screen showing you which direction the power is flowing from — the battery or ICE — as if that ever comes in handy.

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Even fully loaded, the Malibu Hybrid is a good value.

Taking the Malibu hybrid on a multi-day road trip is one way to allow the impressive aspects of the car come to light. It competes well against other hybrid sedans like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Ford Fusion.

While its starting price ($27,875) is a bit more than most of those other competitors, the Malibu hybrid comes loaded with standard features that when comparably packaged makes its pricing a value. Even our tester, fully loaded at $32,730, offers a lot for its price. If you’re in the market for a midsize sedan — hybrid or not — you owe it to yourself to give the Malibu Hybrid a quick drive.

Photo by General Motors