I just picked up a new Malibu Hybrid after much searching. This thing was not even on my radar. I just went over to the Chevy dealer to see what they had used and to look at the Corvettes. Once I told the used salesman what I was looking to replace, he said "New Malibu", and took me right to a new car salesman.
I had just driven a Subaru Crosstrek. It sucked. Typical horrible seats of many Asian cars and had hardly any options even though it was "loaded" and no power. The engine screams and it barely moves. Too bad, I like the way they look and they are rated to get okay MPG.
There is nothing that replaces the Passat TDI. One of my criteria was the same size back seat and close legroom in the rear. I also wanted something with the same power and MPG if possible.
Everything was smaller except a couple things and until the Malibu, nothing had the same MPG without being a Prius or smaller car.
The only viable options I could find were a Hybrid Avalon and the Malibu Hybrid.
Avalon hybrid:
You will lose the fold down back seat
Lose MPG, only rated 39/40 and it will suffer more agressive driving
Expensive, 40k+ with options
Towing would surely be worse for MPG especially
You can get oodles more options
It does drive well and seems comfortable
Toyota's in general are super reliable
This was about my only possible choice until I ran across the Malibu
Malibu hybrid:
You give up some trunk space and the pass thru of the back seats is not as big. The Battery takes up some space between the coil spring towers.
That is about the only compromise.
You can get way more options for the money
If you hurry and search hard you can find one with a GM bonus tag (+16% off) along with other discounts and negotiations
Gets better MPG!
Faster!
Has more torque and HP than the Passat
7's for 0-60 and 15's for the 1/4 with 277 ft/lbs with the electric motor boosting
Basically uses the Volt setup with a smaller battery, but a bigger engine.
It will also suffer some MPG off the 46/47 MPG rating with aggressive driving, but still for it's size beats everything else and does as good as the Passat.
I just did a 46 mile commute and it got 42.5 mpg with a good portion of the drive at 80 mph and it is somewhat hilly here. I am sure I could achieve the rated MPG if I stay in the slow lane and let everyone fly past me
Shorter range due to smaller tank, but on par with Jetta.
you can tell it does not have the German build quality, but it is nice and fancier looking.
Ride is not as good as the Passat to me, but its good enough.
Seats are comfortable, but you can tell the ergonomics of things are just shy of the Passat. My gas pedal foot does not rest as comfortable and the volume is on the wrong side of the steering wheel (all the GM have them on the back right). My main driving hand is left.
I got one heck of a deal. I got one with every single option and got lucky to find one with the GM Bonus tag discount, great dealer discount, down payment assistance (-$500), etc. The MSRP was $34,170. I drove it away for $25,297.50 including the doc fees (about $200) and they gave me an extra $500 off because I found a scratch on the bumper that most people would not notice. They also bought me some touch up paint.
This thing makes the Passat or Jetta look archaic as far as tech goes.
Lane assist (adjusts the steering wheel if your veering unintentionally)
front and rear parking assistance
collision detection and warning
Teen driving mode
Phone projection
USB hookups,12v cigarette style connections, and 110VAC
Induction charging pocket for cell phone
Huge sunroof that goes into the back area also.
8" touch screen
Color high res info screen in cluster
Wi-fi
Nav
blind spot detection
Back up cam and the lines curve with the steering wheel
Power drivers and pass seat (heated too)
Ambient LED lighting
Keyless push button start
If you walk up to the door with the keyfob in your pocket, there is a button on the handle that unlocks without using the fob.
Remote start
You can access and control certain functions and sensor etc from the web or a phone app. Start and stop the car, lock and unlock the doors, check tire pressures, tells you if there are any codes in the various computers, shows your trip meters, fuel left and range, oil life etc.
It give tons of info on what the car is doing as far as where it is sending power, regening, etc.
Every time you stop it pops up a report of the mileage you did that trip and what MPG you received.
Everything works off voice commands, texting, navigation, radio/satellite station selection, etc.
The bluetooth calling works even better than the VW which I always thought was better than the other cars I tried in the past.
This was the first car I looked at that even peeked my interest other than a mild interest in the Avalon. it had everything I needed to replaced the Passat.
I suspect these things will go like hot cakes once people find out more about them and get their checks. I did not want to get caught up in the 400K mess of people looking for cars when the checks come in and this was such a great deal that I bought it. They actually sold it the day before, but financing fell through. It was already prepped for delivery when I got there. The ones with the bonus tags go fast if you find one.
It has more cool features and gadgets than I listed here. I would recommend you drive one if your in the market. I know it is a Chevy, but....
I now get to pay less for fuel also, forgot to add that bonus. No urea either to buy and I think fluid changes will be cheaper. The sales guy did throw in a coupon book for 6 extra changes of oil and some rotations along with the two you get standard.
Anyway, now my Passat sits waiting to be bought back, but I might put some more miles on it. There is about 3500 more miles left before I move to a different buy back price.
Oh, I did drive a GLK250 Bluetec and it was tiny. Could not even think about spending 29k on a used one of those to get 33 MPG. I also looked at the 328D, 335D, E250, etc. Too many problems with most of these. You end up losing everything you gain. The EPA stuff just kills these diesels. Every MFG seems to have problems with DPF, carbon buildup, etc. I love diesels, but I just could not find anything worth messing with. I will check back when VW starts selling a new body diesel version of the Passat...if they ever do.
I did also consider just getting a fun car like a Cayman S, 135i, Corvette, etc, but decided it was not wise or practical for my scenario.
Also, You can get one up from the base model of the Malibu in a turbo 4 cyl for 20kish if you find the right one with a bonus tag. That would get you 37MPG and have about as many options as an SE Passat. Just thought I would throw that out if your looking to not spend any more than your getting back.