Malibu moves from elegance to sportiness

The new Malibu will be offered with two four-cylinder powertrains, including GM's new overhead cam 2.5-liter engine with direct injection. It produces an estimated 190 hp and an estimated 180 pounds-feet of torque.

Photo credit: GM

The instrument panel on the new Malibu is a reinterpretation of the two-cockpit design featured in today’s car.

Photo credit: GM

Chevrolet is abandoning the elegant design of the current-generation Malibu for what Monty Python might call "something completely different."

"The term I used on the last car was 'elegance,' elegance in the profile and the length," Bryan Nesbitt, General Motors' executive director for North America exterior design and global architecture strategy, said of the current-generation Malibu. "This is definitely a sporty persona, not an elegant persona."

The 2013 Malibu has been significantly re-engineered and restyled to create a wider sedan with more interior space. Chevrolet says the Malibu is quieter, offers better fuel economy, additional safety features, and ride and handling comparable to some European models.

"This car puts us right in the heart of the market as a viable, credible car to be reckoned with" in the mid-sized segment, said Russ Clark, Chevrolet's marketing director.

The 2013 Malibu was developed on GM's front-wheel-drive Epsilon platform, which is shared with the Buick LaCrosse and Regal. Production of the 2013 Malibu is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2012.

The Malibu was Chevrolet's top-selling car last year. U.S. sales totaled 198,770, a 23 percent boost over the previous year. U.S. sales are down 1 percent for the first quarter of this year, and the Malibu trails the Impala by 796 units.

The new car was unveiled this evening at the Shanghai auto show and during a special webcast. The 2013 Malibu also will be displayed this week at the New York auto show.

While the styling of the 2008-12 Malibu was about refinement, the 2013 Malibu is about sportiness. For example, the new Malibu has a wedgelike profile with the hood line lower to the ground than the trunk lid.

"The exercise was to articulate a fun-to-drive character. We adjusted the proportions to enable that appearance," Nesbitt said.

The car's exterior styling draws on the Chevrolet Camaro, for example, in "some of the surfacing, the little Coke bottle line" featured along the side of the car through to the fender, Nesbitt said.

Aerodynamics was stressed to improve fuel economy. The car's coefficient of drag is nearly as slippery as the Chevrolet Volt's .028. The Malibu is rated at .029.

On selected models, the Malibu has an electrically controlled and integrated shutter system incorporated in the lower intake opening. When closed, it redirects airflow around the front of the vehicle and down the sides, rather than through it.

"At the rear of the vehicle, there is a big improvement in aerodynamics," Nesbitt said. "We worked on integrating a larger spoiler into the back of the car to improve the drag of the vehicle, breaking off the air at the back of the vehicle as you push through."

The interior features materials that offer a more premium look. Ambient lighting runs along the instrument panel and storage pockets. The instrument panel has a new interpretation of the two-cockpit design featured in today's car. The radio is incorporated in a seven-inch touch screen display that articulates up and down. Behind the screen is a six-inch-deep storage area. Navigation is an available option. The car is 2.7 inches wider, translating into a passenger compartment that is four cubic feet larger than in the current Malibu, Nesbitt said. Shoulder space is increased by 1.5 inches in the front row and 3.5 inches in the rear seat area. The car's overall length was reduced 0.5 inches. Additionally, the car's wheelbase was trimmed 4.5 inches, with much of those dimensions shifted to the rear of the car to create a larger trunk. With the creation of a wider car, the front and rear track was increased, 2.5 inches in the front and 2.0 inches in the rear. "This gives a more planted, connected feel to the driver, a more confident level of performance overall," said Mark Moussa, global chief engineer. New safety features include: Optional second-row head/thorax side-impact airbags Optional lane departure warning system with forward collision alert Optional rearview camera system.

The new Malibu will be offered with two four-cylinder powertrains, including GM's new overhead cam 2.5-liter engine with direct injection. It produces an estimated 190 hp and an estimated 180 pounds-feet of torque. The engine incorporates continuously variable valve timing, a variable-displacement oil pump and an electronic thermostat to reduce fuel consumption. Additionally, the engine has such noise-reduction features as a cast exhaust manifold, steel crank and low-noise timing chain. The engine is mated to GM's second-generation 6T40 six-speed automatic transmission. The clutch controls and the hardware have been revised to improve shift response. The changes allowed engineers to specify higher gearing to improve fuel efficiency, GM says. Details about the Malibu's base four-cylinder engine were not released. A V-6 will not be offered. The new Malibu will be sold in nearly 100 countries. Besides two assembly plants in the United States, the car will be built in China.