Car Review - Part 3!

For this past month, I grabbed a Chevy Malibu Maxx LT

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/chevrolet/malibumaxx/100727046/researchlanding.html

The "Maxx" stands for Maxximum Ugly. A coworker asked me what it looked it, and my answer was, "It looks like a 70's station wagon fucked a Grand Prix and they had a retarded baby." I honestly rented this car with the full intent of getting the biggest turd National rental had to offer. I ended being a bit surprised though.

Looks: I think we've covered the ugly part

Interior: Ahh yes, there's the refrigerator like interior I expect from General Motors! Cheapy, creaky plastic abounds. However, the instrumentation is very nice. The gauge pod is quite pretty and easy to read. The center console is also pleasant and easy to use. And those heated seats are noyce on these cold D.C. mornings. The seats are also very comfortable ... sometimes a little too comfortable after you've put in a 14 hour day. :-/ Visibility is quite good other than feeling like you're 30 yards from the back glass. Big glass + narrow pillars = I can see shit. The hatchback is largely vestigal. It doesn't seem like I'm getting much more cargo room unless I pull out the privacy panel. I do however like the little cargo netted compartments on either side of the trunk.

Powah: 217 HP & TQ from the 3.5 V6 which is adequate in a 3500 lbs car. She moves ok. But what you really notice is the responsiveness of both the throttle and transmission. There's virtually no lag! How is that possible in a GM sedan? I don't know, but they did it. When I go to pass I don't get that typical lull period where you wait for the transmission to downshift. It's usually downshifted before my foot gets to the floor. Are you listening, GM? THAT'S how you setup a drivetrain! The brakes are also excellent. I got so used to squishy pedals and over-assisting power brakes, that when I first hit the pedal I thought something was wrong. It was hard as a rock yet it did not require excessive pressure to come to a stop. The feedback from the brakes is confidence inspiring.

Handling: Another big FWD car for you. Yes it understeers. Yes it dives. Yes it loves to spin from a dig. The ass gets very loose in a hard corner. But oh well ... FWD is cheaper! Yay for cheap! :-/ It could be much worse though. Traction is fairly good, and it's a very predictable car. It lets you know how hard you can push it. Suprisingly enough, it wallows a lot less than those Monte Carlos I kept getting. The suspension is very well balanced.

Gripes: My BIGGEST gripe with this car was it's low fuel range. It only takes about 300 highway miles before the idiot light goes off, and the computer starts bitching at you. After a fill-up, the range reported by the computer is 330ish (as opposed to the Monte's which was 430ish). This really sucks when your employer only covers 1 tank of gas per week, and you have a 25 mile commute.

7/10

Random thoughts: So GM can still put together a drivetrain. This is good news. In a larger sense, I have to wonder if they accidentally got everything right (well except for the fugly body and being FWD), or if someone took the time and effort to evaluate things like the brake feel, the throttle response, the suspension throw, etc. Hopefully it's the latter. It just doesn't have that slapped together from a parts bin feel that I'm accustomed to from GM. Maybe there is hope for American cars.