Holden Malibu 2013 Review

Holden Malibu CD and CDX

What we liked:
>> Affordability and kit
>> Ride comfort
>> Targeted style

Not so much:
>> Steering feel
>> Peaky petrol engine
>> Interior dimensions fall short

With the new VF Commodore only now reaching buyers, that prospect is some way off in the future -- assuming it ever happens in fact. Yet the Malibu is an important car in its own right anyway. It's the car that plugs a gap of sorts in Holden's range, between Commodore and the Cruze small car. As Holden hasn't had an entrant in the medium car segment since the demise of the Epica, the Malibu is faced with an uphill battle to re-establish Holden's mid-size family sedan credentials.

How steep is that hill? Let's look at some recent names from the past: Epica, Vectra, Apollo, Camira...

Only the Commodore itself provided some marketing pizzaz in what we would now call the medium segment, and that was when it slotted into the range between UC Torana and HZ Kingswood, as a much smaller car over 30 years ago.

Can Malibu, with some American design traits (and an American name) revive Holden's fortunes in a post-Epicalyptic era dominated by Toyota Camry? Read on and find out...

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

The range starts at $28,490 (plus on-road costs), with the Malibu CD powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine. Paying $4000 more for the 2.0-litre diesel option raises that price to $32,490 (plus on-road costs). The higher level of trim is the Malibu CDX, which is $31,990 (plus on-road costs) for the petrol variant or $35,990 (plus on-road costs) for the diesel. All variants feature a six-speed automatic transmission by default. Holden's decision makers arrived at the conclusion that there's simply no call for a manual transmission option in this market segment.

Standard features in the CD level of trim include: 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, electric parking brake, 'MyLink' infotainment system with Pandora and Stitcher apps, single-CD/tuner with USB/iPod connectivity and nine speakers, Bluetooth, remote (steering wheel) audio controls, keyless entry/starting, auto-on/off headlights, cruise control, trip computer and 60:40 split-fold rear seat.

Above the CD grade the Malibu CDX is equipped with the following additional features fitted as standard: 18-inch alloys, leather trim for seats/steering wheel/gear selector, dual-zone climate control, rain-sensing wipers, fog lights, LED brake lights and eight-way electrically adjustable heated front seats.

PACKAGING

Most are agreed that the Malibu's best angle is from the rear, with its Camaro-inspired tail lights, and there's a certain Buick look around the waistline in side profile. The frontal styling reflects the car's high score in pedestrian safety and focus on aerodynamics (less than 0.29Cd, according to Holden). Designers in Australia tweaking the Malibu have achieved a front-end style that shares family traits with both (VF) Commodore and the Cruze, but the Malibu is very unlikely to be mistaken for either of the other two cars.

Pundits part company on the subject of the Malibu's interior. The (circular) dials of the major instruments are cowled in angular shrouds that are a design element lifted from the North American market Chevy Camaro, and the centre fascia features an arched surround encompassing the face-level vents, the infotainment screen and everything underneath -- which includes infotainment switchgear, climate control interface and sundry other buttons below that.

Combined with the strakes in between the two tiers of the sweeping dash, which is symmetrical for right-to-left-hand-drive conversion, the overall look is interesting without being offensive to the eye. Others don't agree, needless to say, but it works for me. Holden has gone overboard with trim materials, particularly in the case of the Malibu CDX, which features leather complemented by multiple layers of differently-textured plastics around the cabin, plus matt-finish smooth plastics, carbon fibre and bright highlights. That it's not overpowering is an impressive outcome.

It took a little while to find a reasonable comprise to suit me when adjusting the driver's seat in the Malibu CDX. Adjusting the seat height enough inevitably left the instruments slightly obscured by the wheel, but even worse than that, the seat bolsters are firm and narrowly placed for ultimate comfort. Once again, the base model Malibu CD was better resolved, with a flatter cushion that was also more comfortable, but provided similar levels of support.

Malibu has drawn fire in the US for its lack of roominess in the rear, but with a six-foot plus co-driver in the front seat I found the rear seat was accommodating enough. Headroom was better than just adequate; kneeroom wasn't a problem and there was some wriggle room under the front seat. Still, both Toyota's Camry and the Subaru Liberty are better where outright legroom is concerned. Holden's answer to that is they have a family car that provides more rear-seat legroom if you need it; it's called the Commodore.

A clever use of potentially wasted space is the cubby behind the infotainment screen, which folds up out of the way. The added storage would accept wallets, mobile phones, keys, other things that you might not want to carry around with you, but don't want left in the car in plain view.

The boot space is wide and extends well forward, but is quite shallow, with a full-size spare below the floor. That spare is a Kumho on a 17-inch steel wheel, even in the case of the Malibu CDX, which rides on 18-inch alloys shod with Bridgestone tyres. In other words, drive as gently on the spare as you would if it were a space-saver.

During the drive program, we were overtaken by a Ford Mondeo. It was immediately apparent that the Ford's proportions were much more a matter of placing a wheel in each corner, to employ an age-old automotive cliché. In contrast, the Malibu has more overhang -- front and rear -- and boot space is encroaching on the available rear-seat accommodation, which has forced GM's hand in the US, fast-tracking a slightly roomier upgrade. Holden doesn't expect the Malibu's packaging to generate buyer resistance in Australia. Time will tell.

MECHANICAL

MacPherson struts at the front are complemented by a multi-link independent system at the rear, and Holden engineers have revised the spring and damper tuning to suit Australian roads. Petrol models gain electrically-assisted steering to conserve fuel, but the diesels retain hydraulic assistance, due to difficulties encountered by the engineers tasked with swapping the wheel to RHD for the diesel models.

17-inch alloy wheels are fitted with Kumho Ecsta 225/55 tyres for the CD, and the Malibu CDX features Bridgestone Potenza 245/45 tyres on its 18-inch alloys. Braking is handled by ventilated front discs for both grades, with the rotors one inch larger in diameter for the diesels. Diesels also gain ventilated disc rotors at the rear.

The lightest variant in the range is the base model Malibu CD, powered by the petrol engine and weighing 1583kg. Diesel variants add a further 70kg of weight to the kerb mass and the heaviest variant in the range is the Malibu CDX diesel, at 1684kg.

SAFETY

COMPETITORS

The top-selling car in the segment is the Toyota Camry, which sells mostly to fleets. In the main, private buyers are unlikely to choose the Camry over other offerings in the segment, but it is a fairly competent car nonetheless, and in Hybrid form was our choice over Ford Falcon XT EcoBoost and Holden Commodore Omega.

Leaving aside the fleet queen of the segment, there are other models that will more than give the Malibu a run for its money. The Mazda Mazda6 is the current darling of the segment, but the Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord Euro, Hyundai i45, Kia Optima, Subaru Liberty and Suzuki Kizashi are all very competent cars dynamically, and generally represent good value for money. The Malibu may hold an edge over many of them in respect of the latter, but not the former.

ON THE ROAD

Holden's input in the tuning of the Malibu for local conditions showed up early in the new car's balance of ride and road-holding. The mid-size sedan, particularly in the upmarket CDX specification, provided quality ride comfort over rough and ready country roads, and impressed with its grip on what was a bad-weather day even by the standards of Melbourne and country Victoria.

What let the Malibu down primarily was its steering. The electrically-assisted steering of the petrol models was very light and almost completely devoid of feedback at the straight-ahead. Much to my surprise, the hydraulic system of the diesel variant also driven in the morning was even lighter still. On rain-strewn roads the Malibu's lack of feedback was disconcertingly remote, and the wheel required constant correction. That would mean fatigue setting in early on a long distance journey in the Malibu.

In the CD models, with smaller diameter wheel rims and the eco-friendly Kumho tyres, the steering was actually better, but the ride comfort was not in the same league as the CDX models. That said, the Malibu CD managed to quell bumps pretty well nonetheless.

The petrol engine was quiet at cruising speeds, but did labour slightly when the transmission shifted up at low revs dropping the engine speed back to just above 1500rpm. At the other end of the rev range the engine began to sound shrill above 4500rpm. When you occasionally need a burst of performance around town, it's fine as long as the driver understands the engine's power delivery traits. As with many similar displacement four-cylinder engines in the medium segment it needs a few revs in hand for optimum performance.

If you can live with the added noise and vibration the diesel is the better option of the two, in my opinion. It offered a mild rumble even when the car was sitting at 100km/h, and was clearly a diesel at idle, but it took the Malibu's performance up a notch in a straight line. That it's also significantly more economical across a range of driving environments is a bonus. For our run in the country, the petrol Malibu returned a figure of 9.6L/100km and the diesel posted 6.2L/100km. The petrol Malibu should do better than that in the hands of private owners, and particularly once the engine has bedded in, some months down the track.

The six-speed automatic transmission is no ZF, but it will meet the needs of most drivers. It slurred gear changes when either engine was under load and occasionally shifted up with a mild thump as the driver was planting the foot. Shifting sequentially is accomplished manually by drawing the lever back to the 'M' setting and toggling a switch on top of the knob -- left for downshifts, right for upshifts. I personally didn't find it difficult to use, although it's ergonomically unsound. Ford has got it right with some of its Euro models, locating the toggle on the right of the knob, where the left thumb can easily manipulate it from rest.

It's fairly easy to pigeon-hole the Malibu by target buyer: Love your gadgets? You'll be enchanted by the Malibu. But if you're the sort of family-car driver who still looks forward to storming up winding mountain passes in the pouring rain, perhaps look elsewhere.

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