https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Malibu
2019 mid-cycle refresh
Chevrolet updated the Malibu in 2018 for the 2019 model year.So, the new ones are at least a little different.
Traded in the Sonata for a Malibu. Dealership issue.
- Thread starter wemay
- Start date
So, the new ones are at least a little different.
There are many new cars that sit so low to the ground one has to fold one's self in to them. I'm a little over 5'10" and I need to be careful.
He also had plenty of warranty left.......
That has been my complaint about every late-model Corolla I've driven. I think the push for better aerodynamics has led to a windshield laid back so low it crowds the passenger compartment. The top of the window is way up by your forehead but the bottom of it is many feet out in front.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Yeah different bumpers and radio.
Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
(Hitting head on pillar / roof getting inside the Corolla vehicle driver door)
This is the main reason why Toyota unveiled the Corolla Cross SUV. No more headaches / less needs for Tylenol and/or ice pack
Should you be in a hurry - run back into the house to grab an ice pack and hold it to the side of your head for relief, when you put the vehicle into Drive Mode to continue your journey, remove the ice pack immediately, but don't store it right between your legs.
We had a Toyota Corolla for 8-9 days (gift from a bump shop when wife dinged her Kia Soul). My head pained me weeks later.
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I wonder - and I'm just thinking out loud here - if part of the reason why Americans have gone all-in for SUVs and crossovers is because "regular" cars have gotten so tight inside? In an earlier thread, I was comparing a 2002 vs. a 2022 Camry and I concluded I preferred the 2002 model for many many reasons. I miss the spaciousness of the older models even if the real numbers suggest otherwise (the headroom issue with the Corolla, for example). If the newer car feels tight inside, it probably IS tight inside.
That's 100% it for me. My daughter's 2016 Malibu is a prime example. I have to curl up to get into the driver's seat or I'll whack my head on the roof line every time. Her 8th gen Malibu looks large from the outer dimensions, but once you're in the driver's seat, does not seem so large.
Our 2015 Versa has a high roof line and relatively high seating for a small vehicle. No small sedan is made like that today.
The more curvy the roof line that less roomy the cabin will be. Just look at the difference. But that affects the looks greatly.
So here we are with cars that not only feel cramped, but actually are cramped, despite having good interior volume numbers.
So here we are with cars that not only feel cramped, but actually are cramped, despite having good interior volume numbers.
How's the visibility in the new Malibu? Do the real parking sensors perform as advertised?
JHZR2
Staff member
I think it’s Japanese cars in general.
It’s not new in the last decade or more…
The windshield thing is no different than Chrysler cab forward from 30 years ago. That certainly did help aerodynamics of course. But I fit in those cars. In the Japanese cars my head hits… it’s why I bought my accord hybrid without a sunroof…
wemay
Site Donor 2023
It's just fine. Yes, the sensor does its job without much fuss or in-your-face alarms. Most of my family is 6ft or less. So we don't find it cramped (addressing a different poster's concern).
I find it amazing how foreign manufacturers get a break over American made vehicles.
Hyundai Kia engines, many of them are garbage and have blown up on consumers over the last decade.
GM will certainly has its weaknesses (like any manufacturer) in some places but their engines and associated components for the amount of cars they produce are reliable as heck, almost bulletproof.
I’m a crazy person with maintenance, and I have been burned in the past on a Honda, Nissan and Subaru, my brother recently on a Kia/not too old/engine blew up.
I’ve never had an issue with a GM engine or transmission. Sometimes the hardware isn’t up to snuff such as simple things like dials controls windshield washers, but even those have greatly improved.
I have decades of experience dealing with GM and Ford products, and my experiences with them have lead me to never buy one ever again.
1979 Pontiac Bonneville with the Buick 350 V-8 had the entire valvetrain just noisy as heck when the car got fully warmed up.
Quiet when cold, but when warmed up, sounded like there was a half dozen sewing machines under the hood.
1985 Mercury Topaz and transmission troubles due to a plastic gear in the transmission that deteriorated 3 separate times.
Fuel Injection system recall because of FIRE RISK. That's just a big old NOPE.
1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with the 231 V-6 that had the nylon timing gear set come apart while I was away in college.
Also burned a valve.
Best American car I ever owned.
Loved that car.
1992 Buick Park Avenue Ultra with the supercharged Series 1 3800.
Yes, it was a great engine when it ran, but oh my god, it was built with crap parts.
Supercharger nose cone leaked like a sieve thanks to the rope type oil seals. It's 1992 for god sakes, why are you still using rope type oil seals on anything that is intended to keep oil inside the engine?
The cush drive parts in the supercharger nose cone deteriorated, and the nose cone knocked all the time.
The magnet on the cam gear just simply falls off, and now you have a check engine light on, forever.
Front engine mount never was up for the torque that the engine produced, and needed to be replaced every year, along with the spark plug wires, which you could see arcing under the hood at night.
The transmission died, and the replacement had the differential EXPLODE the first time I drove it after picking it up from the transmission shop.
Eventually, the hood release cable had stretched so much, I could't get the hood to pop anymore, and that was it for that hunk of excrement.
That Park Avenue was the final nail in the coffin for me ever spending my hard earned money on an American vehicle, for any reason.
My next vehicle was a 2007 Nissan Altima, and I've never looked back.
1998 Porsche Boxster.
2011 Mazda RX-8.
2014 Mazda CX-5.
2015 Porsche Cayman.
2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia.
2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
In 2008, my wife bought a 2008 Chrysler Crossfire.
In the 3 years she owned it, it needed over $21k in warranty work, including the clutch that had a spring break in it.
And when the dealer handed the car back to us with a replaced clutch and flywheel, it immediately set the CEL and went into limp mode the first time the engine was revved over 3k rpms, because the replacement flywheel had a damaged tone ring that nobody noticed during install, and that nobody bothered to check during the post repair test drive, that I doubt actually happened.
She traded that in for a 2012 Fiat 500 Sport on September 3rd, 2011.
Reinforcement to not buy American, since she hadn't had my luck with them up to that point.
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