First Drive: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu ECO

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InMotor Trend's September cover story on the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, Mark Moussa said that the latest car on GM's Epsilon II platform would split the ride-handing trade-off between the Opel Insignia (stiffer) and Buick Regal (softer). Although limited first drives on a company's own proving grounds never tell the full story of how good or bad a new model is, a limited first drive at GM's Milford Proving Grounds has Moussa's back.

Chevy provided gas and hybrid Hyundai Sonatas for comparison, a smart idea as the all-new 2012 Toyota Camry does nothing to advance the segment, and because the 2013 Honda Accord and Ford Fusion aren't available yet. The Sonata is as far from a "sporty"-handling car as the segment offers, though the conventional internal combustion-only version is as quiet, smooth, and refined as the average midsize customer demands.

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Chevrolet offered us only the Eco version of this new Malibu, since the non-eAssist 2.5-liter four isn't ready yet. Like the Buick Regal and LaCrosse eAssist models, the 2.4-liter Ecotec four's eAssist replaces the alternator with a 15-kW motor generator connected to a 115-volt lithium-ion powerpack tucked behind the rear seat, eating up some trunk space and producing regenerative braking. Chevy expects the EPA will give it a healthy 26/38 city/highway mpg estimate when it's tested later.

The '13 Malibu Eco goes on sale here in the first quarter of '12 and the new 2.5-liter model will be added to the mix by summer of next year. The new Malibu will launch in Asian markets ahead of this, but not with the 2.5.

Even on low rolling resistance tires on exclusively Eco 17-inch wheels, the new Malibu is quiet as, well, a Buick in terms of wind, engine, and tire noises, while avoiding the Sonata's occasional tire thump. While the "quiet-tuned" Buicks were to have exclusive sound-deadening packages, GM has trickled down most of that to the midsize Chevy.

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On Milford's handling course, the Malibu stopped just short of being sport sedan-stiff in handling the deliberately bad pieces of road and dips and bumps. On two righthand curves notorious for chatter bumps, the Malibu was better composed and more controllable.

On a particularly bad dip that would have really extended and compressed the chassis at 60 mph of virtually any GM car a decade ago, the Malibu's damping blunted the reaction enough to prompt an extra 5 mph on the next go-around. While the Hyundai felt happiest lapping the handling course at 55-60 mph, it took concentration to keep the Malibu down to those speeds. It seemed to want to go another 3-5 mph.

On a 30-35 mph slalom, the Malibu seemed to want 35, while the Sonata wanted 30. The Chevy displayed much better and quicker turn-in, and milder understeer. The steering felt light yet precise, with enough feedback to belie its electronic power-assisted steering. GM's version of EPAS tuning has come a long, long way since the Pontiac G6.

The eAssist's stop-start qualities are far smoother than most other examples we've sampled, including the European-spec BMW X3. It's smoother than the European-spec Mazda's CX-5 (which is very good) in that it felt completely seamless, rather than mostly seamless. The eAssist powerpack takes up some space in the deep trunk, though not as much as Hyundai's Sonata hybrid battery pack. Even with the powerpack, the Malibu Eco's split rear seat folds down.

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This all comes with the caveat that if the longer real-world drives, which we'll get just before Christmas, don't reveal flaws, Motor Trend's full first instrumented road test probably will. The most definitive conclusion from this short drive is that the '13 Malibu, even in high fuel mileage form, is going to be on the more exciting side of the industry's most boring segment.

Launching with the 2.4-liter eAssist engine isn't automotive altruism, though. GM moved the Malibu's development ahead about six months, so it'll launch about the same time as the '13 Ford Fusion/Mondeo, and possibly a few months ahead of the '13 Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, and Mazda6. The 2.5 simply wasn't ready for accelerated program development.

The Malibu Eco's 2.4-liter Ecotec four would be nothing special, at best, without the eAssist mild hybrid system. The 2.5 Ecotec is the first member of GM's all-new four-cylinder engine family, says Michael Anderson, the engine's global chief engineer.

Goals for the new engine family are efficiency, refinement and low friction, he says. Friction is down 16 percent over the 2.4 it replaces, and while GM doesn't have final power and torque numbers, Anderson estimates more than 12-percent more horsepower and more than 14-percent more torque. Applying those numbers to the '11-'12 Malibu's 2.4 and the 2.5 would make about 189 horsepower and 182 lb-ft.

The 2.5 Ecotec is a "mirror image" of the 2.4, with the front takedown exhaust and other asymmetric parts on the opposite side, Anderson says. Features include a two-stage thermostat that allows higher oil temperature and lower viscosity (5w20 may be used), contributing to friction reduction; an all-new combustion chamber; a variable displacement vane oil pump linked to the electronic control module; and special attention to engine parts to reduce noise. It has structural cam covers, a forged steel crankshaft from the turbo fours, an isolated fuel rail, acoustic intake cover, a structural front cover and cam cover with more attachment points, and more.

Anderson won't give the displacement range of the new engine family, though he allows that it starts above the 1.6- to 1.8-liter family. The new Chevy Malibu, like Ford's '13 Fusion/Mondeo, is Chevy's first global midsize car, and the 2.5-liter Ecotec adapts the design of those smaller, European GM engine designs.