Cnet MALIBU HYBRID TEST

[regfootball]

http://reviews.cnet.com/sedan/2008-chevrol...tml?tag=bubbl_1

[gm4life]

Bastards raped the thing. And 25mpg pulling friggin hills in hilly Cali isn't bad.

[loki]

2 mode coming in 2 years...right?

better have a DI 4banger for that setup by then.

[regfootball]

yet go to fuel economy.gov and saturn aura hybrid has net 30 mpg for users there.

[The O.C.]

Bastards raped the thing. And 25mpg pulling friggin hills in hilly Cali isn't bad.

The Malibu Hybrid is the new Malibu's only "failing" in my mind......because it's not a true "hybrid" in the Prius sense or GM Two-Mode sense.

Hell....in the A4 I'm driving, I'm averaging 25mpg in mixed driving.....and that's from a sedan with a turbo AND 4WD (granted it's a manual so that helps.)

And that's in hilly SoCal.....with SoCal traffic.....etc, etc.

[Whistler]

GM should have left the Hybrid system out of the Malibu until they are ready for the 2-mode system.

They released it to get publicity has a "Hybrid" in commercials, but all the reviews are lambasting it as "not a real hybrid" and criticizing its mediocre MPG increases.

This will hurt when the REAL 2-mode Malibu Hybrid comes out they will have to start from scratch because lots of consumers will have "Malibu Hybrid = Fake Hybrid" in their minds.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

It's a GM hybrid... So naturally it sucks.

[siegen]

yet go to fuel economy.gov and saturn aura hybrid has net 30 mpg for 5 users there.

[CARBIZ]

I hope these testers aren't so f$#king lazy that they trust the trip computer for their testing! Seriously. The only accurate way to gage mileage is to fill the tank, drive to empty, refill and figure out how many litres it took to drive from a zeroed out odometer. I've been doing that for years and I could get an average of 25-26 combined (American) mpg in the old 2.2 Malibus that I drove on and off.

Did this guy have his 300 lb mother in law and his 2 -200 lb spawn in the back seat, each with large Slurpies?

[Windy-57]

What really sucks about this is that an American brand takes the fall for this. Hybrids have been way underperforming their fuel economy since they came out, but nobody thought to point that out until now? Bull! On top of that, given the way most hybrids work, these tests are largely objective. Sure, you can likely get great mpg out of a Prius currently, but the only way you do that is to crawl off the line, and seriously focus on cruising whenever possible. But then again, you'd get great mileage out of a lot of cars driving like that. But people don't drive like that. That's why GM has the 2-mode because it better fits the way people actually drive.

[Blake Noble]

What really sucks about this is that an American brand takes the fall for this. Hybrids have been way underperforming their fuel economy since they came out, but nobody thought to point that out until now? Bull! On top of that, given the way most hybrids work, these tests are largely objective. Sure, you can likely get great mpg out of a Prius currently, but the only way you do that is to crawl off the line, and seriously focus on cruising whenever possible. But then again, you'd get great mileage out of a lot of cars driving like that. But people don't drive like that. That's why GM has the 2-mode because it better fits the way people actually drive.

Hybrids are nothing but a fashion accessory, in all honesty. If you've got one, you're seen automatically as environmentally conscience, which is all the rage now-a-days, and totally ready for the future, dude.

I'd rather go diesel every time, if I could, over a hybrid car. But, alas, I live in the United States where everyone believes diesels are smoky, smelly old things that clack more than a 1860s steam-engined transcontinental train.

Edited March 1, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[Newbiewar]

Bastards raped the thing. And 25mpg pulling friggin hills in hilly Cali isn't bad.

for a side note... parents camry gets average of 18-20mpg... non hybrid

[ZL-1]

The Malibu Hybrid is the new Malibu's only "failing" in my mind......because it's not a true "hybrid" in the Prius sense or GM Two-Mode sense.

I agree: GM should have called it 'Efficient Dynamics' or something like that.

Edited March 1, 2008 by ZL-1

[Drew Dowdell]

uh... I just got 25mpg average in the CTS last weekend on a road trip through PA doing 80.

they must have beaten the thing.....

[The O.C.]

I agree: GM should have called it 'Efficient Dynamics' or something like that.

Agree.

GM asked for it themselves.....tried to jump on the "Hybrid" (as a word) bandwagon with an inferior product.....and now consumers and reporters are pissed because GM's "Hybrid" Malibu gets like 1-2 more mpg overall.....

The mild-hybrid isn't a bad system.....it just should have been marketed differently.....

[The O.C.]

uh... I just got 25mpg average in the CTS last weekend on a road trip through PA doing 80.

they must have beaten the thing.....

I'm sure yours was steady-state freeway cruising.....

They were most likely using the car in very mixed driving......

[Newbiewar]

I'm sure yours was steady-state freeway cruising.....

They were most likely using the car in very mixed driving......

I know of a review, where the Corvette z06 acheived a average of 4 mpg...

you can always drive a car hard... its the japs cars that you beat them into the ground and they still get x mpg, because they've got no hp or torque and they use everything they got to maintain a normal speed...

it really isnt anything to say, hey i can get my wifes civic down to 15 mpg... (dont dobt i could do it) but if you tell me, trying to drive like a grandma, i got this best to 37 mpg... pretty impressive...

the two are completely different scores... cause that vette gets 4mpg, around nuremberg screaming a few miles below 200mph most of the way