For now, of all the brands that are represented by Naza, only Chevrolet that is less seen on our road. Doom by the low resale value, and the uncertainty of the now defunct Daewoo's quality, even after the great GM acquisition, the brand still has a long way to go. Consumers here will always be attracted to the Bumblebee - The Chevy Camaro - The Transformer, but a real vehicle that could not transform to a robot, will have its resting place mostly in the showroom or warehouse instead of being driven on the road. With Naza Quest latest promotion, a 2014 manufactured Malibu is now asking for only RM139k.
The D-Segment Malibu is powered by a 2.4-litre Ecotec engine and mated to a 6-speed gearbox, which is capable of 165hp/225Nm of power. Horsepower does not look impressive here, but the torque should be good enough to pull this car effortlessly. At this price, the Malibu is almost fully loaded with all the wannabe equipment, which include stability control, tire pressure monitoring, HID light, rear camera, auto dimming rear view mirror, push-start button, cruise control and the Chevrolet MyLink 7" touch screen audio system. Almost perfect, but only 4-airbag in a family sedan? Naza has always been good at bringing in high specifications car, why the imperfection here?
The interior built quality is very good for a GM/Daewoo production. The Malibu is solid and could be mistaken a muscle car with its bold front and Camaro-like rear taillights. The dual-binnacle meter cluster add a touch of sportiness, but the manual gearshift selection via button selection on top og the gear stalk is a total let down. A pair of paddle shift or gated +/- gear shift will be much appreciated instead. The seat are part leather part vinyl, where both front are power adjustable with lumbar control, prove to be very comfortable.
If one scroll down the list of equipment, the engine could be remote started, which is a feature useful for country with winter, where warming up the car is necessary. But in Malaysia, this feature will only mean waste of petrol and an open invitation to car hijacking.
Knowing that the Chevrolet could be a tough sell here, Naza is bundling a 200,000km/5-Year warranty to the Malibu. It is one of the decent choice for a D-Segment sedan, but do shop around in the Hyundai, Kia, Honda or Toyota showroom first. Anyhow, limited service centers is a challenge, and if one don't mind having an immediate depreciation of 50% when the car is being registered with your name, the Malibu does have some traits from the Transformer, though it will not drive itself or transform.
