2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid review: Maximum hybrid for the money?

I like the standard Chevy Malibu a lot. It looks good and feels like a ton of car for the money. But this hybrid model, I just don’t know.

I tried to start this car, but it takes so long for everything to initialize that I pressed the ignition button too many times and aborted launch twice before I finally got it rolling. And, when I pressed the start button the second time; it killed the engine while it was trying to start up. It sounded like it was broken. The same thing happened when I was at the store later. So, Chevy has a few things to figure out in that aspect.

Otherwise, this good-sized sedan is just OK to drive. It’s not particularly slow – the electric powertrain helps in that aspect – and it’s big enough and sprung softly enough that it isn’t really affected by potholes. It’s not quiet though. Between the engine buzzing and the road and wind sound, it’s noisy.

These brakes are terrible. They’re regenerative and have no feel whatsoever. The first few inches are spongy and nothing happens. The second few inches are still spongy, but the car starts to slow down. To get to any real stopping power I had to push hard, for a while, to get to the mechanical portion. I few times I had to stomp them to the floor half way through my slowing to get to a full stop.

The interior feels pretty bleak too. The seats are cloth, with no heat, and everything else is basic black plastic and rubber. Styling-wise, I have no problem with it, and the central screen was easy to use with my iPhone. But it does feel Spartan. There’s a ton of room in front and back. Taking four adults – including the driver – wouldn’t be a problem here. The trunk space is cut down by about a third with the hybrid stuff back there.

The base gas Malibu L starts at about $23,000; the Hybrid starts at $28,000. Even with some options, you could still have a few grand to spend on gas before breaking even. And, the standard 1.5-liter four gets 36 mpg on the highway, so it’s not like your choices are a huge V8 or a hybrid. This one gets 43 on the highway, 49 in the city, FYI.

I like the base Malibu. I like the Volt. But the Malibu Hybrid just isn’t for me.

--Jake Lingeman, road test editor

The 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid engine features Chevrolet’s first application of Exhaust Gas Heat Recovery, or EGHR, technology, which uses exhaust heat to warm the engine and cabin. It improves engine warm-up and helps offer consistent fuel economy performance in cold weather.

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I’ll give Chevy credit: Those mileage numbers are pretty incredible…and I was unable to get anywhere close to them. My combined fuel economy hovered around 38 mpg no matter how lightly I drove. That’s still an impressive figure, considering the fact the Malibu is a perfectly usable midsize sedan (with some compromise in the trunk, as Jake mentioned), but it brings the Chevy more in line with apples-to-apples competitors like the Camry hybrid and Fusion hybrid.

I too had startup weirdnesses during my time with the Malibu hybrid. Upon entering the car after the remote start had timed out, it would appear to restart when I pushed the button but the check-engine light came on and the car wouldn’t move in gear. It took several cycles of turning the Malibu back off and on again before it figured out what I wanted to do. I will disagree with Jake on the brakes, though: I think Chevy did a pretty good job with the brake feel -- they were certainly no worse than any other hybrid I’ve driven; put it in L and you can use the regenerative ability to pretty much drive with the throttle. It proved a really effective way to navigate a nasty morning commute.

The Malibu Hybrid is a solid effort by Chevy, and it’s nice to have another efficient option in family sedans; unless you’re a bowtie diehard, though, be sure to test drive some of the very refined competitors before you buy.

--Andrew Stoy, digital editor

The 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid leverages components and knowledge from the plug-in Chevrolet Volt and all-new Bolt EV to provide all-electric propulsion in some driving scenarios and power to assist the gas engine