Long-term update: 2010 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ
The Chevy Malibu LTZ has now become my main mode of transportation, as my Jeep and BMW start gathering even more dust than usual. The Mallu is proving to be a rather comfortable ride, while also keeping up appearances. It looks like a luxury car after all, and behaves like one too.
My usual “CEO” ride is the BMW M Roadster, useful for preserving some dignity at 5-star hotel valets and during dates (unfortunately more of the former than the latter). But the Malibu LTZ is seemingly good enough too. It doesn’t turn as many heads as a bright red sports car, but it does cause a few curious glances from onlookers as they get blinded by the chrome trim. It already impressed the girl I went out with the other evening, who assumed it is some sort of premium ride, and she already owns a Honda Accord. That’s score ‘1’ for the American.
Our preliminary fuel economy numbers are competitive for its class, at around 12.9 litres/100 km, but we did touch 10.7 litres/100 km at some point, which gives us some ideas on what target to set on our next economy test, like we did for the Chevy Camaro SS.
Incidentally, there was a lot of ruckus last week in the States over some internal GM memo stating they will stop using the “Chevy” nickname officially, so as not confuse consumers. While brand fanatics blew their tops in America, it might actually be a good idea in the GCC. My momma knows what a “Chevrolet” is, but never heard the term “Chevy” before.
Original Mileage When Borrowed: 12,131 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 12,350 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 12.9 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Borrowed: Dhs 0
Comments
BJD
AS examples of “globally recognized brands”, the letter mentioned “coke” and “apple”.
hypocritic much? coke is coca-cola and apple never really use their name anywhere.