Holden Malibu CDX

 

 

   

The Malibu replaces the unloved Epica in Holden's mid sized vehicle lineup.

While the Epica was quite a good, roomy, attractively priced car, it never really caught on with buyers.

Epica and Malibu are poles apart in equipment levels and driveability.

Holden is trying to recapture a share of this market with a car named after a California beachside town. The Malibu however is born and bred in South Korea, and that's not a bad thing. Imports from GM's plants there, are fine vehicles, well made, with plenty of today's wanted features.

In fact they make up a goodly percentage of all Holdens sold in Australia.

The only Australian built Holdens, are Commodore, Statesman and Cruze.

The Malibu is a good looking car with sweeping lines, and seems almost as big inside and out as a Commodore, and from certain angles even looks like its larger sibling.

The boot is cavernous and houses a full sized spare wheel.



  



The Malibu is powered by either the 2.4 litre petrol four cylinder (from the Captiva range,) or a 2.0 litre turbo diesel with 117kw and 350 nm.. an uprated engine used in the Cruze.

The petrol engine CDX ,is a good, quiet performer, but when pushed you will know it's working hard. It's not as torquey as I would have liked, just 225 nm and 123 kw.

In a week of mixed urban/ open road driving the average fuel consumption never dropped below 10 litres per 100 k. The factory claim is eight.

Not to worry though, because there's a 73 litre fuel tank.

 

 

The diesel variant is not the quietest under acceleration, but it's a workmanlike sound and not overpoweringly noisy. There's enough grunt to shove you back in the seat under full throttle.

At steady throttle around town it's inaudible, and on the open road is remarkably civilised and does not intrude.

The spread of torque enables effortless acceleration and overtaking, while delivering excellent fuel economy. On a highway trip you'll easily travel well over a thousand kilometres from one tankful. In purely city driving, expect more than 800 kilometres from a tankful.

The six speed auto gearbox is good, holding a lower gear all by itself for downhill braking, although in manual mode, the up/ down buttons on the top of the gearshift lever, are not exactly intuitive to operate.

I found it awkward, but owners would most likely get used to it.

Keyless entry and start are convenience features that will appeal.

There are warning chimes and beeps aplenty in the Malibu.

You will never forget to turn off the indicators, the insistent clicking, sounds like a loud metronome.

Nor will you be able to resist the seat belt reminder chime and its ear piercing call to buckle up.

You will also know when the electric parking brake is engaging/releasing, it's much noisier than similar systems on other cars.

Despite the aural groaning from the rear, the brake holds the car well and disengages itself when you move off.

 
There's lots that will be familiar inside the Malibu. The steering wheel and indicator/ wiper stalks are standard GM fare, also found on other Holden models such as Commodore and Cruze.

 I like the curved sweep of the dashboard into the front doors. Highlighting that attractive architecture, is a thin blue led lighting feature that follows the chrome trim line running from door to fascia. Dials, buttons and gauges are easy to read and use.
The central MYLINK screen flips up to reveal a deep cubby for odds and ends and there are plenty of door pockets and a drop down stowage compartment near the drivers knee to satisfy most storage issues. A deep compartment also lies beneath the padded console armrest.
The CDX comes with heated leather front seats, auto lights and rain sensing wipers, as well as cruise control and reversing camera. Seats are firm but comfortable and the cabin is quiet on the move. Rear seat legroom is compromised by tall occupants up front, but it's satisfactory. Doors open wide for easy entry and exit.
The ride is comparable to a larger car, absorbing most suburban bumps in a civilised fashion.
At speed through corners the Malibu handles well, the equal to many others in its class and spirited driving won't have you clenching the wheel for dear life.
The steering feel on the CDX is light and the small turning circle is useful in the city.
 

 

The headlights however are disappointing, on low or high beam, they don't have enough spread or brilliance for confident night time driving. Aftermarket globes would be a useful expense.

There are four Malibu variants, priced from just over 28K to just under 36K for the diesel CDX.
There's no doubt the Malibu is well built and equipped and excellent value for money.

So the dilemma for buyers, is do they buy the locally built product, or go for the quality import with similar features at a marginally cheaper price? Time will tell.

Peter Sellen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Holden Commodore VF Evoke

With large car sales declining in Australia and more than eighty percent of overall sales being imported models, Holden is up against it, and needs to pull the proverbial "rabbit out of the hat."
The jobs of hundreds workers at its Elizabeth plant in Adelaide and tens of thousands of component suppliers rely on the company getting it right.
The new VF Commodore will go some way to arresting community attitudes towards this type of vehicle, once the first choice for families, by firstly dropping prices by five thousand dollars, and up to ten thousand on some high end models.
To add to that amazing sweetener, Holden has made the VF even more desirable and better equipped than before.
In other words it's finally caught up with the rest of the world with features people actually want in a car,large or small.
Every VF from the  base variant Evoke is fitted as standard with Auto Park Assist technology,reversing camera, and front and rear parking sensors.
Options now include a system that alerts a driver if a forward collision is imminent,a warning if the car inadvertantly strays from its lane, a blind spot alert in the mirrors( pioneered by Volvo long ago) and even a heads up display in the windscreen, until now a feature usually found on expensive European marques.Holden has also included a multi purpose dashboard touch screen with satellite navigation, and numerous other applications recently introduced on the Barina and Cruze.
While styling changes externally are few, the sheer volume of engineering expertise under the VF skin is welcome.
The usual suite of airbags remains, including a redesigned thorax bag in the side of the front seats, and tail lights that flash under emergency braking( a feature previously only found on luxury European cars such as Citroen's C5 and C6.)
Stability control,ABS Brake force distribution are among other safety features, standard across the range, as are three new ISOFIX child restraint anchorages for the rear seat made to the toughest international standard.
In sum then, Holden's VF has a 5 start crash safety rating.
The Commodore has for the first time incorporated aluminium in the bodywork, namely the bootlid, bonnet and dashboard support beam, a saving of more than ten kilograms. Less weight equals better fuel economy.

So what's it like to drive? This is the base Evoke model. The interior, even on this the cheapest in the VF range, is a very serene place to be (on a fine day that is, more on that in a moment.) The ride is smooth and quiet, with nary a skerrick of wind noise in the cabin, and just a whisper from the tyres. It's right up to almost luxury car standard.
There is one exception to this tranquillity however. When it rains, even a light shower, it sounds like you are sitting inside a tin can, thanks to wafer thin roof headlining material. It's really loud and unlike any other car I can remember in this respect.
But moving on....
The steering feel on each model is slightly different. Input now guided by electronics not hydraulics. The Evoke's steering has quite a firm operation, that leaves you in no doubt about where the front wheels are pointing. There's good feedback when cornering, from all variants.
The plastic wheel rim on the Evoke however is not that pleasant to the touch.
Seat comfort is good, the pews are quite large, but you seem to sit more on them, than in them.
The clarity of the reversing camera image on the large colour dashboard monitor is excellent.
Proximity sensors front and rear do their job well.. but perhaps too well. The piercing warning beep is a tad too loud, erupting at the first sign of even a small bush within its range.
I found myself turning it off quite often.
Holden has followed the trend of some manufacturers by sprinkling the centre console with chrome highlights, especially on the gearshift surround. and that's fine, except on  a sunny day from certain angles it becomes a mirror, reflecting blinding sunlight into the driver's ( and front seat passenger's) eyes.
Older Commodore V6 engines tended to sound somewhat agricultural in the upper rev ranges, thrashing about in an uncivilised manner  beneath the bonnet. Well there's  none of that raucous behaviour with the VF's 3 litre V6. It has an almost European tone and refinement to it and from the outside actually sounds quite sporty. It produces 185 kw and 290 nm. Fuel economy averages 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres.
Acceleration is brisk, around nine seconds 0 to 100k. There's more than enough mumbo to get you out of trouble when overtaking on the open road.
I thought the revised rear end styling with a higher boot line and wraparound taillights, doesn't quite match the rest of the car, it looks rather awkward from certain angles.
There's plenty of room for a family's luggage in the boot however, which also houses a full sized spare.
Non functioning chromed side vents in the front fenders look good and add a bit of class .
Trim materials look and feel durable without being cheap and nasty, and they are well assembled, including nicely stitched dashboard and door panels.
Holden has entered the modern world, fitting an electronic handbrake to the Commodore for the first time.

 

You will be spoiled for choice in Holden showrooms.
In all there are 45 different VF Commodore models; six body styles and nine variants.
Despite all this good news,I still believe Holden should offer a turbo diesel option for Commodore. GM has access to the technology (remember VM Motori?) and such engines are growing in popularity across all market segments.Why not?
Peter Sellen