Tom1200
UltraDork
2/25/22 4:35 p.m.
Yesterday I had cause to drive my 86 yr old mother's 06 Malibu I know it's a driving appliance but there are some seriously hideous things about it.
The steering; while it has some weight, it's completely devoid of any feel. There is this weirdness in that it feels like you prying on the wheel and or turning a friction damper. It's almost like you are steering an arcade game or spinning a feed handle on an old lathe.
The brakes; while not over boosted are far from linear.
The ride; it's soft/floaty (as expected) yet manages to be harsh at the same time.
The seats; while not expecting Rolls Royce I was surprised had how awful they were, they are not likely blown out as my mom only weighs 100lbs. They had zero support and seemed to be sloping down hill making the ergonomics just awful.
I only drove it 30 miles but by mile 20 I wanted out. I know it's an appliance but are they really supposed to be this bad?
That's par the course for GM of that era, right before the bailout. I worked a summer job in a gm service dept that year during high school and most of the stuff they were building at that time was pretty low quality, especially the more affordable cars. For example, I would much rather drive the late ecotec powered Cavalier than the Cobalt that followed it. Something might be wrong with your mom's steering though, I remember the Malibus of that era being really over boosted and light, like a G body car from the 80s.
With few exceptions, that pre-bailout era of General Motors commodity cars is about as bad as they got, IMO. Chrysler too. They seemingly knew they could just dump hundreds or thousands of cars into the fleet market without a care in the world, and the "buy American" crowd was as strong as ever during the Iraq war, so they didn't put a whole lot of effort into competing on objective merits.
(Obviously the Malaise era stuff was bad too but almost everything was bad then...)
Tom1200 said:
Yesterday I had cause to drive my 86 yr old mother's 06 Malibu I know it's a driving appliance but there are some seriously hideous things about it.
The steering; while it has some weight, it's completely devoid of any feel. There is this weirdness in that it feels like you prying on the wheel and or turning a friction damper. It's almost like you are steering an arcade game or spinning a feed handle on an old lathe.
The brakes; while not over boosted are far from linear.
The ride; it's soft/floaty (as expected) yet manages to be harsh at the same time.
The seats; while not expecting Rolls Royce I was surprised had how awful they were, they are not likely blown out as my mom only weighs 100lbs. They had zero support and seemed to be sloping down hill making the ergonomics just awful.
I only drove it 30 miles but by mile 20 I wanted out. I know it's an appliance but are they really supposed to be this bad?
Sounds exactly like the specs a 80 year old would desire.
Tom1200
UltraDork
2/25/22 6:30 p.m.
Appleseed said:
Sounds exactly like the specs a 80 year old would desire.
She was 72 when they bought it.
Tom1200 said:
...are they really supposed to be this bad?
It wasn't bad enough to prevent it from being purchased... So yes, it's exactly as bad as it was supposed to be.
Probably felt just right then, too. 
It could be worse. At least it's not a '95 Chevrolet Lumina.
Datsun310Guy said:
It could be worse. At least it's not a '95 Chevrolet Lumina.
Is there really a difference?
In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :
Yes, when the OBD1 check engine light came on it involved paper clips and terminal numbers.
You're right - both are painful.
Tom1200
UltraDork
2/25/22 7:23 p.m.
Datsun310Guy said:
In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :
Yes, when the OBD1 check engine light came on it involved paper clips and terminal numbers.
You're right - both are painful.
They had a Lumina.................over the years they've made me nuts with their car choices. They call and ask what to get and then get the exact thing I tell them not to buy................then ask me why it does the thing I told them was the reason not to buy it.
I'm sure it's payback for my teenage years.
Luminas have no place to put your left foot while driving. That's the amount of respect GM designers had for people driving their cars.
Lol I had a friend get one of these as a college graduation present back in like 2010 when their folks got something new. Road with her somewhere and she was trying to show off by punching it away from a light while saying "look it's fast, it'll push you back in your seat!". It was the 4 cylinder and the seats where exactly what were bad.
Trent
PowerDork
2/25/22 10:54 p.m.
Did the Malibu have lots of cubbies?
That was the most baffling thing about my Avalanche. (My first and last GM product) cheap, crappy plastic everywhere, terrible ergonomics, leather seats that were more paint than leather, but there must have been 20 separate tiny cubby holes all over the interior,. That and cupholders made for 64 ounce mega gulps that wouldn't hold a 12oz coffee.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
2/25/22 11:14 p.m.
Designed for rental fleets. So yes, horrible.
I like the color! Test drive around the block. SOLD
Appleseed said:
Tom1200 said:
Yesterday I had cause to drive my 86 yr old mother's 06 Malibu I know it's a driving appliance but there are some seriously hideous things about it.
The steering; while it has some weight, it's completely devoid of any feel. There is this weirdness in that it feels like you prying on the wheel and or turning a friction damper. It's almost like you are steering an arcade game or spinning a feed handle on an old lathe.
The brakes; while not over boosted are far from linear.
The ride; it's soft/floaty (as expected) yet manages to be harsh at the same time.
The seats; while not expecting Rolls Royce I was surprised had how awful they were, they are not likely blown out as my mom only weighs 100lbs. They had zero support and seemed to be sloping down hill making the ergonomics just awful.
I only drove it 30 miles but by mile 20 I wanted out. I know it's an appliance but are they really supposed to be this bad?
Sounds exactly like the specs a 80 year old would desire.
Ha, what a great answer and exactly what I was thinking. It is amazing how far we have come in 16 years though. Hyundai/Kia come to mind. Dramatic progress and improvement during that time.
I had an Impala for a company car, while many if my coworkers ended up with Malibus. It was shocking that the same company that built my car with very comfortable seats and good power from the 3.6 could also offer the anemic Malibu with the hardest and most uncomfortable seats I think I've experienced in a car along with a totally gutless 4 cylinder.
Same-era Ford Fusion is such a better car.
