New Malibu a game changer

The redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu is an American mid-sized sedan that can compete at the top.

Driving control
Driving control
At GM's Michigan proving grounds, we were able put the cars through a series of maneuvers you would normally only encounter in the most dire driving situations.

For instance, there was the emergency lane-change maneuver. Say you're driving along 45 or 50 miles per hour and someone noses out from a side street into your lane. Could you quickly swerve into the other lane and, just as quickly, swerve back again without losing control?

With the Malibu it was no problem. With orange cones laying out the desired path, I got up to speed, lifted off the gas just before the maneuver was to start then - swoop, swoop - I was able to place the car precisely where I wanted it to be at every step.

With good steering feel, controlled body movements and balanced handling, the Malibu was quick and intuitively responsive. Electronic stability control, which uses computer assistance to keep the car from skidding in abrupt maneuvers, comes as standard equipment in all but the base LS version.

By comparison, the Camry lacked the Malibu's composure and precision. Even in models with stability control, avoiding cones felt a good bit more like guesswork with more body roll and less steering feel.

Last updated January 25 2008: 12:14 PM ET

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.