Car Showroom will be driving Holden’s all-new Malibu mid-size sedan at next week’s national media launch and we already know the replacement for the unloved Epica is a cracker – handsomely styled and powered by a choice of petrol and diesel engines.
With the covers about to be removed from Holden’s version, Chevrolet has unveiled an updated lineup of the same car for North America which, significantly, gains an extra 3.2cms of rear leg-room plus fuel-saving auto start-stop and some suspension and chassis tweaks.
The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu is powered by an all-new 145kW/253Nm Ecotec 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine which boasts fuel consumption reduced by up to five per-cent or a 193kW turbocharged 2.0-litre which enjoys 14 per-cent more torque (now 400Nm).
There’s also new front-end styling (said to be influenced by the larger Chevrolet Impala), new seats, a new centre console, blind-spot assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
How all this will influence the Holden Malibu will be revealed next week. We’ve seen lots of Malibus parked at Holden and already we like the look.
