Alright, so back in 2004 chevy redesigned the Malibu, but kept making the 2003 design for rental and executive lease places and labelling it as the Chevy Classic. They're starting to hit used lots en masse lately, I got a 2005 Chevy Classic for pretty cheap (9995), with 28725 miles on it. I have a carbon grey, 4 door, with the 4 cylander engine.
Many reviews I read complained of the soft suspension, and said the tires were atrocious. I haven't noticed that to tell the truth, although I'm coming from a 88 olds. cutlass with ancient shocks and struts, so any suspension would feel good to me. I haven't experienced any body roll when going through the many high speed rotaries of Springfield, MA. The Classic I bought had GOodyear Eagles (Eagle Ones I believe), so no problems there.
The ride is smooth; acceleration feels peppy, the engine sounds a bit strained when accelerating rapidly to merge on a highway, or when you're accelerating up hill from a dead stop rapidly. Even then, the RPM's never go above about 3500, (Redline's at 6 I believe). The four-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly, and the car feels solid, even at high speeds. Braking is excellent. Cabin noise is very low, you can't hear the engine, or traffic noise.
Gas Mileage so far has been exactly where Consumer Reports said it would be, about 22 mpg.
The interior is comfy, the seats are comfortable, and you can adjust the seat height, so that's nice for shorter people, though I have no use for it. There's plenty of rear seat room even with the front seats all the way back, so if you have tall friends, that's not a problem. Seat Belts in the back are the same as the ones in the front. There are multiple cup holders, front and back, plenty of storage spaces in the arm rests. The factory radio system is nice, though I put my own in. The mouldings don't exactly give the impression of luxury, but they're not crappy either. If you need to run wires to the trunk for a stereo system, they can be easily popped off, you can run your wiring, and then re-pop on the mouldings. (NOTE: If you put a stereo in, get the 2004 Malibu wiring kit from crutchfield or wherever). The glove-box can't be locked.
Overall, the car is fun to drive, hasn't given me any problems, and performs well. I'd give it a solid "A", for all the domestic nay-saying here, I was expecting to have some complaints at this point, but I really have none. Great car, if you can find one cheap, grab it.
Many reviews I read complained of the soft suspension, and said the tires were atrocious. I haven't noticed that to tell the truth, although I'm coming from a 88 olds. cutlass with ancient shocks and struts, so any suspension would feel good to me. I haven't experienced any body roll when going through the many high speed rotaries of Springfield, MA. The Classic I bought had GOodyear Eagles (Eagle Ones I believe), so no problems there.
The ride is smooth; acceleration feels peppy, the engine sounds a bit strained when accelerating rapidly to merge on a highway, or when you're accelerating up hill from a dead stop rapidly. Even then, the RPM's never go above about 3500, (Redline's at 6 I believe). The four-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly, and the car feels solid, even at high speeds. Braking is excellent. Cabin noise is very low, you can't hear the engine, or traffic noise.
Gas Mileage so far has been exactly where Consumer Reports said it would be, about 22 mpg.
The interior is comfy, the seats are comfortable, and you can adjust the seat height, so that's nice for shorter people, though I have no use for it. There's plenty of rear seat room even with the front seats all the way back, so if you have tall friends, that's not a problem. Seat Belts in the back are the same as the ones in the front. There are multiple cup holders, front and back, plenty of storage spaces in the arm rests. The factory radio system is nice, though I put my own in. The mouldings don't exactly give the impression of luxury, but they're not crappy either. If you need to run wires to the trunk for a stereo system, they can be easily popped off, you can run your wiring, and then re-pop on the mouldings. (NOTE: If you put a stereo in, get the 2004 Malibu wiring kit from crutchfield or wherever). The glove-box can't be locked.
Overall, the car is fun to drive, hasn't given me any problems, and performs well. I'd give it a solid "A", for all the domestic nay-saying here, I was expecting to have some complaints at this point, but I really have none. Great car, if you can find one cheap, grab it.
It gets about 21-22mpg city and 30+ highway. No real problems with it yet 
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