3 42 ~ Friday, February 26, 1999 ~ North Shore News NOW into its third model year, the 1999 Chevrelet Malibu is well-priced in the family sedan class. Noteworthy attributes include a high level of standard equipment, roomy interior, and fun-to-crive perforrnance. Base Malibu's start at $20,895 and LS V6 models start at $24,045. Che ALL-NEW in 1997, the mid-sized Chevrolet Malibu sedan is about as close to a °9G’s bread-and-butter sedan as you’ ll find. n the mid 60s, Chevrolet owned the faraily sedan seg- ment of the marketplace with the full-size Impala, the best- selling family car in North America. But their attempts to pro- duce a smaller, front-wheel- drive sedan in the °70s and *BOs (remember the Citation and Vega?) ended up as embarrassing failures. With the exception of the compact Cavalier, later attempts to regain the sedan crown (Lumina, Corsica) have becn modevzately successful at best. The Malibu, however, is a new kind of sedan that mar- ries the domestic virtues of value-for-money and service- ability with the import virtues of nimble handling and space-efficient design packag- ing. “Though smaller on the outside than the Lumina, the Malibu has almost as much space on the inside — 99 arive cubic feet — room for five with adequate legroom and headroom, This is due in part to the clever design — it has a long 107 inch wheelbase but short front and rear over- hangs. The Malibu’s trunk, at 16.4 cu. ft., is also one of the biggest in its class. The Malibu’s interior design could be described as import-like — simple and sporty. Bucket seats with a centre console and floor- mounted shift lever are stan- dard equipment. The driver's seat is mounted higher than a typical bucket seat improving comfort and outward vision. All the coritrols are back-lit so vou can find them at night, and the ignition key- hole is on the dash, nor the stecring column. Thoughtful touches - include a pull-out cupholder on the left side of the driver tor left-handed people, a glove-box iatch on the left side of the glovebox that can be reached by the driver, and air vents on the windscreen pillar that don’t blow air onto your hands. Unlike a lot of domestic cars, the Malibu has a fully independent suspension (front MacPherson strut/rear tei-link) which enhances han- dling, stability, and vide, and makes the Malibu a more fun car to drive. Handling is fur- ther enhanced by standard, beefy 215/60R-15 inch radi- als. Tes power-assisted rack and pinion steering offers unusu- — Base price: $20,895 As tested price: (LS model) $24,045 Type: four-door, five-passenger sedan Layout: transverse front engine/front- wheel-drive Engine: 3.1-litre OHV V6, 12 valves Horsepower: 156 @ 4,800 r.p.m. Torque: 180 @ 3,200 r.p.m. Transmission: four-speed automatic ally quick and responsive steering, and it has a tight turning circle of 36.3 tt. Braking chores are handled adequately by front dise/rear drums with standard ABS. Beth available four- and six-cylinder powertrains were borrowed from previous General Motors cars ~ a 2.4- litre nvin cam 16 vaive four- cylinder engine, and a 3.1- litre pushrod V6 engine. Curiously, both engines have the same horsepower (150) and get about the same tuct consumption (average 9.61/100 km/31 m.p.g.). However, the four-cylinder engine is noisier and rougher, and the V6 engine has more torque which improves throt- Technical data tle responsiveness. The obvi- ous choice here is the V6 engine, bur it’s available only on the More expensive Malibu LS model. Both engines come with a smooth- changing four-speed auto- matic transmission with a console shifter. The only changes to the Malibu tor 1999 are an improved acoustic package and a new exterior colour: racdium bronzemist metallic. Base Malibu’s with the four-cylinder engine start at $20,895. That includes an automatic transmission, air- conditioning, AM/FM/auto severse cassetee with four speakers, power steering, vari- able intermittent wipers, dual | Curb weight: 1,395 kg (3,075 Ibs.) Length: 4,836 mm (190.4 in.) Width: 1,763 mm (69.4 in.) Height: 1,433 mm (56.4 in.) Trunk volume: 464 litres (16.4 cu. ft.) m.p.g.) Warranty: three y Fuel consumption: City — 11.8 [/100 km (24 mp.g.); Hwy — 7.4 1/100 km (38 vars/60,009 kms The Saab 9-3 offers you performance in the broadest sense of the term. For us at Saab, performance is more than simply having a powerful, free- rewing engine up front. Every detail which can shatpen your control behind the wheel is related to performance. We've designed the Saab 9-3 to provide a close, intuitive link between driver, car and road — to enhance your perception of all that is happening. You can drive more by instinct, leaving you free to concentrate even more on the traffic. OR LEASE FROM jou a bread and butter sedan airbags, tachometer, height- adjustable driver's seat, tilt wheel, anti-lock brakes, anu 15-inch tires. The only thing missing is a fold-down rear seat. It's available only on the uplevei LS Malibu. For $24,045, che Malibu LS adds the V6 engine with a new fow-oil sensor, alloy wheels, tog ligitts, a better- quality cloth interior, split folding rear seat, six-way power driver’s seat, power windows with driver's express-down feature, power door Jocks, remote keyless entry, power mirrors, cruise control, snd reading lamps. Premium AM/FM/CD stereo systems are optional on both models, and leather upholstery is available on the LS only. The price difference between the Malibu base and LS is $3,150, nor significant- ly more for all those addition- al features. hy addition, the LS is the more satistving car to drive, and my guess is will propably hold its value better than che base model. So if you’re buying, go with the LS. tf * LESS NEP Month 3 36 mos with j $6,110 Bn + taxes; 3 total paid $20,474 § &>) MORREY SATURN SAAB ISUZU 294-1831 | www.morreyau (ogroup.com