PSA Nissan v. Chevrolet

[Dick Moore]

Just finishing up two weeks with a '10 Malibu four-banger four-door on the Big Island of Hawaii. Last year did two weeks with an '09 Altima 2.5Z four-banger four-door.

Have driven both cars nearly identical mileages and trips, with visits to Kileaua, South Point, Polulu Valley, Waimeam and lots of driving in and around Kailua-Kona.

The Malibu has very nice control layout and indicators, easy for an old fart like me to see. AC is very good, though the fan speed steps are a bit coarse. Altima was about the same, with not quite as legible indicators for mileage, temps, odometer, etc.

Both vehicles have adequately snappy performance with nice gearing ratios -- I don't need 300hp for anything at all. The Altima averaged about 4 mpg better than the Mailbu, which surprised me a bit. Both vehicles have been exclusively fueled with gas from Costco.

Regarding comfort, I'm 6-3, 200 lbs, and my wife is 5-7, 135 lbs (at the moment -- there's talk of losing a little weight from both of us). After about 10 miles of driving the Malibu, 5-7 asked me to drive, due to a thick bolster at the front of the seat, with a deep well behind it that the hips sink into, coupled with an aggressive and non-adjustable lumbar protrusion. No amount of fiddling with the generally good seat adjustments could get 5-7 comfortable. 6-3 got behind the wheel, and discovered the same thing, especially the kidney-killer lumbar support, Additionally, the steering wheel height, which adjusts, was too low at the top of the range for me to easily get my right leg under the wheel, and it was very difficult for me to get my right foot on the brake pedal. For the first time in many years, I found myself braking with the left foot, not something I think is a Good Thing.

Chevy's ads always seem to show small women driving this car and now I know why.

the Altima, on the other hand, was a pleasure to drive for both of us, with very comfortable seats and great positioning of the adjustable steering wheel. The Altima had slightly more back-seat leg room as well.

Overall, Nissan wins this one hands down. The Malibu is not a bad car, but it is not a good car either -- as they say, "may the best car win."

[blusubaru]

Very good review! I'm not in the market for either, but very informative nonetheless.

[Mini 9]

I really, really wanted to like the Malibu, i like the looks, but once I sat in the seat with the keys, I could not crank it over. I hate to say it, but the interior quality really let me down.
Now I realize why I have not driven the Equinox yet.

[Ombligo]

I like my Nissan but have found I need a lumbar support for driving of any time length longer than an hour. The seat offers nothing for the lower back.

[WHiiP]

Thanks for the post. Good, usable info.
:gears:

[Surfrider]

I bought a Honda Civic in 2007 & 2009, basically the same cars. I'm 6'2/230, I was very surprised how well I fit in both cars.

They both have the speedometer in your sight line, just below actually, so checking your speed is very easy and safe. I find that a great feature for my wife and daughters, they constantly speed because they don't look at the speedometer.

[Mini 9]

Hopefully one day cars with GPS tied in will automatically limit max speed to speed limit, and brake when needed with respect to cars/obstacles in front of it.

[particleman]

It is called adaptive cruise control. It slows the vehicle if you are approaching another vehicle from behind and closing the distance between.

Volvo has something called something like City Stop Assist which will stop the vehicle to prevent collisions at speeds below 15 or 20 mph.

[Racer X]

Surfrider wrote:
I bought a Honda Civic in 2007 & 2009, basically the same cars. I'm 6'2/230, I was very surprised how well I fit in both cars.

They both have the speedometer in your sight line, just below actually, so checking your speed is very easy and safe. I find that a great feature for my wife and daughters, they constantly speed because they don't look at the speedometer.

Gee, I wonder if that's why my tachometer was mounted to my hood from the factory.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Hey, you are dissing the best rated Chevy in the last five years.

My Dad briefly messed up his back due to the poor seats in a Chevy 45 years ago, based on that I guess nothing really changes. The last rental Chevy I drove was a six month old Cavalier with 15,000 miles. I thought it was about ready to head for the junkyard, noisy, poor mileage for its size, and rattling CV joints.

Mike Rowe keeps saying Honda and Toyota can't beat Ford quality, I might start to believe that when the current models start hitting 200,000 miles. It takes at least five years for long term quality to really change peoples attitude.