The US automotive landscape is pretty barren these days in terms of passenger cars. Luckily, there are some traditional survivors that don’t want to go away without a fight.
General Motors, for example, has a few sedans left on its payroll. The Cadillac CT4 and CT5 immediately spring to mind for premium users but if you really want a run-of-the-mill do-everything-on-the-cheap vehicle then the $25,100 mid-size options from Chevrolet – the 2024 Malibu – is definitely for you.
It dares to clash with an entire roster of Asian automakers and still stands proud even as we are currently looking at the latest Toyota novelty presented at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show. No, not the 2025 Crown Signia flagship five-seat crossover SUV that is coming next year to (sadly) replace the Venza – which is both hybrid and quite affordable for its segment.
Instead, we are referring to the 2025 Camry, the latest evolution of the best-selling mid-size sedan. According to the rumor mill, Chevrolet may or may not oppose the tenth generation Malibu to this all-new Japanese foe – the reports are conflicting: some claim the nameplate will carry on because it has found a niche and other venues say, on the contrary, that it is as doomed as the sixth generation Camaro.
The good folks from the Rcars channel on YouTube have some AI-assisted CGI thoughts about the next Chevy Malibu – they not only believe that General Motors will allow it to carry on but also their resident pixel master has envisioned the next-gen mid-size sedan ritzier than ever. In fact, it could easily hit some premium notes, if this hypothetical design project was ever real. Sadly, it’s not – although I bet that many customers of Asian mid-sizers would have a change of heart and go American if the real Malibu looked like this.
If you still don’t want anything other than a Japanese mid-size sedan, the same outlet has another solution for you – instead of waiting for the 2025 Camry to arrive with its exclusive hybrid setup, one could dream of Mazda6’s return to the United States. And if it looked like this, the Chevy malibu would surely grow jealous and clash with it across imagination land. So, which one would your choice?
Remember, though, to take all this with a healthy grain of salt because nothing is official from Chevrolet or Mazda. At the moment, the 2024 Malibu comes with a starting MSRP of just $25,100 in LS, RS, 1LT, and 2LT trims, and only with a 1.5-liter turbo and CVT rocking 163 hp and 184 lb-ft. Meanwhile, Mazda doesn’t offer the Mazda6 mid-size sedan in its US lineup anymore, so you are left stranded with the Mazda3 as the only four-door sedan option from $24,170. Funny enough, it has a 2.5-liter mill and it’s more potent (191 hp) than the Malibu!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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