MotorTrend Comparison Test: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu vs 2008 Honda Accord vs 2008 Nissan Altima vs 2007 Toyota Camry

Altima on 4th place why?
does size matter here???

Wow congrads Malibu, huge beating the Accord.

not that hard considering the accord looks horrificly ugly in person... the accord from 2 generations ago looks better...

NB Honda has been making the same powertrain since 01 to 07 and 07 malibu is relatively new,after 3 years of ownership we will know which one of them that is relable,if i were betting i won't put my hard earned money on GM

I just can't see how this is. A better list in terms of good looking, fun to drive, quality would be:
Accord
Altima
Camery
Malibu

What, i get flamed for my opinion. And yes I do have experience testing cars. I drive one everyday. Save for the Malibu, I have driven every one of these cars.

That must be why the Malibu is last. Because you haven't driven it.

I own a 1996 Maliu and am very happy with it! I bought it strictly for a work car. It has great gas mileage and lots of power and it looks exclusive because their are not a lot of them on the hwy here in southern CA. Besides I am not a follower to begin with. I wanted a car that was made in America by and American company essembled by Americans. I got what I wanted! This is truly a great car. I new that the all new malibu was coming out but it was to nice for a work car. I will try to convince my wife to get the new malibu. I own a brand new Mercedes E Class, Audi A4 Quaro (great car). 1960 Beatle and a Type356-1.com - Owned over 26 different Porsche's. I am an out enthusiasts. Great job General Motors! (USA)

Why was he so de-boosted? To me, it's the truth. The Accord and Altima, respectively, are the most fun of the bunch and offer all of the quality/reliability of the Camry, if not more.

What's missing?

Sorry, there's no such thing as a 1996 Chevy Malibu.

S4, he didn't say he owned a 1996 Chevy Malibu. He said he owned a 1996 Maliu.

Congrats to Chevy for topping Honda!

I doubt these test are accurate, and even if they are Honda is still superior in intial and longterm quality to Chevy!

Mikey, times have changed, Japanese quality is not what it used to be.

Well, it's true. Hondas are more reliable than Chevys, period.

Though I usually like the car with the best performance, I'd likely opt for a 4 cyl Accord EXL with a 5 speed manual. 190hp seems pretty decent for ~32mpg highway. If I wanted the V6, I'd have a hard time justifying choosing one of the other.

Edit:
one OVER the ether, as in, they are all good for slightly different reasons.

The last rental camry I drove is not as refined as the new accord the new accord is almost in Acura territory. And the engine in the Altima is the best and most refined of the lot.

c'mon haters, the floodgates have been opened. The Camry continues to impress despite being put up against three newer vehicles. I actually am shocked, as I have had little faith in car mags lately. MT itself scored the Accord above the Camry just a coupe months ago (and explains the error of its ways in his new article). But a win is a win. The juggernaut rolls on.

Who's hating?

Yeah, who said something bad about the Camry in this thread?

Nobody...until you had to bring it up.

O please, get over yourselves, i was obviously making light of autospies typical tnegative oyota haters. In fact if you keep scrolling down the comments have begun and it's still early. But I suppose that my fault, right? I wonder about the ages, education and/or emotional maturity of autospies posters. So get over yourselves. Either say something profound, or witty, or flaming (just for fun), but otherwise dont waste my time.

this site is filled with haters, if you choose to not see it, that is you with blinders on. I never spew any hate towards anyone, and I rarely post to articles about cars and brands I dont like. I even make light of other attempts to start fame wars (009 headlines, hello??) I post here to have fun, and get through a dull day at work. Thats the difference between me and the germanspies trolls. They come out like locusts when a toy/lex article is posted. And I CORRECTLY predicted that that would happen for this article. There are at least a dozen negative comments about the winning CAMRY (not Camery or Camary, jeez). So, again, unless you actually have something productive to contribute to the contribution, move along.

The haters, trolls and fanatics on germanspies have succeeded in driving all but a few toy/lex fans completely away. I myself had just about given up recently. Why I picked up again is beyond me, it just gets me into these inane arguments. This site brings out the worst in people. Peace out.

I don't like the rear of the Malibu since it looks as though they didn't finish the design process on it, but I have to say the car overall was a huge improvement over the last model. Can't say how it drives, but the materials and fit and finish were very impressive, and I bet it drives a lot better too.

The Camry seems put together well, but I am noticing some cheap bits around. Competent but not too impressed. And I guess MT doesn't count the thing with the known transmission flaw from before.

The Accord is as competent and consistent as usual.

The Malibu has faults, yes, but it shows how fast GM is improving! Its possible that in a few more product cycles we may see a GM vehicle in the top spot...that's gonna hurt Toyota more than it hurt GM when the Camry became the best selling car in America!

I am being completely honest when I say this--the midsize class is completely up for grabs right now. Tomorrow, we might see C/D ace the Altima or Accord in first. They're all excellent cars; I would personally choose the Accord, but nice job GM.

*Place, not ace.

After taking an opportunity to drive all of the tested vehicles since my sister is in the market to replace her Audi A4 1.8t(her's was unreliable, too small and a maintenance nightmare) I (personally) concluded the following:

Accord - Solid drivetrain, extremely convoluted/overdone exterior, acceptable interior layout/design, far too big/ungainly for the mid-size segment (has become Honda's LeSabre?).

Altima - Great engine/drivetrain, perfect size, nice interior, handsome but with a horrible tail light design, sportiest of the lot.

Camry - Dull-as-dirt/generic looking/driving, cheap looking interior bits but with cool lighting effects, feels a bit lethargic/labored when pressed.

Malibu - Strikingly handsome inside and out (save the tail light lenses), nice ride/handling compromise, feels' more powerful than hp rating, solid value.

She decided the get the Malibu, and I think she made to right choice.

All 6'ers...

After her A4 experience, she no longer wants to but a 4 banger.

Oops... She no longer wants a 4 banger - That is.

I agree with what you said about the Camry. That car drives so dull its unbelievable. I had a 2007 V6 Camry loaner. Even though the car felt faster in a straight line than my 330i, I couldn’t wait to give the Camry back. Toyotas are not driver’s cars. The Camry I had handled like crap and the ABS would kick during normal braking. To each his own I guess.

What I don't understand is with switch from an Audi A4 to one of those cars above? Honestly its like steping down? Should of gone from A4 to a BMW 3 series; Mercedes C class; Lexus IS250/350; any of those car would be a better upgrade. Anyway nothing wrong with the camry;altima;accord;or malibu, just thinking switching from Audi to a Toyota; Honda; Nissan; or Chevy? Hmm...???

She (my sister) is quite put off at having spent so much money for an 'allegedly' superior vehicle (the A4) only to have it be the biggest P.O.S. (her description) she's ever owned.

Her criteria was to find something roomier, more powerful and more reliable at a much better price.

Saying that any of the vehicles in this comparison is a 'step down' from anything (including the AUDI) is a matter of what one values in a vehicle, which in her case is a vehicle that will be trouble free, spacious and a great value... None of which she felt her Audi was.

Here's my opinion:

1. Honda Accord
2. Toyota Camry
3. Nissan Altima
4. Chevrolet Malibu

Based on?

Everything. Looks, reliability, quality, image, features, etc.

The two most desirable sedans to me took the last two positions...Accord & Altima.

Why was he so de-boosted for this? It IS true. The Accord and Altima would be my #1 and #2, respectively.

Because (as we all know) Individual Opinions Are NOT Respected In Here - Only Conformity.

I really don't understand how they called the interior of the Malibu "posh" compared to the Accord and Altima. It looks better design wise than the previous Malibu, but it is quite easy to see the hard plastic that still abounds (door panels, dashboard over the speedometer)

"It looks better design wise than the previous Malibu, but it is quite easy to see the hard plastic that still abounds..."

I completely agree. Blind patriotism plays a role in this, IMO.

To put it bluntly: the Malibu is greatly improved. But is it the leader? Not even close, IMO. Maybe next time. But it still has the same cheap GM center stack, with some special design touches around it. And from the outside, it still looks less "polished" than the Japanese contenders. To me.

All four of them are great cars. I don't prefer one over the other. Each one has something special about them. The Camry is a great all arounder. The Accord and Nissan have great performance. And the Malibu is great because GM finally got it right.

The Altima for me.

Of course they have the pick the Camry as the winner. Pure logic... Camry was their car of the year las year. If the Accord was the winner on this comparo, then it would have been the COTY this year, which is not. Every other reputable auto reviewer has praised the Accord over the Camry

My thoughts go along this way. This comparison test is truly inconsistent and confirms what many have already noticed about Motortrend magazine. It is actually viewed by many automotive journalists here, in Québec where I am from, as lacking in professionalism.

First, there's the case of their previous comparo between the 2008 Accord and the Camry, which many have noticed, including Motortrend themselves: "the Accord reigns as the best of the best-the benchmark...the Camry, the best of the rest".

And then, there's the case of this particularly troubling remark: "So following two full days of zigzagging around the smoother, more open roads of Southern and Central California, we can now say the Camry is the ultimate package." What??? So let me get this right: the quality of road surfaces now dictates how well balanced a car is??? Hello!??! Real-world car people. A pure-bred sports car is likely to be confortable on pool-table like surfaces as well. Unbelievable!

Drove me a Camry or two as rental cars, both with low mileage. Couldn't wait to return them. Floaty suspension, hard, scratchy plastics, so-so seats, rattles and squeaks aplenty and suspension that crashes over edgier bumps and transmits a lot of impact harshness to the chassis. Got a chance to sample an Altima on the other hand and felt much better, solid, nice materials, fewer rattles than the Camry. Would pick it over the Camry any day.

And yet another consideration. My first choice would be the Accord, for its poise, sophistication, fit and finish and, yes, complex and refined styling. It would also be my first choice for it's greener aspect. I'm shocked to see that Motortrend fails to recognize the importance of fuel economy and emissions in this day and age. Sure the Malibu is a gigantic step foward for GM. But heck, it gets poor fuel economy, while the Accord gets the best and is the cleanest burning. Come on Motortrend. Get with the program. Here's to informed consumers delivering their better and more significant comparison.

"Because of Honda's renown for resale and reliability, three of the four judges noted they'd still buy the Accord over the second-place finisher. But, unfortunately for Honda, we can't score based on intangibles."


Real

1, Camry and Accord
2, Altima

4, malibu

I had the chance to experience several of these models while helping a friend go car shopping - (including new VW Jetta and Mazda 6).

I was very impressed with the Malibu -looks good inside and out- great job GM!!

Mazda 6 was a nice package as well.

Camry-not so much -felt very generic and did not perform as well as others.Looks like all the other Toyota models too.

VW was a great ride and had great features for the price-very solid feel.

Honda - felt it was too small and did not like remodel-great reliability/fit finish- but doesn't this new version ape the BMW in the 3/4 view?

Altima did not make the list of must sees.

She bought the Jetta...

Poor choice.

As many flaws as I feel the 2008 Honda Accord has, SIZE is certainly not one of them.

As a matter of fact, the 2008 Accord is so spacious inside that it's actually classified as a full-sized vehicle now.

I get the impression that you must have tested a Civic, especially since you also tested the VW Jetta, which competes directly with the Civic and not the Accord.

M35, you'd be surprised. The Jetta is the best-driving of the cars in its class, it offers the most refined interior, great safety ratings and a good amount of space. Reliability is up in the air... I don't know any facts on it, but perhaps we'll hear from this user.

I agree with tht S4, but the jetta looks like the rendition of the last-gen corolla, and is becoming very stereotypical with college and HS girls. reliability is beyond me as I would prefer the dealer to fix it until I can take a program letting me learn how to maintain a car.

You thought the Accord was too small campared to the Jetta and Mazda 6? I'm confused...good luck with the VW reliability....she'll need it.

My pick-- Base and experience, reliablity, and looks.

1. no doubt. the Camry (those who say the camry is dull or isn't fun to drive; i say they are either biases or smoking crack he/she should actually test the car for real and not lie about the test drive)

2. Altima (It looks great;nissan improved alot)

3. The Accord (this remodel is not bad; but it does lack refinement in my opinion; however reliablity its a plus)

4. Malibu (I was never a fan of domestic cars expect the Trucks and SUV from GM) I give chevy credit for making a good car but I like the camry and altima better.

BTW... Did people who say they test droved all the cars above actually driven them or not? (try to look cool?)... if you have not, please dont say anything. There are alot of pretenders in my opinion, and not sure if he/she is old enough to drive anyway?

So far my order is base on looks;reliablity;performance.

Forgot to base on experience too.

Ahyin9 -"BTW... Did people who say they test droved all the cars above actually driven them or not? (try to look cool?)... if you have not, please dont say anything. There are alot of pretenders in my opinion, and not sure if he/she is old enough to drive anyway?"

She had no bias -
"Malibu (I was never a fan of domestic cars ", but you have shown yours. She was very open minded and not a fanatic about any brand.

She is definitely old enough to drive them(spent my Thanksgiving helping her) and she also is old enough (and educated enough)to understand syntax and how to express a thought in writing. You,sadly I must admit, have not demonstrated the same.

I'm sure the Accord is a very nice vehicle.However from a styling point of view I liked the previous version better. Also it seems that this new Accord has been made softer then the previous one.The Camry to me has always had dull styling. It may have the best handling of the group by a small margin but I have to say the Malibu appeals to me most.(And I'm a foreign car guy through and through)No I would support a domestic car maker because I think the Malibu is finally a car that competes in this foursome.

Exactly...they used the same quote used to describe the runner up in the sport sedan comparo:

"Great combination of sport and luxury bettered only by the (3-series, Camry)

malibu (FOR A CHANGE AT LEAST)
camry (GOOD ENGINE, NOT GOOD LOOKS)
accord (AVERAGE LOOKS, PRICY)
altima (GOOD LOOKS, INTERIOR QUALITY ???)

Wait until the new Mazda 6 comes out. This sement is already on fire! All good choices, but in the end it comes to your self preference. No loser here.

DITTO

I 2nd tht.

The Chevy Malibu is okay, but where is this year's North American Car of the Year the Saturn Aura?...Too bad GM has an identity problem. And what I mean is that all that is different between the Malibu and the Aura is the exterior styling, slight interior changes otherwise 99% of the parts are gerneric components, along with engine/powertrain and of coarse add a bit more sound damping material than the Aura to seprate itself to a minimal. And throw 18 inchers on the malibu and of coarse it will handle slightly better than 17 inch wheels. Funny to not see the Aura in this shoot out. Remember GM tried to dethrown the Camary with Aura...did not even put a dent into comparison and sales against the Camary, let alone the Honda Accord. Remember when Bobby boy "No Clue" Lutz ran a campaign by making Saturn dealerships either purchase or rent an Accord and Camary to be put in all show rooms for a upfront comparison. Well that idea made quite the quiet exit. Especially when 35%-40% of the Saturn dealerships across North America did not comitted to such an idea, simply b/c they did not think it would be the right direction to invest time and money. Mind you there were a handfull of quality issues with the Aura that was kept under the radar successfully just ot save face as being the N.A.C.O.T.Y. (Trust me I have seen the list of recall bulletins) So how the hell does the Malibu be any better? How do I know this? I worked for a Saturn & Chevrolet dealerhsip for the last 2 years, both under one roof(quite odd set-up) and before I departed from that hell hole to work for an import(uhh go figure..LMAO!!!) I have test drove both of them for a solid 2 weeks from suburbs, within city, on highways, long drives etc...really no different, mind you gas efficency is "TERRIBLE!"...really TERRIBLE!!!...after a 1000 kms, the fit and finish tends to creek a little and get loose. Very poor radio reception and so on. So here is my personal verdict:
1st place : Camary
2nd place : Accord
3rd Place : Malibu/Aura(same) (simply b/c I never test drove a Altima)
4th place : Altima
All the best to GM for another attempt in this segment, as they still have alot to prove, b/c the imports realy have not scratched the surface of success as of yet as the Japs get better and much thougher every year!!!

There are far more differences between the Malibu and Aura than you have lead yourself to believe.

- The Exterior Styling Is Completely Different.

- The Interior Styling Is Completely Different.

- The Suspension Tuning Is Completely Different.

Using Your Criteria, the Audi A3/A4 are little more that high-zoot versions of the VW Jetta, which is far from the truth.

I'm seriously doubt the GM cares anything about 'proving' themselves to you, because there are hundreds of thousands of people who will be there to buy the Malibu's that you deem so unworthy.

and just so you'll know, it's the

TOYOTA C A M R Y

The Audi A4 is not based on the Jetta/Rabbit, only the A3.

I'm well aware of that, but the A4 platform is little more than a 'stretched' version just the same platform used for the A3, NOT completely new from the ground up.

BOTH the A3 and A4 are based on a variation of the B7 platform which is actually a revision of the previous generation B6 platform (and not a ground-up redesign) as confirmed by Audi's internal platform nomenclature, which uses PL46 (longitudinal passenger car platform, size 4, generation 6) for both B6 and B7 chassis.

Please explain why the 3.2FSI V6 can be used in the A4, but not the A3, then. The A3 has a non-direct injection 3.2 with 15 less horsepower (2008 B8 A4 has 265).

They are on different platforms.

I personaly think motor trend is paid off. In 1999 they chose the Merc ML for car of the year. # years later it was crowned the most unreliable car of all time. Then last year they chose the toyota camry......Now, dog shit looks better than it and the transmission has proven unreliable. Creating a huge recall. however i think the New cadillac will be a good car

TO BEGIN, THE CAMRY IS BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP IN THE U.S. MAYBE ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT THE BOSSES ARE AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE TOYOTA VEHICLES. THE RESALE ALONE ON THEIR VEHICLES HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL BE TWICE THE WORTH OF ANY CHEVY, HONDA, OR NISSAN..... SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE AND MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR INVESTMENTS IN A VEHICLE...... BUY A TOYOTA...

Hondas are known to have excellent resale.

Ahem, excuse me.

HONDAS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE EXCELLENT RESALE.

I am surprised that the camry did well. I have driven quite a few different models and the car is so bland I want to puke! I would take the new accord and malibu over the camry.

I would pick the Malibu for #1

Then the Honda.

Then the Toyota.

The Altima would be last.

I still think this is unfair. Malibu, Camary and Accord are all leather trimmed vehicles. Altima is not. Seems that if they moved the Alti up one more notch, it would have a better chance of competing. I still think it is the best car of the bunch

I don't think Leather would make that big of a difference in this comparo.

Each of these vehicles represent (slightly) varying degrees of excellence...

No choice would be a bad choice as long as it suits your individual tastes/requirements.

It's that simple.

can someone tell me why gm lacks a manual when the rest are avail. with one? I know honda makes some very good ones. altima, accord, and malibu would be my choice. but i'll take the 6 over all of them.

In this segment, especially for the American market, offering a manual transmission is largely irrelevant, and probably a waste of development money...

If it was a 'money maker' I'd wager that GM would have made one available.

manuals were never intended to be sporty in the 1st place. they provided the benefits of low-maintenence, cost, gas milage, and control of the car. its been like that for sometime. I prefer one over an auto.

The fact that some people here STILL don't know how to spell "Camry..."

WOW.

Okay, how much did GM pay MT for a leap of a couple of slots? And, Camry...talk about cheesy!!! Take a look at the center stack!!! Drive it pass an 18 wheeler on the highway and get blow into the next lane!

Come on MT, get with it!!!

"Because of Honda's renown for resale and reliability, three of the four judges noted they'd still buy the Accord over the second-place finisher. But, unfortunately for Honda, we can't score based on intangibles."

I love this quote, because when it comes to BMW, that's all these magazines make judgments off of (intangibles).

For all the people who are putting the Malibu automatically at 4th place: have you driven the new one?

In my opinion the new Malibu is a lot better than the old one, inside and out. I don't know where it should be, but I would not automatically put it at the back anymore.

Well well: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=123842?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..3.*

The Camry's w/o navigation have boring interiors. But V6 SE Camry driving quality is like the Acura TL, which is what the Accord should've felt like, but doesn't. Out of all these cars, only the Camry SE has an actual sport suspension and flat undercarriage, how can it be so bland, u can't hold gears on the Accords and Altima has a sad sad CVT.