Toyota is very cheap looking and the interior suck. Hard plastic instead of soft materials like the chevy has. Also, toyota is getting a backlash of makeing things on the cheap currently. They deserve everything they get.

O, and Toyota pisses me off cuz I see a bunch of silly people online singing their praises when they really haven’t produced industry leading metal as of late. Every edmunds test or kelley blue book test shows it is surpased in quality, durability, and style in nearly every entry. I guess I am younger, so didn’t experience the crap of the 70′s and 80′s, but in my time, I have have had Toyotas and Chevys, and one definetly outshined the other. (I also have a friend with a love for Honda’s, and he is always happy with their work, and I can see why) I was in a brand new Camry a few months ago, and the interior was no better my moms 99′ Suburban. I would expect to see something a little better than a 10 year old vehicle right. Then I sit in the Malibu, and really, it is gorgeous. And….surprise surprise, the non-hybrid versions get better fuel economy. In fact, all of Chevies entries get better fuel economy than Toyota’s. (Honda, again, also beats Toyota out on this.) The tundra…a joke…..the seqouia…..ha…..Corolla…lol, why does a 1.8L get worse fuel economy than a 2.2L with better HP and acceleration, I don’t know ask those fools at Toyota.

So yea, I have alittle disdain for a company running their operations on rumors, and the sooner people realize this the better they will be off. (they can actually enjoy their car instead of just using it as a utility for transportation, like a bus)

I would recommend a look at a Alitma Hybrid or a Camry Hybrid. It sounds like you want the extra space. The Malibu Hybrid is the same size and a few 1,000 cheaper, but doesn’t get nearly the MPG of the Altima/Camry. The Malibu also is hard to get. GM isn’t making many of them.

And Bryce,
I’m not sure what you’ve got against Toyota’s. (I, personally, have a Honda.) Were you hit by a Toyota as a child? Did anyone tell you that the Altima Hybrid is all Toyota Hybrid technology under the hood? I can understand liking the styling or the dashboard of the Altima, but the underpinings of the hybrid part of the car are all Toyota. And the Altima gets 35/33 vs. the Camry’s 33/34 MPG. I don’ think that can really be called better fuel economy. The hair has been split.

a) I would like a hybrid
b) I need a car where my 6’4″ son can comfortably drive with his
5′ 7″ mother sitting in the back seat behind him. I am 5’11″ and our daughter is 5′ 7″ – so this is the best configuration we can do. We tested the Hybrid Mazda 6 and also sat in the 3 – neither was even close to a fit.

Anyone have suggestions about a hybrid which fits the bill?

As for horsepower and acceleration and all that, The hybrid models aren’t exactly compareably to the V6s offered on those cars, but they are similarly powered to a small V6. If you compared it to a V6 from say 10 years ago, it would definetly have been compareable. Particulary the Altima hybrid performs better in acceleration, horsepower, and even fuel economy. The Camry focused more on refinement….which I kind of think is B.S. A car is supposed to be a car, not a boring refrigerator. Props to Nissan!

And Bill, I’m not sure who “they” are, but the basic fact is that the Malibu is a half-hybrid. If the interior of a car is that important to you, you may want to stick with the GM. If actual MPG savings are your concern, the GM hybrids fall short.

So I will go with the Malibu

I drove both the camery had a much cheaper interior. The new Chevy is quite nice I recommend you go out and buy one.