Chevy finally in the market: 2016 Malibu Hybrid
 

Chevy has entered the 'regular' hybrid market, and with a very promising setup too! Claiming (not yet epa tested) 48city 45hwy 47combined! It has a 'dual stage' eCVT, so a larger gear range! Lithium battery pack, and a 1.8L I-4!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ds55kd7jcY

Bet that 1.8L engine is just a revised version of the current 1.8L engine.

At last, "GM does Prius."

Why such a large engine? Why not go with a turbo 1.2 or a N/A 1.5?

You know you're an Ecomodder if... :D

Bet you it's not. That 1.8 has been around for awhile and its performance isn't amazing.

Yeah, it's been the "base" Cruze engine since NA-introduction in 2011, and was the original VOLT power-plant.

According to Car & Driver, Autoblog, Wikipedia, and a few other sources, it looks like the 2016 Malibu will use an engine from GM's new Small Engine series, developed over the last couple of years. The new Volt uses this engine as well. The Cruze uses an iteration of the GM Series I, designed in the 1980s and revised in the early 2000s with a lighter block, higher compression, new cam design, etc. The Cruze's engine is an iron block; the new Malibu's/Volt's is aluminum. The Series I is port injection only, while the Small Engine can be direct injection, but I can't find anything on whether this is the case in the Malibu.

From your info, it would seem to be a new engine, because the "old" Cruze & Volt 1.8L engines were NOT direct injection.

The more the merrier IMO. Good to see another high mpg car out there, hybrid or not.

And it looks like the 1.8 in the Malibu is the newest version; Wikipedia only lists 1.0, 1.4, and 1.5L sizes (the new Volt uses the 1.5).

It's about time. GM has been giving up the middlin'-big hybrid cruiser to the Fusion for the past few years with nothing but the pissant "light hybrid" previous Malibu to counter the hybrid Fusion's performance.

Shoot, even Honda and Toyota offer their bread-and-butter models (Accord and Camry) as hybrids, and Honda has taken the trouble to offer the Accord as a plug-in to compete directly against the Fusion Energi.

GM has been on a tear with some new models - the new Camaro's base engine will be a rip-snorting 2.4 liter turbo 4 (!?) that delivers over 270 horspower. But they've dropped certain balls in other games. I would have, for instance, liked to have seen the EV1 go a lot farther, it certainly epitomized vehicle aerodynamics for its period.

Ah well. Welcome to the dance, GM.