Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2021 Chevrolet Malibu

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Malibu doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Malibu doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Malibu’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Civic Touring has standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Malibu doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Civic’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Malibu and is only available on Malibu LS/RS/LT/Premier.

The Civic Touring has standard parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Malibu doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

The Civic’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Malibu doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Civic and the Malibu have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Civic’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Malibu’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 12 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

The Civic EX/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 20 more horsepower (180 vs. 160) than the Malibu’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Civic EX/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Chevrolet Malibu 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic gets better fuel mileage than the Malibu:

Regardless of its engine, the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) Chevrolet only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Malibu 1.5 Turbo.

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Malibu (215/55R16 vs. 205/65R16).

The Civic LX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Malibu L/LS’ standard 65 series tires.

The Civic has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Malibu doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better maneuverability, the Civic LX/EX’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Malibu’s (36.1 feet vs. 37 feet).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 150 to 250 pounds less than the Chevrolet Malibu.

The Civic is 10.2 inches shorter than the Malibu, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Civic has .2 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom and .2 inches more front hip room than the Malibu.

The Civic’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Malibu’s parking brake has to released manually.

The Civic’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Malibu’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. The Malibu LT/Premier’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

On a hot day the Civic’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Malibu can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Malibu doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Civic EX’s standard wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers and the Civic Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Malibu’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The Malibu has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The Malibu has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Malibu has never been chosen.