Compare the2022 Audi A4VS 2022 Chevrolet Malibu

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 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.

The A4’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Malibu doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 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.

Both the A4 and Malibu have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Malibu’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The A4 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Malibu doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The A4 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Malibu doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The A4’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Malibu.

The A4 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Malibu only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the A4 and the Malibu have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A4 is safer than the Chevrolet Malibu:

	A4	Malibu
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Movement	1.1 inches	1.3 inches
Abdominal Force	219 G’s	232 G’s
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	277	365
Spine Acceleration	56 G’s	62 G’s
Hip Force	777 lbs.	1117 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	12 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A4 the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Malibu last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The A4 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Malibu’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A4’s corrosion warranty is 6 years and unlimited miles longer than the Malibu’s (12/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Reliability

The Audi A4’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Malibu’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the A4’s reliability 74 points higher than the Malibu.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 3 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Engine

The A4 40 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 41 more horsepower (201 vs. 160) and 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (236 vs. 184) than the Malibu’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The A4 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 11 more horsepower (261 vs. 250) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 260) than the Malibu Premier’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the A4 45 TFSI is faster than the Malibu Premier 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	A4	Malibu
Zero to 60 MPH	4.8 sec	6.1 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	12.9 sec	15.4 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	5.6 sec	6.7 sec
Quarter Mile	13.5 sec	14.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	102 MPH	97 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A4 40 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder Hybrid with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Malibu Premier 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder 8 speed Auto (26 city/34 hwy vs. 22 city/33 hwy).

Both the A4 and the Malibu 1.5 Turbo have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All A4s have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

Transmission

The A4 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Malibu doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A4’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Malibu doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A4’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Malibu:

	A4 40 TFSI	A4 45 TFSI	Malibu
Front Rotors	12.4 inches	13.3 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.8 inches	13 inches	11.3 inches

The A4’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Malibu are solid, not vented.

The A4 stops much shorter than the Malibu:

	A4	Malibu
70 to 0 MPH	149 feet	171 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	105 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	145 feet	149 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4 has larger standard tires than the Malibu (225/50R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The A4’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Malibu LS’ standard 65 series tires. The A4’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Malibu’s optional 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Malibu LS.

Suspension and Handling

The A4 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Malibu’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The A4 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.

The A4’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Malibu’s (61.6% to 38.4%). This gives the A4 more stable handling and braking.

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .97 G’s, while the Malibu LT pulls only .86 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Malibu LT (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

Chassis

The A4 is 6.7 inches shorter than the Malibu, making the A4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A4 easier. The A4’s trunk lift-over height is 26.9 inches, while the Malibu’s liftover is 30.5 inches.

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A4 offers cargo security. The Malibu’s non-lockable remote release defeats cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A4. The Malibu doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A4’s available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Malibu doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

The A4’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Malibu’s (3968 vs. 1000 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The A4 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Malibu uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the A4 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Malibu. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The A4 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Malibu doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A4’s front and rear power windows all 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 passenger windows don’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the A4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Malibu can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A4 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 A4’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Malibu’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A4 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Malibu doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Malibu doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the A4 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Malibu doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The A4’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Chevrolet only offers heated mirrors on the Malibu LT/Premier.

The A4’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Malibu offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The A4 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Malibu LT/Premier.

Both the A4 and the Malibu offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A4 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Malibu L/LS/RS doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the A4 is less expensive to operate than the Malibu because typical repairs cost less on the A4 than the Malibu, including $33 less for front brake pads.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A4, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Chevrolet Malibu isn't recommended.