In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Malibu are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Passat doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Chevrolet Malibu has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Passat doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Front Automatic Braking optional in the Malibu as “Superior.” The Passat scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”
Both the Malibu and the Passat have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Malibu is safer than the Volkswagen Passat:
|
Malibu |
Passat |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
18% |
28.5% |
Neck Stress |
216 lbs. |
263 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
29 lbs. |
61 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
252/306 lbs. |
166/453 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
1 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
36% |
46.5% |
Neck Stress |
169 lbs. |
265 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
26 lbs. |
147 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Chevrolet Malibu is safer than the Volkswagen Passat:
|
Malibu |
Passat |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
279 |
359 |
Spine Acceleration |
27 G’s |
49 G’s |
Hip Force |
549 lbs. |
720 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.