Today the Malibu competes directly against the other midsize sedans on the market, among them the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, and Ford Fusion.

The 2008 Chevrolet Malibu is an all-new model. This edition of the Malibu shares its underpinnings with the other GM cars mounted on the Epsilon front-drive platform, including the new Saab 9-3, the new Saturn Aura, the Pontiac G6, the European-market Cadillac BLS, and the German Opel Vectra. That's a fine group of cars to be associated with and the Malibu is expected to be the biggest seller among them.

Chevrolet says it has modified the platform with some extra strength and extra steel in the central tunnel area and the bodysides to help quiet the car and improve its crash performance. More quiet was added with composite inner fenders, thicker glass, and sprayed-on sound insulation throughout the body cavities. Still more quiet was engineered into the induction system, to make the engine sound powerful but quiet at full-throttle and during downshifts. It's a bigger car inside than the previous model, but it's smaller on the outside, although the design makes it look even longer than the outgoing car.

The Malibu will be sold on its obvious exterior glamour, its initial pricing, and its good fuel economy, with EPA ratings of 22/30 mpg for the base 4-cylinder and 4-speed automatic, 17/26 mpg for the V6 engine and 6-speed automatic, and 24/32 mpg for the so-called mild Hybrid. All models are four-door sedans with front-wheel drive.

We found the Malibu to be a smooth, comfortable sedan with plenty of power and responsive. It strikes a nice balance between well-controlled handling and a smooth ride. Overall, the new Malibu feels smooth and refined and pleasant to drive.

The cabin is nicely designed, attractive, and everything is easy to operate, and the seats are comfortable.

In short, we think the Chevy Malibu stands up well when held against the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord gold standards. Choosing among them largely comes down to nitpicking, splitting hairs and personal preference. Camry and Accord may have an edge on resale value, but they're also likely to come with higher price tags. In any case, we don't see the gap between this Chevrolet and the imports that we used to see.