CHEVY'S MIDSIZE MARVEL; 2008 Malibu builds on Saturn Aura's success.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

Last January, General Motors struck gold when its all-new Saturn Aura won the coveted title of 2007 North American Car of the Year. So, what's a car company to do for an encore? Dig deeper in the same mine, of course.

In this case, that's Opel in Germany, the division that built the underpinnings for both the Aura and GM's latest soon-to-be hit, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Both cars share architecture with the Opel Vectra sold in Europe.

For the Malibu, GM engineers had another year to refine what was already a fairly good midsize chassis in the Aura-and it shows. The car is exceptionally tight, not just for a GM car but for any car anywhere near this price point. In back-to-back testing with the latest Toyota Camry, we came away impressed at how well the Malibu held its line and stayed planted over bumpy paved corners versus the Japanese competitor. The Malibu's fit, finish and features also compared favorably against the Camry's, and some on staff say the Malibu is better, more in line with a Volkswagen Passat.

Our test car, the top-of-the-line LTZ model with a 3.6-liter, 252-hp, 251-lb-ft, dohc V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, was plenty powerful and-dare we say it?-fun to drive hard via the steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters. While we'd like a more elegant method for shifting into manual mode than yanking on the center shifter, and the shift paddles could be better positioned (oops, we meant to upshift, not mute the radio), the machinery behind the scenes all works flawlessly.

Meanwhile, the four-wheel independent suspension (MacPherson-strut front, multilink rear) fitted with hydraulic ride bushings provides a compliant ride and minimal vibration. While we'd never suggest that the Malibu's suspension is too taut, it was noticeably stiff over some road surfaces-maybe too stiff for Chevy buyers of old but right on target for a new kind of Chevy buyer who is willing to forgo a cushy ride in favor of better handling. Four-wheel antilock disc brakes and traction control are standard on all models; stability control with panic brake assist is added for LT and LTZ.

The Malibu's wrapper, which we think melds the best of the Chevy Cobalt and the Cadillac CTS, is world-class in fit and finish, and its sharp styling and chrome accents draw attention unlike any Chevy in recent memory (Corvette excluded). In its brief real-world exposure in our test fleet, it was not unusual to have passersby taking a second look at the Malibu. Even teenagers were intrigued by the car, which bodes well for GM and its future.