2019 Chevrolet Cruze vs. 2019 Chevrolet Malibu: Which is for You?

2019 Chevrolet Cruze driving ・ Photo by General Motors

You’ve got a lot of impressive options if you’re shopping for a car at your local Chevy dealership. While some companies are dropping cars altogether, the Bowtie brand offers nine different cars for the 2019 model year, including players for all five mainstream segments. Chevrolet provides the Spark city car, the subcompact Sonic, the compact Cruze, the midsize Malibu, and the fullsize Impala. Also in the mix are the Camaro and Corvette performance cars, and the electrified Bolt and Volt. You won’t find that kind of choice at brands like Ford or Honda.

In all cases, the Chevy car lineup can deliver strong EPA ratings, a broad range of luxury features, and some of the industry’s most advanced technologies. Don’t be overwhelmed, though. With today’s topic - 2019 Chevrolet Cruze vs. 2019 Chevrolet Malibu: Which is best for you? - we’ll help narrow things down in the heart of the marketplace.

Performance

The 2019 Chevrolet Cruze and 2019 Chevrolet Malibu both offer a different pair of four-cylinder turbocharged powerplants. For the Cruze, the standard engine combines 1.4 liters of displacement with 153 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. The optional Cruze engine is a turbodiesel. This 1.8-liter unit makes 137 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque, but is mostly engineered for fuel economy.

On the Malibu’s side of the ledger, a 1.5-liter turbo engine is standard. It produces 163 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. But the main reasons for preferring the Malibu for performance are its 2.0-liter turbo and a relatively low curb weight. With that engine, the Malibu combines 260 hp, 260 lb-ft of torque, and only an extra 235 pounds versus the heaviest Cruze. 

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Fuel Economy

As we just mentioned, the 2019 Chevy Cruze and the 2019 Chevy Malibu each are available with a high-efficiency alternative-fuel powertrain. In the Cruze, you can see EPA ratings as high as 31 mpg city/48 mpg highway/37 mpg combined with its turbodiesel engine and a nine-speed automatic transmission. This actually gives the Cruze a noticeable advantage on the freeway.

Yet the Malibu Hybrid can more than make up for that with its results in the other testing categories. When you opt for the Malibu’s hybrid setup, your fuel economy grades can reach 49 mpg city/43 mpg highway/46 mpg combined. That’s already enough for the win, but the EPA has more evidence. According to this group’s research, you’ll save an extra $2,000 in five-year fuel costs by driving the Malibu Hybrid.

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Cabin and Trunk Space

Despite their differences in length, this surprisingly was a close call. The midsize 2019 Chevrolet Malibu starts off with 45.3 inches of legroom and 40.1 inches of headroom for the front row, as well as 38.1 inches of legroom and 37.5 inches of headroom for car’s rear-seat passengers. The 2019 Chevrolet Cruze, as a compact, simply can’t match the midsize Malibu for cabin space.

The Malibu also has a trunk capacity of 15.8 cubic feet, just a little more than the Cruze sedan. Of course, the Cruze hatchback can handle 22.7 cubic feet of cargo behind its rear seats and 47.2 in total. When you add everything up, the final score shows the Malibu with 118.7 cubic feet of maximum interior volume compared to the Cruze’s 116.7 - just enough for victory.

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Safety Ratings and Technology

This is a category where size shouldn’t matter, but the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu comes out on top anyway. Now, both the Malibu and the 2019 Chevrolet Cruze offer the same long list of safety technologies. These include automatic pedestrian braking, forward-collision alert, side blind-zone alert, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance, low-speed forward automatic braking, and, of course, a rearview camera. They also have the same 5-Star Overall Safety Ratings from NHTSA.

The Malibu, however, provides a pair of technologies that are missing from the Cruze. The first is a standard rear-seat reminder. In certain situations, this can alert you to check the back seat before you leave the car. The Malibu’s automatic parking assistance is optional but helpful. It can automatically steer you into parallel or perpendicular parking spaces.

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Infotainment Technology

The 2019 Chevrolet Cruze and 2019 Chevrolet Malibu have more standard connectivity technology than some luxury cars. Each one boasts standard mobile wi-fi, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. They also come with Chevy’s latest “Infotainment 3” touchscreen audio systems and Bluetooth for both handsfree calling and audio streaming. On the topic of audio, both cars feature optional nine-speaker Bose sound systems, too.

That said, the bigger Malibu has a bigger standard touchscreen, supplying an 8-inch display that’s about 14 percent larger than the Cruze’s. In addition, the Malibu is available with infotainment goodies you can’t get in the Cruze at all. Among the highlights: wireless charging for digital devices, navigation, and an enhanced “Infotainment 3 Plus” setup. This brings access to mobile apps and Chevy’s cloud-connected personalization functionality.

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Exterior Design

Here’s something else the 2019 Chevrolet Cruze and 2019 Chevrolet Malibu have in common: They both were restyled for the new model year with revised fascias, updated lighting elements, and fresh wheel designs. The new look for each car maintains a certain family resemblance thanks to expressive body-side sculpting and Chevy’s horizontally split grille. For a more aggressive appearance, the Cruze and Malibu are available with sporty new “RS” appearance packages, too.

Turning to exterior content, the Malibu and Cruze can be equipped with high-end cues like signature LED lighting, a power sunroof, and upsized aluminum-alloy wheels. Nonetheless, the Malibu rolls to victory in this section by raising the bar in those three areas. Only Chevy’s midsizer has full LED headlights, a dual-pane sunroof, and 19-inch wheels.

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Interior Design

Attractive and distinctive cabin designs are hallmarks of the current Chevy lineup, and that’s obvious with the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019 Chevrolet Cruze. These two cars each show off detailed dashboards with flowing lines and dramatic accents. Moreover, they each follow another recent Chevrolet tradition with carefully sculpted door panels.

Why does the Malibu earn the win for interior design? That’s due to the sort of luxury cues you’d expect from a premium brand. The range-topping Premier trim offers leather and perforated-leather seating surfaces, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, and a heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel. The Malibu isn’t merely stuffed with content, though. Chevy’s stylists also went to work to create a variety of sophisticated two-tone cabin themes with contrast colors for the seats and dash panels.

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Pricing and Value

The 2019 Chevrolet Malibu is a veritable bargain among mainstream midsize sedans. With an MSRP of $22,965, it’s hundreds of dollars less than the 2019 Honda Accord, 2019 Nissan Altima, and 2019 Toyota Camry.

That said, for sheer value, we like the 2019 Chevrolet Cruze. The entry Cruze L sedan opens at $18,870, which is, frankly, higher than some rivals. But the average transaction price for a brand-new vehicle in the United States was more than $35,000 when this gallery was published. Compared to that, the Cruze is a bigger bargain. And even with its low price, the Cruze still serves up standard content like a mobile wi-fi hotspot, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen, a rearview camera, air conditioning, and power accessories.

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Which is best for you?

This matchup is a clear triumph for the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu, but let’s be honest: The contest was hardly fair to the 2019 Chevrolet Cruze. That’s not because there’s anything wrong with the car, either. The Cruze is a very competitive choice in the compact segment, offering benefits - like standard mobile wi-fi - that direct rivals don’t.

Yet in the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu, the Cruze is trying to take on a car from a different class. Remember, the midsize Malibu is specifically designed to be a step up from the compact Cruze. So the only surprise would be if the bigger car didn’t triumph today.

Photo by General Motors