The multi-award-winning Chevrolet Malibu mid-size family sedan has been launched at  National Motor Company showrooms across Bahrain.

The Malibu has won many prestigious industry awards including the 2008 North American Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show, a 2008 and 2009 Kelley Blue Book Best New Family Vehicle, a Consumer Digest magazine Best Buy two years running, a 2008 and 2009 Automobile magazine All-Star winner and a Best Family Car for 2009 in both edmunds.com and Parents magazine, along with the 2010 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick, among other prestigious awards.

The sedan comes with 18-inch aluminum wheels, all tailored with a tight wheel-to-body relationship. Precise details complement the design with minimised panel gaps and select use of chrome trim. Front fog lamps and clear-lens LED-lit tail lamps are standard on the LTZ, as are dual chrome exhaust outlets, said a statement.

The high quality and spacious interior is available in two-tone colour schemes, incorporating fine materials and stitching while gauges backlit in blue and warm ambient lighting further heighten the inviting feeling.

The smooth ride is made even more comfortable by a cabin that’s been engineered to be a cocoon of quietness. This was achieved with noise reducing features including an acoustic windshield, acoustic wheelhouse liners, and noise attenuating materials on the console wall.

The Malibu is also the safest mid-size sedan, with a five-star crash test safety rating, the highest possible, six airbags, a high strength steel safety cage, four wheel ABS brakes, Traction Control, Electronic Stability Control, panic brake assist and ISOFIX child seat anchors in all three rear seating positions.

The Malibu is available in two trims; the LT and the LTZ. The LT is available with a 2.4 litre, 4-cylinder engine and an award-winning 3.6L direct injection V6. The acclaimed ECOTEC 2.4L 4-cylinder VVT engine generates 169 hp (net). The High Feature 3.6L V-6VVT engine sprints to 252 hp (net). In a rare move for the segment, both engines are mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with manual shift control, said the statement.

Malibu will be priced starting from BD7,590 for the well-equipped LT model.-TradeArabia News Service