New Car Overview of the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Mid-Size Wagon

Description: Mid-Size Wagon
Base MSRP Range: $21,350 - $24,495
Invoice Price Range: $19,535 - $22,415
Where built: USA

Think of Maxx as a comfortable four-door similar to the Malibu sedan, only the wheelbase gets more inches in length to add space to the rear of the cabin and there's a cascading back door in hatchback format for easy access to the cargo bay - in other words, it’s a station wagon.

The back bench seat slides almost 7 inches fore and aft to vary the space for people and goods -- and increase backseat legroom to 41 inches. The back of the right front bucket also folds forward to form a flat horizontal surface, and backs of the rear bench, divided into two sections, fold on the same plane. Long cargo items may be stacked on top of these folded seats and extended from dash to trunk bulkhead.

To shed extra light into the rear compartment, there's a fixed skylight overhead with retractable sunshade.

The standard powertrain for the Maxx is Malibu's up-level, 3.5-liter, V6 producing 200-hp through a 4-speed automatic transmission.

The Malibu Maxx LS gets new side-impact air bags as standard gear for 2005 issues, and there are audio and entertainment packages available, such as a six-disc CD changer, DVD-based video entertainment system for backseat riders, OnStar telecommunications and the XM satellite radio service.