For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Avalon have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Malibu doesn't offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Avalon are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Malibu doesn't offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Avalon has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Malibu doesn't offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Avalon Limited/Touring offers optional Rear Cross-Traffic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Malibu doesn't offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Avalon's standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Malibu.

The Avalon Limited/Touring offers an optional Bird's Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Malibu only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn't help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Avalon has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle's blind spots where the side view mirrors don't reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Malibu's blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Avalon has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Malibu.

Both the Avalon and the Malibu have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Avalon is safer than the Chevrolet Malibu:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight's “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Avalon the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 145 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Malibu last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.

The Avalon's corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Malibu's (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Avalon for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Chevrolet only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Malibu.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it's being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Avalon's reliability 48 points higher than the Malibu.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 12th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports' January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Chevrolet is ranked 17th.

The Avalon's 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 141 more horsepower (301 vs. 160) and 83 lbs.-ft. more torque (267 vs. 184) than the Malibu's standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Avalon's 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 51 more horsepower (301 vs. 250) and 7 lbs.-ft. more torque (267 vs. 260) than the Malibu Premier's standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Avalon is faster than the Chevrolet Malibu:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Avalon uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Malibu Premier requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Avalon stops shorter than the Malibu:

For better traction, the Avalon has larger standard tires than the Malibu (215/55R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The Avalon XLE's standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Malibu LS' standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Avalon XLE has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Malibu LS.

The Avalon offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The Malibu's suspension doesn't offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Avalon has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Malibu doesn't offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Avalon's wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Malibu (113 inches vs. 111.4 inches).

The Avalon Touring executes Motor Trend's “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Malibu LT (26.8 seconds @ .65 average G's vs. 27.4 seconds @ .63 average G's).

The Avalon Touring uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Malibu doesn't offer active noise cancellation.

The Avalon has .6 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front hip room, 2.2 inches more rear legroom and 1.4 inches more rear hip room than the Malibu.

The Avalon has a larger trunk than the Malibu (16.1 vs. 15.7 cubic feet).

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Avalon's trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don't intrude into the trunk. The Malibu's useful trunk space is reduced by its intrusive beam hinge.

The Avalon uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Malibu uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Avalon Limited/Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver's line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Malibu doesn't offer a heads-up display.

The Avalon's front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Malibu's standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. The Malibu LT/Premier's passenger windows don't close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Avalon the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Malibu can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Avalon has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Malibu doesn't offer a locking fuel door.

The Avalon's speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn't have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Malibu's manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Avalon Limited/Touring has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Malibu doesn't offer cornering lights.

The Avalon's standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Chevrolet only offers heated mirrors on the Malibu LT/Premier.

The Avalon's standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Malibu offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don't dim.

The Avalon has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won't have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Malibu LT/Premier.

Both the Avalon and the Malibu offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Avalon has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Malibu L/LS/RS doesn't offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Avalon is less expensive to operate than the Malibu because typical repairs cost much less on the Avalon than the Malibu, including $93 less for a water pump, $283 less for a muffler and $59 less for front brake pads.

The Toyota Avalon has won recognition from these important consumer publications: