NAPLES, Florida — My Chevy Malibu is roomy, techy and easy on the eyes. And, most importantly, it’s a used bargain at under 20 grand.

Let’s go used car reviewing.

I’m a big fan of affordable cars whether new or used, but it’s a tough hoe for consumers these days in a market buffeted by a perfect storm of electric vehicle mandates, low post-pandemic inventories, and high manufacturing costs. The average price paid for a new vehicle has ballooned from $37,577 in 2019 to $47,338 now. Worse, the number of new cars under $20,000 has shrunk as manufacturers buffeted by rising regulation, labor costs and electronic tech find it hard to make margin on entry-level cars — driving customers into the used market, where inventories have been hammered by the lack of production during the pandemic.

“We need more used cars,” Roger Penske lamented to me in a recent interview as he listed the challenges to his dealer network.

The average price of a used vehicle — $27,297 as of last month — is up even more than new cars (33% vs. 26%) from $20,398 in 2019. Ouch. Meanwhile, affordable new cars like the Honda Fit, Chevy Sonic and Ford Focus have left the market. Manufacturers are flooding the zone instead with EVs to both meet onerous government sales mandates and to test consumer taste for battery-power. Most of the new cars I test these days are pricey electrics like the $50K Chevy Blazer EV. To make up for big losses on EVs (Ford lost $4.7 billion in its EV division last year), brands are making higher-trim models to capture profit.

Meanwhile, customers want gas-powered Swiss Army knives — affordable vehicles that can do it all from road trips to urban parking to loading in a family of four.

As I travel the country, I’ll try to report on good finds from time to time. The Chevy Malibu is one.

Sneak up behind my Malibu 1LT tester in a parking lot and you might mistake its sleek lines for a luxury chariot. Coupe-like roof, scalloped side panels, fashionably-spoked wheels. Walk ‘round to the front and the mood is ruined by a dog’s breakfast of twin grilles and competing surfaces. Give me a simple, European grille any day.

I have a friend who’s a big Lexus fan but recoils at their Darth Vader grilles. So she just parks the car head-first into her garage or downtown parking spot so she never has to look at it. Happily, when you’re behind the wheel of the Malibu, you never have to look it in the face.

Instead, you get a handsome, ergonomically-superior interior. Easy-to-read tablet screen, well-organized, bezeled climate controls, fat knobs for controlling climate and sound, intuitive automotive shifter. Alas, the steering wheel of my 2023 tester didn’t have Chevy’s newer roller button for volume and cruise control — but I could still find the raised control buttons with my fingers so I never had to take my eyes off the road.

Better yet, Malibu allowed me to control the radio from the back of the steering wheel. Volume buttons on the wheel’s right backside. Station controls on the left.

I rented my ‘bu tester in Naples, Florida — which is hardly New York City — but is still jammed with traffic in the winter months with everything from spring breakers to senior citizens to hot rodders with more horsepower than sense.

Navigating this morass in the Malibu is also easy thanks to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — a significant upgrade to the Chevy since its 2016 debut — which mirrors your phone’s navi system for seamless, familiar operation. I gave voice commands without ever taking my phone out of my pocket.

“Hey, Google, navigate to Miami!”

The direction dutifully followed on screen.

Add to this convenience a lack of range anxiety. I love electric vehicles, but you need to be conscious of range at all times. Recharging takes time, and could make you late for an appointment — or take you out of your way, especially in unfamiliar territory (to me) like South Florida. Gas power = peace of mind.

After a morning of errands, Mrs. Payne and I set off for Miami (to look at buying a used Alfa Romeo 4C — a used car for another column), at which point I finally took a look at my fuel gauge: just 118 miles left for the 240-mile round trip. We’d need fuel to get there and back. No worries.

I drove into one of the numerous service stations on Naples’ perimeter, added 328 miles in a minute and was set for the day. Try that in a $100,000, 800-volt, Porsche Taycan Turbo and you’ll get 245 miles in 16 minutes at an Electrify America fast charger (according to a recent Inside EVs test). Who would think a Malibu costing 1/5 th that of a Taycan would be faster at anything?

Merging onto I-75 east to Miami, I floored the 1.5-liter turbo-4 under the hood, which let out a nice growl. Then I set cruise control at 80 mph. I’d prefer adaptive cruise, but that’s not available on ’23 1LTs. Preferences vary depending on automaker — but I’d recommend a used car today with at least two of three electronic advances: wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, adaptive cruise, and ... blind-spot assist.

The latter is standard on the ’23 Malibu, so I didn’t have to crane my neck to check traffic every time I wanted to pass a slower car. Were I alone, I might have listened to a Spotify on Android Auto, but Mrs. Payne and I passed the time chatting in the quiet cabin.

Had we been passengers in the backseat, we’d have been comfortable. The advantage of a midsizer like Malibu is its good rear legroom. Also excellent is the Chevy’s JD Power quality rating, a key consideration of any buyer.

Malibu scores an 85, beating competitors like the much-loved Subaru Legacy (81).

With front-wheel drive, the Malibu won’t tempt you to conquer Mt. Rushmore in a snowstorm like the AWD Legacy. But the Chevy sedan will do just fine in all seasons, deliver an easy-on-the-wallet 32 mpg and 540 miles of highway range — and won’t beg the premium price of a comparable Subie.

My rule of thumb is to buy used vehicles with 50,000 miles or less on them, and that have a good service history. There’ll be a Malibu for you there — though you may have to go to Florida to find it.

As the industry goes all-electric, used gas vehicles could be in more demand than ever.

2023 Used Chevy Malibu

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan

Price: $27,895 when new, including $1,500 destination charge (under $20,000 used 1LT)

Powerplant: 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-4 cylinder

Power: 160 horsepower, 184 pound-feet-torque

Transmission: Continuously variable automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.8 seconds (Car and Driver); Top speed, 130 mph

Weight: 3,184 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA est. 29 mpg city/36 highway/32 combined

Report card

Highs: Easy to use; easy on the wallet

Lows: No adaptive cruise control; oh, that face

Overall: 3 stars

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