Where each one leads
Cadillac Seville
- Against cars of the same year, the Cadillac Seville comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 32% less often than average) than the Chevrolet Malibu (fails 22% more often than average).
Chevrolet Malibu
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2025 Chevrolet Malibu uses 7.7 l/100 km, the 2004 Cadillac Seville 12.6.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Cadillac Seville | Chevrolet Malibu | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1981–2004 | 1981–2025 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 2,918 (2010–2022) |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 142 | — |
| In traffic in Finland | 103 | 177 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Cadillac Seville | Chevrolet Malibu | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| … against cars of the same year | −32% | +22% |
| US owner complaints | 797 | 19,368 |
| Most complaints about | Engine and engine cooling | Steering |
| Model year with most complaints | 1996 (122) | 2009 (1,509) |
| US recall campaigns | 27 | 57 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,432 | 22,680 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 22 | 38 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Cadillac Seville | Chevrolet Malibu | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2025) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Cadillac Seville | Chevrolet Malibu | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 12.6 l/100 km (2004) | 7.7 l/100 km (2025) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 140 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 119 kW (160 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,394 kg |
| Average odometer in Finland | 187,000 km | 170,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).