Both my sister and mother have Malibu's. My mother is on her second- she leased an '00 in '99 and just decided to buy an '02 recently. My sister has a '00 and loves it, as well. They are both the LS models.
I actually like driving them- they are nice cars...good size...and good 'get-up-and-go'! They're not the flashiest looking things, but are still nice!
Just food for thought!