Information on 03 & 04 Malibus

My daughter has a 97 Malibu with close to 110,000 miles on it. Because she will be moving away from home after college, she is considering getting another newer malibu with less miles, and passing her older one to her sister. She thinks a 4 cyl won't have enough power and is "downgrading". Of course she is concerned about fuel economy, so I thought a 4 cyl would be better choice. The dealer also has a local 02 Olds Intrigue for the same money/mileage that was bought new at the same dealers, and always serviced there - it does look like they get a little worse gas mileage than the Malibus.

Any input?

I guess it depends on how good fuel economy you want. You got the malibu which can have a 4 banger OR V6 and Olds is V6 only. Looking at the specs, the 4 banger does better by a few mpg, but all three are pretty good nonetheless (around 30 highway). The Olds seems to be a pretty nice car however so if she wants to "spoil herself" by sacrificing a few mpg then Olds for sure. A V6 is also the clear way to go if you're looking for any sort of power (then again you already have a 4 banger malibu so you/she can judge for yourself with test drives).