I would agree 100% that it's all subjective... When I talk about complicated I mean that If GM Makes a car with a center stack and control stack ala the new Accord- I will not buy it. It's too freaking complex, and I want something more straightforward. If they must integrate the controls, I think the Invicta and CTS seem to do a better job of this. The Malibu Interior is, however, wrong in a few fundamental ways by my eyes... It's not hideous, but for the same price, I'd rather have the Aura. Yeah I know it's got more hard plastic than it should but I don't care about it either way- given the Aura has the Metal Finish inserts instead of that gawd awful plood it looks better to my eyes, For comparison's sake:
As you can see, the Malibu has lots of cutlines in the door panels that make the whole thing look hacked up IMO.
Second, look at the instruments. Those gauges look a bit too 'showy' for my conservative tastes, and with a speedo up to 220, it looks squished in there.
Third, look at that area from the top of the bulge for the instruments down to the bottom of the steering column. Even with two tone-interiored Malibus that area is all one color without any accent strips to jazz it up. The center stack looks stunning, but by moving the wood strip up so high they've killed the aesthetic value of those extreme sides of the dash on both sides. Contrast this with the AURA that has a trim strip that goes through the middle of there, and onto the door, cutting down on the cutlines and making that area less of a no-mans land.
On the exterior they're both really attractive, but the Aura's C-Pillar isn't as Obese as well.
But 'eh... I'm only one man.