Sebring emerges as bigger, better, visually charming
— -- Chrysler's DCX new-design Sebring sedan has a wicked Boston Acoustics stereo that'll clean your sinuses, the industry's best map lights and a killer cup holder that heats or cools your drinks.
If the rest of the car lived up to the standards set by those items, we'd be saying, "Hold those calls, ladies and gentlemen. We have a winner." Alas, the whole car is not as good as its salient features.
Not bad, though.
It's loosely based on the platform used for the smaller Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicles sold by Chrysler Group's other brands, but is lengthened, widened and better isolated from road and powertrain noise.
PHOTOS/AUDIO:Chrysler Sebring with Healey's comments
Dodge will get a version of the Sebring sedan. But it will be much different looking, along the lines of the Dodge Avenger concept car at recent auto shows.
MORE TEST DRIVE:Archive of Healey's columns
Some of the significant points, based on 300 highway miles and 100 suburban miles in a preproduction, high-end, Limited with 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission.
•Powertrain. The 3.5-liter V-6 engine was smooth, powerful, pleasant. Transmission upshifts were crisp. At lower speeds the gearbox in the preproduction test car had some herky-jerky moments hanging up in gears or shifting when it probably shouldn't have. Chrysler says it's re-tuned the transmission on regular-production models to work more smoothly.
•Handling. The front end seems to toss and bob a little on gentle bumps, such as drainage swales at road intersections. Steering feels responsive, but would benefit from better on-center feel.
•Interior. Generally premium in appearance, feel and execution. An array of upscale options plays to the premium theme. MyGig, for instance. It's a 20-gigabyte hard drive that comes with the navigation system. You can store photos, more than 100 hours of music and three-minute messages-to-self when you have those eureka moments. It twins with a special feature of Sirius satellite radio to provide traffic condition updates, something pioneered by rival XM satellite radio and Acura.
The radio uses the two-knob approach, one for volume, one for tuning. That's a signal that common sense and straight thinking have not been overwhelmed by technology.
Climate-control knobs and the turn-signal lever operate with a high-class feel. Chrysler's corporate relative Mercedes-Benz should do as well.
That Boston Acoustics stereo, standard on the Limited, reproduces low notes without muddying them and delivers high notes that are smooth and crisp without the tinny, ear-piercing overtones of some systems.
The system's striking fidelity is evident at low volume levels, a rarity, so you needn't crank it to skin-peeling levels to enjoy.
Or you can turn it up very, very loud, a treat denied you on many original-equipment systems. The sound doesn't get ragged, it just swells (and the term "volume" suddenly makes a lot more sense).
The CD changer in the test car was gawd-awful noisy, whirring and clacking through unexplained cycles every time the vehicle was started. Other vehicles don't do that, and their CD changers move among discs almost silently.
Front-seat backrests feel lumpy, regardless of how the lumbar bulge is adjusted. Bad enough to be a deal-breaker for some folks.
Back seat only fits two, realistically. The high center tunnel wipes out leg space in the middle. In the test car, the so-called latch hooks to attach a child seat were deep in the upholstery and hard to reach.
Faux wood portion of the steering wheel on the test car was too slick always and too cold in chilly weather. Just make it leather all the way around, guys.
The map/reading lights on the Touring and Limited models are tiny light-emitting diodes that shine a brilliant blue-white light. They bring daylight-like illumination to the dark interior when you open a door at night, and — here's the best — do their business in a tightly focused pattern. A front or rear passenger can use one as a reading light without distracting the driver.
The optional heated and cooled cup holder can chill your drink to 35 degrees Fahrenheit or heat it to 140 degrees, Chrysler says. It works by passing electricity through a material surrounding the openings for the drinks. Current flowing in one direction provides heating; flowing in the opposite direction, cooling. Go ahead, smirk. But gripe somewhere else when your latte goes cold this winter.
Bad news: The whiz-bang cup holder only comes as part of options packages that range from $605 to $1,195. Good news: You want most of the stuff in the packages anyway — trip computer, auto-dimming mirror, heated seats, remote start and so on.
•Styling. Front half of the car is dramatic, alluring, exciting. Grooves in the hood give Sebring a show-car look. They also stiffen the hood and make it easier for the factory to stamp out the part. The grooves look as if they'd collect dirt and muck, but they stayed as clean as the rest of the hood during the test drive.
The slope and shape of the rear roof pillars give the back an uneasy similarity to the down-market Dodge Caliber. And those roof pillars are situated so that one or both show up in the inside rearview mirror. That tricks your eye into believing another vehicle is close behind.
Sebring is bigger, better than the car of the same name that it replaces. It has a special charm, especially visually, and some remarkable features. The 3.5-liter V-6 romps. But Sebring isn't especially comfortable and not as pleasant overall to drive as, say, a Ford Fusion or Honda Accord.
2007 Chrysler Sebring
•What is it? Redesign of the brand's midsize, front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan; bigger outside, roomier inside than the one it replaces. Available with 2.4-liter four-cylinder, 2.7-liter flexible-fuel V-6 or, later this month, 3.5-liter V-6. Manufactured at Sterling Heights, Mich.
•How soon? On sale since October; 3.5-liter V-6 goes on sale mid-December.
•How much? Base model, called simply Sebring, starts at $18,995, including $675 destination fee. Sebring Touring starts at $20,195. Sebring Limited starts at $23,995. Touring with optional 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission starts at $25,996.
•Who'll buy? Typical: 35 to 55 years old, one or two kids, median annual household income, $65,000; 55% are female; 60% are college educated.
•How many? Chrysler won't say. That way it's impossible to say the car isn't selling as well as expected. Chrysler was selling only about 40,000 a year of the previous Sebring sedan.
•What's the drivetrain? Standard on all models: 2.4-liter, four-cylinder rated 173 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 166 pounds-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm, four-speed automatic transmission.
Optional: 2.7-liter V-6 rated 189 hp at 6,400 rpm, 191 lbs.-ft. at 4,000 rpm; four-speed automatic, able to burn gasoline or E85 alcohol fuel.
Optional on Limited only: 3.5-liter V-6, 235 hp at 6,400 rpm, 232 lbs.-ft. at 4,000 rpm, six-speed automatic with manual-shift mode.
•What's the safety gear? Expected bags and belts, plus side-impact bags for front occupants, head-curtain bags for front and rear, anti-lock brakes. Stability control is optional.
•What's the rest? Standard equipment includes climate control; AM/FM/CD/MP3-compatible stereo with MP3 jack; tilt-adjustable and telescoping steering column; height-adjustable driver's seat; power steering, brakes, windows, locks, mirrors; remote-control locks; outside mirror and rear-window defrosters; cruise control.
•What's the warranty? 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper; 3/36,000 powertrain; 60 months/100,000 corrosion.
•How big? Within an inch of Toyota Camry up, down and sideways. Sebring has slightly more passenger space but a smaller trunk. Sebring is 190.6 inches long, 71.2 inches wide, 59.0 inches tall on a 108.9-inch wheelbase.
Passenger space is listed as 102.5 cubic feet; trunk space as 13.6 cubic feet. Weight ranges from 3,310 to 3,525 pounds, depending on model and equipment. Rated to carry 917 pounds; rated to tow 1,000 lbs. (2.4-liter four-cylinder), 1,500 pounds (2.7-liter V-6) or 2,000 pounds (3.5-liter V-6). Turning circle diameter is 36.5 feet, curb-to-curb.
•How thirsty? 2.4-liter four-cylinder is rated 24 mpg in town, 32 on the highway, 27 in combined driving. 2.7-liter V-6 is rated 22/30/25 on gasoline, 15/22/18 on E85. 3.5-liter V-6 is rated 18/28/23.
Fuel tank holds 16.9 gallons. Regular-grade (87 octane) gasoline is specified for 2.4-liter and 2.7-liter engines. Midgrade (89 octane) is recommended for 3.5-liter. Chrysler says using 87-octane gasoline won't change the horsepower of the 3.5-liter, but will trim torque 3 lbs.-ft.
Trip computer on 3.5-liter V-6 test car showed 14.3 mpg in suburban driving, 22.3 in mostly highway driving. Chrysler says its tests of the 3.5-liter V-6 show 1 to 3 mpg more than that in suburban driving.
•Overall:Engaging styling, appealing features, just OK otherwise.