Huntington Beach Chrysler Jeep

• Introduction  »
• Interior / Walk Around  »
• Driving Impressions  »
• Summary

Driving Impressions

The new Chrysler Sebring Convertible is nice for a leisurely drive on a sunny day and pulls duty as a regular commuter with a fun side.

It isn't a sports car, however. It's fully 400 pounds heavier than the comparable Sebring sedan. That's a lot of weight. While we found the sedan with the inline-4 reasonably responsive, even the convertible's smaller V6 seemed to struggle, sounding very busy while not getting much done. That added weight exacts a small price in fuel economy, dropping the inline-4's EPA estimates by only one mile per gallon in both city and highway ratings and the smaller V6's only two mpg. (Note that the convertible's mpg ratings reflect the EPA's revised calculations for the 2008 model year; generally, this reduces current ratings by at most two mpg.)

Much the same holds for the antiquated, four-speed automatic in the base and Touring models. Again, while the same gearbox held its own in the sedan, in terms of quality and sophistication, let alone absolute performance, it falls woefully short of what buyers by right ought to expect in a 2008 automobile. Shifts lack smoothness and precision. The transmission hunts endlessly for the proper gear on mild grades, whether up or down, often shifting up at exactly the wrong moment.

Only the larger V6 with that powertrain's reasonably state-of-the-art, six-speed automatic delivers the level of performance many will expect today in a car with the Sebring Convertible's aspirations.

But at a lower level of expectations the Sebring Convertible can be enjoyable. The tops raise and lower smoothly; the process with the hard top is entertaining, watching the clam shell open, the roof separate into three segments and fold, then collapse into the trunk and the clam shell close. Realizing all those pumps, struts and braces have to work together, it's quite impressive. At freeway speeds with the top down, voices needn't be raised for conversation between front seat passengers. The optional wind blocker doesn't make it a closed coupe, but hair and dangly earrings aren't mussed with much. The soft tops flutter lightly at freeway speeds. Integrating the front seatbelt's shoulder strap into the seatback keeps it from flapping annoyingly in the wind when the window is down.

Rough pavement produces some cowl shake, less with the top up; the hard top quells the shudders best. Understeer, where the car wants to go straight instead of turn, is the default mode when corners are entered too fast; the electronic stability program is worth the added cost. Hard acceleration generates mild torque steer (where the car pulls to the right). The brake pedal returns a firm feel. Directional stability is good, although the car feels unbalanced in quick left-right-left transitions; our guess is this may result from much of the weight from the convertible top's hardware and some of the added bracing being positioned relatively high behind the rear seat.

The high cowl leaves a lot of the hood in sight through the windshield. Thick A-pillars that strengthen the windshield for improved occupant protection in the event of a rollover can block sight of cross traffic at intersections and when exiting a driveway or parking lot. The tapering of the roof's rear portions so it can tuck away inside the trunk doesn't leave much room for the rear window and makes for exceptionally deep C-pillars, both of which compromise rear quarter vision. When we rolled down the windows after encountering some rain during our time in the test car, water dripped from the roof onto the armrest and the power window controls, which strikes us as a potentially serious problem.

Against the Solara, Eos and C70, the latter two are tighter and sportier, but also seriously pricier, by as much as $10,000. The Solara, though, easily matches the performance and mechanical sophistication of the Sebring and is competitive on price. Despite the less

Go to Summary