Huntington Beach Chrysler Jeep

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Walk Around

The 2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible at first looks to be a twin of the '07 Sebring sedan, but with only two doors and a shortened, coupe-like greenhouse. And dimensionally, save for the convertible adding precisely 3.2 inches in overall length (front bumper to rear bumper), they are. Both ride on the same, 108.9-inch wheelbase (distance between the tires front to rear) and share the same, 61.8-inch front and rear track (distance between the tires side to side). Suspension design is also the same, four-wheel independent with struts in front and multi-link in back. Tires and wheels are interchangeable, too.

Thus, the differences are in balance, in proportion. And were this convertible the traditional type, just a soft top with, say, choice of fabric or color, we daresay it'd look better, more like its predecessor, the '06 Sebring Convertible. But it's that added length, and the reasons therefore that unsettle the '08 model.

Viewed head on, it's the '07 sedan, with that car's current rendition of the idiomatic Chrysler grille: egg crate with bright horizontal strips and topped by the brand's winged crest. Headlights fill the upper contours of the front fenders. A substantial, but otherwise unremarkable bumper tops a slim lower air intake bracketed by two, smaller, grille-like openings at the outer ends of which pods provide housings for fog lamps. Molded-in strakes patterned after those on the Crossfire, Chrysler's unappreciated sporty coupe, dress up the hood while adding structural rigidity.

From the side, everything looks quite proper and mostly pleasant back to and across the door. Maybe a little busy, or overwrought, just as with the '07 sedan, with the relatively high, angled beltline and deep undercut running across the upper door panel, but still of a piece. But it's the back half where the proportions come adrift. Simply put, the wheelbase is too long and there's too much of the hindquarters for a two-door. If the expanse of metal between the trailing edge of the door and the rear wheel well were halved, while leaving the door the same size, of course, then it'd fit.

But the problem is, there has to be some place to store large segments of an articulated, metal roof, along with the motors, pumps and sundry other hardware necessary to lower and raise it. And in the case of the new Sebring Convertible, this results in a bulbous back end, with a top surface area nearly the equal of the hood. Also, to allow the retracted roof to fit inside the rear quarters, the rearmost edges of the C-pillars (the part of the roof between the side glass and the rear window) must be drawn inward, awkwardly positioning the roof more on top of the rear fenders than smoothly flowing down into the side of the car.

The rear fascia, like the front, copies the '07 sedan. Large, multi-element taillights wrap around the rear fenders, crossing over into the trunk lid. A modest, molded-in lip outlines the upper trailing edge of the trunk lid. Which, by the way, opens like a normal trunk with any of the tops up or down. Only when a top is in motion does it hinge from the rear, opening like a clamshell to swallow or disgorge the top. License plate recess is centered in the bumper.

Interior

2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible

Inside, the Sebring Convertible is indistinguishable from the Sebring sedan. Other than, of course, seating four instead of the sedan's five.

The dashboard styling carries into the car the general motif of the Chrysler winged crest, or at least that's what the designers say. It's a stretch, but if you look at it kind of sideways, it works. Picture the winged crest from the grille magnified, say, 100 times, then with the wings severely cropped. Drape this image over the dash, so about half lies on top and the other half hangs down the front, add a couple cut lines, mold in a bead for some character and a hood to shade the black-on-white gauges, and there you have it. Speakers sit on top of the dash, vent registers outboard in a contrasting surround, while the clock, stereo/nav screen and climate control knobs take their usual places.

Front seats are adequate, if a bit short on thigh support. Side and bottom bolsters are proportioned for folk of substantial girth. Of note, too, is that only drivers enjoy a manual lumbar adjustment. Less than two hours in the front passenger seat left us painfully craving even the slightest lumbar support.

Rear-seat legroom drops almost four inches from the sibling sedan's, leaving enough space for an average-height adult only when a front seat is set for somebody no more than five feet six inches tall.

Quality of materials is consistent with the car's price range: good, not great, and looking better than it feels. Fit and finish is a grade above, with consistent and close tolerances between panels. The Touring model's trim finish of satin silver and chrome had the most eye appeal for us. The Limited model's combo of tortoise shell and chrome did not look real. The front center armrest adjusts fore and aft over a range of about three inches, which is helpful for drivers of short stature, but a height adjustment would be helpful, too, for taller drivers. Of concern also is the possible impression that the rear seat head restraints function as roll bars to protect rear seat passengers in a rollover, which they do in some convertibles. In the Sebring, they don't, their function confined to reducing risk of whiplash in rear-end collisions.

There's sufficient storage of the proper variety, with a cup holder for every seating position, map pockets in the lower front door panels and a flexible pouch on the backside of the passenger seat. The damped glove-box door locks, which is a welcome change from the '07 sedan. Chrysler says the trunk loses only half a cubic foot from the sedan and even when the top is down can hold two, full-size golf bags. True, but access with the top retracted is restricted to an opening about the size of the outline of one of those bags. Thus, when you want to put a box more than about a foot square or a piece of luggage any larger than a roller bag back there, the top will have to be up, at least when you start.

Compared with the Toyota Solara, the VW Eos, and the Volvo C70, the Sebring Convertible does reasonably well in terms of interior spaciousness. The Solara has a roomier back seat but a marginally less roomy front seat, and the Eos is a snugger fit all 'round, as is the C70. The latter two also give up almost half their maximum trunk space when their tops retract.

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