Chrysler sebring sedan test drive since 2006 sedan

Business in American

The new Chrysler Sebring marks a business class. For success, he has all the terms: an attractive appearance, a spacious interior and a tempting price. Will he be able to win our hearts?
There is one circumstance thanks to which American cars are still in demand. This is not a very optimistic beginning, but it so happened that even in America itself many Japanese and Europeans are more popular than their own automotive industry. The reasons are quite trivial. Cars from the east are captivated by high reliability and relatively low price, and the old light in the person of the enclosed premium firmly occupied the segment of prestigious cars. By and large, the best that the Americans managed to be the multi-ton, multi-meter, multi-liter sedans of the mid-70s and endless pickups that absorb fuel faster than oil refineries manage to produce it. Today, both are doubtful, so the managers of American automobile corporations are very puzzled. How to resist the Japanese-European onslaught? How to bring the company to a profitable level and where is the right path to a bright future? These are difficult questions, but it seems that the answer was found. There were American cars, there are and, most likely, will remain original. It is as we used to see them: with a strange design, strange ergonomics and strange running characteristics. I'm not talking about bad, I'm talking about the fact that the American car is something completely special, and I swear by the Indy 500 baseball cap, identity will allow them to survive. At least the new Dodge Avenger, which was presented to us in Spain, left pleasant memories, and from his blood brother Chrysler Sebring, I expected something like that.
 
Sebring, whose advertising you probably saw on the pages of glossy magazines and the streets of Moscow, is a really new car. To make you forget about the previous model, Daimlerchrysler designed Sebring again, from scratch. And a fresh marker. The design has become more expressive and more European. Finally, the American sedan looks proportional! Compared to the previous overhang model, the wheelbase increased by 25 mm. Long hood is now decorated with longitudinal stamping, and a dynamic line stretches from the front wheel arch to the edge of the rear lamp, thanks to which the effect of movement is created even with a static position of the car. According to the facial expression, we can conclude that Sebring is seriously configured, if not aggressively: the evil look of optics, a grille of a radiator with large cells, a very outstanding bumper such stylistics is now in fashion. But chrome is unnatural, and this is visible. The optics looks rustic, and if you press on the bumper, it will bend. Tell me, fans of American cars, do you like a car with a soft radiator grille? If not, I dare to remind you that it is now fashionable to take care of pedestrians, and if you thought that Chrysler has saved in this way, it is better to think differently. But about the driver and passengers, it was worth showing more care. Tell me to be mercy, how to open the trunk lid in a damp, aborcient weather, because there is no handle, and the lock is unlocked only from the cabin or from the key fob? If you want, you don’t want to, but get dirty. Well, at least the trunk itself is large (441 l), but the quality of the finish leaves much to be desired, and again there is no handle, but now on the back of the lid. The doors are another surprise. As you have already noticed, they are beautifully designed and open a fairly large opening/landing opening. But when I first got out of the car, I received decently on my knee! The loops are supplemented with springs, so the door is not fixed in a certain position, but bounces back with even greater force than you pushed it. In fact, an interesting sight for passers -by can turn out.
 
The salon meets a specific smell of plastic. This, of course, is not China, but not Germany. I would like to say: naked! However, soon you get used to the synthetic smell of plastic, but the texture of the decoration of salon panels continues to cause doubts. It would seem that you are sitting in a prestigious class D Sedan, and the quality of materials in VW Golf is higher. The skin on the steering wheel is slippery, the decor for valuable rocks of wood and aluminum does not look too convincing, the plastic is hard obviously, Chrysler saved on finishing materials so that the price of Sebring was more attractive. But ergonomics are fine. The readings of the devices are well read, climate can be controlled blindly, and for the sake of fashion for the multimedia devices, you can equip the Mygig system. Her 6.5-inch touch screen is perhaps the first thing that catches the eye in the cabin. Inside, a 20 GB hard drive is hidden, a musical system, a navigator, a recorder, Bluetooth in general, in general, everything that used to be forced up additionally.
 
Chairs without intelligible lateral support, sheathed with slippery skin, are immediately knocked down from a combat mood. Yes, and what drive can be discussed if there are four cylinders and 170 hp under the hood, and under the right hand the selector of the 4-band machine gun. Chrysler claims that acceleration to 100 km/h takes no more than 11.3 s, but in reality the dynamics is even less impressive. To stay in the general stream, you have to squeeze the gas pedal, the machine starts to get confused in the programs, the engine is wounding strayly, and the speedometer arrow crawls at such a speed that it seems that he is about to fall asleep. No, this is not a combat vehicle for high -speed overcoming highways. If there is a more powerful engine and a more modern 5-band machine, perhaps there would be more pleasure from driving, but so far a hasty drivers are better off to look at other cars. However, you can choose a sebring with the V6 engine (188 hp), but in this case, the machine throws lead into the trunk to hundreds of such a sebring accelerates for 10.3 s and consumes 1.5 liters of gasoline more in urban driving conditions, than a version with a 4-cylinder engine. Unfortunately, the version with the Volkswagen turbodiesel (2 liters, 140 hp) is not delivered to Russia.
 
Sebring captivates with comfort. The suspension copes well with potholes in the asphalt, so you can relax at the wheel. In order to call the new Sebring a real American car, shock absorbers, perhaps, is not enough softness, but the Europeanized setting of the chassis allows you to confidently pass, and the car does not swing on the waves. This is a big plus for those who find themselves in the back seat. But those who are sitting in front, and those who prefer a soft sofa will complain about an increased level of noise in the cabin: they sing an engine, tires, and wind. It is strange that in Avenger, which is built on the same platform as Sebring, the noise insulation level is better. Yes, and the car rides more collected.
 
The price of the basic Chrysler Sebring starts with 25900 euros, a car with a 6-cylinder engine in the top configuration P2 will cost 29,100 euros.
Technical characteristics Chrysler Sebring 2.4
Dimensions, mm 4850x1843x1497
Base, mm 2765
Engine type gasoline in a row 4-cylinder
Working volume, cubic meter. cm 2360
Max. Power, L.S./rpm 170/6000
Max. moment, nm/rpm 220/4500
The transmission is automatic 4-band
Front drive
Max. Speed, km/h 200
Tires 215/55 R16
Acceleration time 0-100 km, from 11.3
Fuel consumption (average), l/100 km 8.9
Tank volume, l 64
    

Stanislav Goncharenko
Photo by Ivan Simonov
 
 
 
 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine