Chrysler Sebring Interior Review
Inside, the sedan and convertible are virtually identical. However, the convertible has a narrower rear seat that allows for seating of just two passengers in back, while the sedan can take three.
The dashboard styling carries the 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, with the vent registers outboard in a contrasting surround.
The speedometer, tachometer and fuel level and engine coolant gauges are clustered in three pods. The center stack houses the audio and climate controls, which are easy to use, a classic analog clock and, when ordered, the MyGIG screen with navigation system display.
The center stack is laid out to be inclusive of the front seat passenger, subtly reinforcing the family car personality. The center dash flows smoothly down into the center console, a single piece of nicely textured, hard plastic running all the way back to the raised storage bin that doubles as an armrest for front seat occupants. Just aft of the shift gate are two cup holders. As an option, the rearmost of the two can heat (to 140-degrees Fahrenheit) or cool (to 35-degrees Fahrenheit) a beverage.
In our test drives, the stereo's well-mixed, crisp audio did a decent job of masking the ventilation fan. When ordered with MyGIG, a USB port is provided to download music and picture files. Chrysler says the hard drive can hold up to 1600 songs.
In-cabin storage compares favorably with the class. Besides the two cup holders in the front center console, a bottle holder is molded into each of the sedan's rear door map pockets. Front door map pockets are a bit shallow for anything besides, well, maps. The glove box door is damped, so it doesn't bruise an unwary passenger's shins. The bi-level bin in the front center console provides a power point, supplementing another in a covered compartment forward of the shift gate where the optional ashtray and lighter fit when ordered. A thoughtful feature: One power point is wired to the battery and on all the time, which is good for charging cell phones and such. 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.
The quality of the materials is consistent with the car's price range: good, not great, and it looks 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 combination of tortoise shell and chrome did not look real.
The Sebring is not the roomiest car in its class. The sedan offers almost as much headroom front and rear as the class-topping Accord, but the Sebring's front- and rear-seat hip room and rear-seat legroom trail all but the Saturn Aura. 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. The convertible has the same front-seat room, but it's rear legroom drops almost four inches from the sedan's, leaving enough space for an average-height adult only when someone short is sitting in front.
The Sebring's thick A-pillars can block sight of cross traffic at intersections and when exiting a driveway or parking lot. The roof's rear taper doesn't leave much room for the rear window and makes for exceptionally deep C-pillars, both of which compromise rear quarter vision.
The convertible tops raise and lower smoothly, whether vinyl or cloth soft top or retractable hard top. Watching the hardtop operate is entertaining: the clam shell opens; the roof separates into three segments, folds, then collapses into the trunk; and finally the clam shell closes. When we rolled down the windows after encountering some rain during our time in the test hardtop convertible, water dripped from the roof onto the armrest and the power window controls. Note that in the convertible the rear-seat head restraints do not function as roll bars to protect rear-seat passengers in a rollover.
The Sebring convertible compares well with the Volkswagen Eos and Volvo C70 in terms of interior spaciousness. In fact, the Eos and C70 are more snug all around.
Chrysler Sebring Road Test
There's more pleasure to be found from behind the wheel of the 2008 Chrysler Sebring than first impressions might suggest. Yes, it's primarily a mainstream, middle-of-the-road commuter, but even in their most basic forms both the sedan and convertible are enjoyable to drive.
The Sebring convertible is nice for a leisurely drive on a sunny day and pulls duty as a regular commuter with a fun side, but it's less sporty than the sedan. It's fully 400 pounds heavier, and that weight affects handling and engine performance. While we found the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine reasonably responsive in the sedan, even the 2.7-liter V6 seemed to struggle in the convertible, sounding very busy while not getting much done. The weight of the convertible also drops fuel economy by one or two miles per gallon.
An antiquated four-speed automatic transmission hurts the performance of the base and Touring models (which come with the 2.4-liter and 2.7-liter engines). The four-speed automatic is more responsive in the sedan, but in terms of quality and sophistication, let alone absolute performance, it falls woefully short of what we expect in a 2008 model. Shifting lacks 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.
The larger, 3.5-liter V6 comes with a modern six-speed automatic that delivers the level of performance many expect in a car with the Sebring convertible's aspirations. In the sedan, the 3.5-liter V6 provides fine power, though it is outperformed by the V6s offered by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Saturn, and Pontiac.
All-wheel-drive sedans come standard with the 3.5-liter V6. While all-wheel drive prevents wheel spin on hard starts, the extra weight of the all-wheel drive system saps some of the midrange passing response.
Inside the sedan, road, tire and wind noise are noticeable, but they don't interrupt conversation. The Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata are quieter.
The Sebring convertible isn't as quiet as the sedan, of course, but it isn't noisy underway. Among the convertibles, road noise is best suppressed by the retractable hardtop. At freeway speeds with the top down, voices needn't be raised for conversation between front seat passengers. The optional wind blocker helps keep hair and dangly earrings from being mussed too much. The soft tops flutter lightly at freeway speeds. Integrating the front seatbelt's shoulder strap into the seatback keeps it from flapping in the wind when the window is down, a nice feature.
For commuting, every Sebring rides smoothly, with good balance between the front and rear suspensions over uneven pavement. Rough pavement produces some cowl shake in the convertible, less with the top up; the hardtop quells the shudders best.
Steering feel is confident, both on and off center. Cornering is surprisingly well mannered in the sedan, allowing minimal body roll. Compared to the sedan, the convertible is more prone to understeer, a tendency to plow straight ahead instead of biting in sharp, fast turns. Directional stability is good in both body styles, though the convertible 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. At elevated speeds, there's a touch of wallow before the suspension takes a set, but then the car is stable. When cornering loads have compressed the suspension, it tracks cleanly through fast corners. There's also some float at speed on an interstate, but not to an unsettling extent. While not quite as at home in non-commute environs, the Sebring is not all that flustered by a twisty, two-lane country road. The sizeable footprint of the available low-profile tires delivers precise turn-in and above-average grip through tight turns.
Against the competition, the Sebring rates about middle of the road for handling and ride quality. The ride isn't as sophisticated as that of the Toyota Camry, and the Honda Accord and Saturn Aura handle noticeably better.
The four-wheel disc brakes in the V6-powered models have a firm pedal feel, while the disc/drum brakes that come with the four-cylinder could use a stouter pedal.
Chrysler Sebring Lineup
The 2008 Chrysler Sebring is available as a four-door sedan or two-door convertible in three trim levels with a choice of three engines. The convertible offers a choice of vinyl or cloth soft tops or a retractable hard top.
The Sebring LX sedan ($18,690) comes with a 173-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and four-speed automatic transmission. Standard features include cloth upholstery; air conditioning; six-way adjustable driver's seat plus lumbar; four-way adjustable front passenger seat; cruise control; remote keyless entry; power door locks, windows and heated outside mirrors; AM/FM/MP3 four-speaker stereo with six-disc CD changer and auxiliary audio input; tilt/telescope steering wheel; Sirius satellite radio with one-year subscription; front center console with sliding armrest and bi-level storage; 60/40 split folding rear seatback with drop-down center armrest; P215/65R16 tires on full-covered, steel wheels; and headlight-off delay.
The LX convertible ($25,840) features a power vinyl soft top. The convertible's front passenger seat is upgraded with six-way power adjustments, but the convertible does not have a 60/40-split folding rear seat or power heated side mirrors.
Optional for LX models: premium fabric upholstery ($100); heated front seats ($250); and a sunroof with lighted visor mirrors, LED front-seat map and rear-seat reading lights ($935). A Convenience Group for sedans ($895) adds the premium fabric upholstery, theft alarm, electronic personalization center, trip computer, remote starting, trunk cargo organizer, cabin air filter and one-touch up/down front side windows. For convertibles, the Convenience Group ($345) adds only the upholstery, alarm, and air filter.
The Sebring Touring sedan comes with a four-cylinder engine ($19,865) or a V6 ($20,920). Standard features over and above those of the LX include four-wheel disc brakes (upgraded from the base disc/drum setup), premium upholstery; chrome interior door handles; one-touch up/down front windows; automatic headlights; LED map lights; lighted visor mirrors; and P215/60R17 tires on aluminum wheels. Sedans also get a fold-flat front passenger seatback, while convertibles also have an Electronic Vehicle Information Center, a trip computer, and an upgraded tire-pressure monitor with display.
Options for Touring models: Boston Acoustics 276-watt sound system ($495), UConnect hands-free cell phone link ($360), and MyGIG. The MyGIG Entertainment System has a touch screen and a 20-gigabyte hard drive that hosts a music file data/management system, a voice-memo recorder and a six-gigabyte partition for audio and picture files. The MyGIG Multi-Media Infotainment System ($1895) adds a navigation system, voice-activation, and Chrysler's UConnect hand-free cell phone link. Touring sedans are available with an eight-way power driver's seat ($395); leather-wrapped steering wheel with redundant audio controls ($135); a rear DVD entertainment system with floor console-mounted LCD, remote control, wireless headsets and auxiliary audio and video/game inputs ($1,195); and P255/55R18 tires on aluminum wheels ($250). An Electronic Convenience Group for Touring sedans includes automatic climate control, heated front seats, remote starting, cabin air filter, theft alarm, universal garage door opener, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated and cooled cup holder, and the personalization center with trip computer and upgraded tire-pressure monitor ($915).
The Touring convertible ($28,440) is similarly equipped. Also offered for convertibles is a power retractable hardtop ($1995), and a Special Touring Group, which has a cloth top, wind blocker, leather interior trim, heated front seats, fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and 18-inch wheels and tires ($1495). For convertibles, the Electronic Convenience Group includes automatic climate control, cabin air filter, automatic headlamps, remote start, security alarm, universal garage door opener, heated and cooled cup holder and auto-dimming rearview mirror ($820).
The Limited sedan is available with the four-cylinder engine and four-speed automatic ($23,515) or the 235-hp 3.5-liter V6 ($25,070) and six-speed automatic with AutoStick manual-shift mode. The Limited AWD sedan ($27,515) features all-wheel drive. The Limited convertible ($32,055) comes with the 3.5-liter V6, six-speed automatic and P255/55R18 tires on aluminum wheels.
Limited models come with leather trim, automatic climate control, the Boston Acoustics sound system, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, theft alarm, and fog lamps. Sedans also get an eight-way power driver's seat, HomeLink universal garage door opener, and a trip computer, while convertibles also add an interior air filter and a power cloth convertible top. Option packages are available with many of the features already mentioned, including the power retractable hardtop for the convertible. The 18-inch wheels and tires are optional for Limited sedans with the 3.5-liter V6.
Safety features on all models include multi-stage front airbags, torso-protecting front side airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and constant-force retractors, rear-seat child safety seat anchors and tethers (LATCH), antilock brakes, and a tire-pressure monitor. Sedans have head-protecting side curtain airbags for both seating rows. Limited models get a full-featured tire-pressure monitoring system with individual tire pressure display. Electronic stability program plus traction control and Brake Assist, which enhances emergency braking, are optional on all but the AWD Limited sedan, where they are standard. We recommend opting for it. But most important, wear your seatbelts because they are your first line of defense in a crash.