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2007 Chrysler Sebring Limited Retractable Hardtop Convertible Road Test

With a garage full of intriguing cars, including Subaru's new Impreza WRX, Audi's wonderful A6 4.2 FSI Quattro S line and a Lamborghini Gallardo coupe, it would be easy to expect Chrysler's

Styling? The Mercedes connection is obvious, but the new Sebring drop-top's general design polarizes. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

Sebring convertible, even in retractable hardtop guise, to get overlooked. After all, like many in the auto journalism field I lean towards performance, and the Sebring, while relatively quick off the line, is much more biased toward comfortable cruising. As it happened, I spent more time in the Sebring than in any of the others.

Before you discount me as having gone completely mad, let me explain. The day I had the Lambo I never got out of it, even to eat. OK, I jumped out on a couple of occasions to snap a few pics, but all in all it kept running for almost the entire six hour stint and ate through $110 worth of premium. And the Audi? Well, I had purposely left it empty of child seats so that I could enjoy it all to myself, but as the reality of life would dictate, I ended up having to cart the kids around more than expected and, in the usual rush of the morning and late afternoon, found it necessary to grab the Chrysler's key fob instead. As for the Subies (I actually had the WRX 4-door and a regular Impreza 2.5i 5-door),

Rear end design is very classy. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

I'd already driven them, written the reviews and taken the photos, so other than taking the WRX for a quick spin to confirm my opinion, I left them in the garage before farming them off to Tony and Dan to test and review (I only had them here to do a TV segment anyway). And when it came right down to it, Gallardo aside, the Sebring was the only one that I had to write about as the others were already covered, so I'm kind of glad I spent so much time driving it.

Justin also made it quite clear that the car fit my demographic a lot more than anyone else in the company, me being the only middle aged writer in the bunch,

Seats four adults comfortably. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

and probably the only one who would be willing to dump near $40K on a niche convertible. Still, after living with the big drop-top for the better part of a week and using it for duties normally associated with Town and Country minivan owners (the many trips with the kids and their backpacks, etc come to mind), I'm inclined to consider it as more than just a personal extravagance. Unlike most convertibles, it's actually quite accommodating.

Chrysler has increased the new car's size compared to the outgoing model's dimensions, with all the gains in rear legroom and trunk space coming from a 2.9-inch longer wheelbase.

Seats are large and accommodating, but I sit on them instead of in them. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

The new convertible is also 2 inches wider and 3.5 inches taller than the previous generation, all adding up to great comfort.

The front seats are large and chair-like and, thanks to more than enough room for shoulders, hips and legs, the car won't have any problems swallowing up Las Vegas' all-you-can-eat buffet regulars in comfort, although for my frame, which is on the soft and out-of-shape side of small, the seats just don't work at all. And this isn't just something specific to the Sebring convertible, but rather to all new Chrysler Group vehicles with leather interiors. I find myself sitting on top of the seats rather than in them, making it so the side bolsters have no effect at all in supporting me laterally. The shiny leather causes me to slide around and only a well-placed hand on something stable will keep me in place during evasive maneuvers or on the occasion that I get spirited behind the wheel. Even looking down on the seats from above, it's easy to see how the firm foam backing pushes out about an inch and a half from where they're stitched to join up with the bolsters. Unless you weigh enough to compress the foam, you'll be riding on top like me. Interesting enough, the company's cloth covered seats don't pose this problem at all ... although the Sebring Limited can't be had in cloth.

And from the Sebring Convertibles I've seen in my neighborhood it looks as if the Limited is a popular model, being that it's pretty well priced, at $32,730, for what you get. To start with, Chrysler's flagship convertible gets the top-line strong performing 3.5-liter SOHC V6 with a smooth-shifting, manual-mode capable six-speed transmission.

Optional 18-inch chrome rims look fabulous. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

The powertrain is a little raucous at full steam, but for regular driving is extremely smooth and comfortably quiet. Limited models also receive attractive 18-inch cast aluminum wheels on P215/55R18 BSW AS tires, improving performance and filling out the wheel arches much better than the base convertible's standard 16s and the Touring's 17s. My loaner had 18-inch chrome wheels, which is standard as part of the $1,095 Luxury Group. You'll also get a UConnect hands-free connection for Bluetooth devices that incorporates a microphone into the auto dimming rearview mirror and a massive windscreen that, when not taking up half the trunk occupies the entire rear seating area (although deflects wind away from the passenger compartment very well). The Limited model's interior is outfitted with Chrysler's premium leather-faced low-back buckets standard, which I mentioned a minute ago, plus an available Boston Acoustics audio upgrade that does a good job of overcoming wind noise when the top is down.

That

Analog clock, dual-zone climate control and a top-tier audio system with 20-gig hard drive and navigation? Impressive. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

standard audio system is pretty good too, mind you, featuring an AM/FM radio with Sirius satellite connectivity and one year's service included, plus a six-CD/DVD/MP3 player with an auxiliary input jack ... not bad at all. As much as I'm not big on integrated navigation systems, being that portable units that are often just as good or better can offer greater versatility (when traveling without your car) and are much less expensive, I'd have to opt for the optional audio system that adds Chrysler's exclusive 20-gigabyte MyGIG hard-drive storage system along with a 6.5-inch touch-screen interface for the multimedia infotainment setup and navigation for $900. Pricey for just navigation, but there's so much more that it's almost as if you get the nav for free. Competitive systems like this normally cost upwards of $2,000, so it's hard to get down on Chrysler for not offering the upgraded stereo and navigation separately. The top-line system also features voice activated audio controls and voice recorder for “jotting” down those must-not-forget thoughts.

The Sebring's top comes in standard cloth, although for $1,995 more the retractable hardtop fitted to my tester can be had. This certainly turns this drop-top into a year-round cruiser, not matter the climate you're subjected to. With the top up it is coupe-like quiet, and dropping it is as easy as flicking a switch. Interestingly, I was able to lower the roof from outside the car via its remote keyfob, but only once. For some reason, despite numerous additional attempts for the sole purpose of impressing my friends, it wouldn't go down via remote. A cool feature when it works, but it would be even better to have the top go up from outside the car, for when you turn it off and step out without remembering to close it up. Again, this feature didn't work for me.

What did work was the remote start system, also accessible via the keyfob; call me a kid but I still get a kick out of starting the car from across the parking lot.

Trunk is roomy with decent access even when the roof's down. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

Remote start, incidentally, is part of the $895 Electronics Convenience Group, which also includes heated and cooled front console cupholders – capable of temperatures ranging from 140 degrees F down to 35 degrees F – a universal garage door opener, automatic temperature control, automatic headlamps, and the aforementioned MyGIG system.

Oddly, in North America at least, is the exclusion of electronic stability program (ESP) and traction control from the standard safety equipment list. It can be had as a standalone option, mind you, for only $425; if add anything from the options

Power retractable hardtop is the best option for those who live in colder climes. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

list make it this critically important safety feature. Also odd, body color moldings are optional, and for only $75. The only reason that I can see for this is that some must not like the monotone look of the body color moldings, and prefer to break up the design with matte black. Go figure?

And what about the Sebring Convertible's new styling direction? Clearly, like the domestic brand did with the now legendary 300C, Chrysler has opted for a polarizing design rather than anything bland. Unfortunately for me, I'm not as taken with the new Sebring as I am with the 300 (despite being in my mid-40s Justin). Actually, while I couldn't get my head wrapped around its many complex angles and curves and what seems like an overdose of chrome, Jennifer,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

my early-30-something wife loved it, saying that it was “beautiful”. There you go. Chrysler's design focus groups must have come to the same conclusion, with some opposing the new design direction and others in love with it, and my guess is that more women liked it than didn't. Women, after all, influence up to 85-percent of automotive purchasing decisions, so they're the ones to win over, not us guys who still imagine ourselves slipping in behind the wheel of the Lotus of our dreams not realizing that we probably wouldn't fit in one if we ever had the opportunity.

In the end, however, the Sebring Convertible is hardly a compromise vehicle, especially in Limited trim. It's arguably attractive, amazingly well equipped, reasonably powerful if not particularly sporty, and seems to be made fairly well, other than for a wee bit more hard, low-rent plastic than I prefer. The car's wonderfully accommodating passenger compartment and sizable trunk make up for such transgressions, mind you, and on the whole it's a strong competitor in a segment that has been heating up lately.

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