Apparently Sebring is not that bad?

[BrewSwillis]

So....now Motor Trend is saying that the Chrysler Sebring isn't as bad as all the press made it out to be?

Chrysler Sebring--Pleasant Surprise

Posted Yesterday 10:23 AM by Frank Markus

I'll confess to being less than enthused at the prospect of spending Christmas vacation in the somewhat ugly duckling unloved Chrysler Sebring (it's a bit less homely this year with the removal of the hood corrugations), but every now and then a low-expectation car manages to over-deliver so impressively that I end up feeling almost guilty for my earlier prejudices.....

.......I won't tell you I'd race out and buy one tomorrow if I fell off the press-car gravy train, but I have newfound respect for the Sebring and I'd no longer question the sanity of friends who might consider buying one.

Full Article: http://blogs.motortrend.com/6595321/new-cars/chrysler-sebring-pleasant-surprise/index.html

Who would have thought a member of the press would admit to getting caught up in the hype of trashing "the worst car ever made", and then admitting that he might have been wrong?

[ocnblu]

I never understood that bandwagon either. I've only driven a customer's Sebring as part of a collision repair QC drive, but I didn't see too much wrong with the car. The only design element I don't care for is the huge headlights. The 2010 hood smooths the Sebring up pretty well, too.

[pow]

Maybe the $30K models are nice, but I didn't enjoy the 2.7-liter Sebring I rented at all. I couldn't find a comfortable driving position, outward visibility was poor, and the interior materials (including touch points like the steering wheel and handbrake) were unpleasant. The engine was noisy at idle and made these weird ancillary noises. On the upside, the brake pedal felt nice and firm. Altogether I'd have a hard time buying one over the competition without any incentives.

[BrewSwillis]

Maybe the $30K models are nice, but I didn't enjoy the 2.7-liter Sebring I rented at all. I couldn't find a comfortable driving position, outward visibility was poor, and the interior materials (including touch points like the steering wheel and handbrake) were unpleasant. The engine was noisy at idle and made these weird ancillary noises. On the upside, the brake pedal felt nice and firm. Altogether I'd have a hard time buying one over the competition without any incentives.

I have never been impressed with any rental car I've ever driven. They are usually base models with cheap interiors....and people tend to beat the ever-loving crap out of them. I can see why the Big 3 wanted to cut back on their rental fleet sales.

[Intrepidation]

The problem with it is that it's not good looking and there are a lot of competitors that look better, drive better, have better power trains, better interiors, and are more refined.

[Robert Hall]

I drove a Sebring convertible in '08 as a rental. Drove decently enough, but the interior was painfully cheap in terms of materials, fit and finish, the driver's seat adjustment lever came off in my hand, the trunk was ridiculously tiny considering how huge the decklid was, etc. I can't imagine the consumer-grade trim levels would be any better.

[regfootball]

i read a test drive of a new avenger lately where they basically went open season on the car, saying it was that bad.

[Croc]

Unless every single interior surface has been redesigned and upgraded, then the Sebring deserves every bit of bad press it gets.

[BrewSwillis]

Unless every single interior surface has been redesigned and upgraded, then the Sebring deserves every bit of bad press it gets.

From the same article:

This Deep Water Blue Sebring Limited was certainly one of those cars. Priced at $29,975 (and possibly available for a good bit less), the car's interior trim and fittings were the first surprise. I didn't realize that the tortoise shell trim I so love in my Dad's 300C had migrated to the midsize class , but so it did as an option for 2010 (it's actually been there since the car was introduced in 2007, but I guess nobody seemed to notice, because they were just planning on trashing it anyway). It looks and feels classy on the steering wheel, dash, and door trim. Vents that close flush like a VW's also seem classier than what I'd remembered in Sebrings past, and the dash graining and softness were also pleasing to the eye and fingertips. A new instrument panel gauge cluster and the Limited model's all LED interior lighting also look pricier.

Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/6595321/auto-review/2010-chrysler-sebring-a-pleasant-surprise/index.html#ixzz0cKzR4nJN

[Croc]

Unless every single interior surface has been redesigned and upgraded, then the Sebring deserves every bit of bad press it gets.

[frogger]

On a trip last year I had a Sebring rental in BC followed by a Sonata rental in Alberta and getting in the Sonata felt like winning the lottery after living with the Sebring for 3 days.

[daves87rs]

Seems like they are getting better....I didn't like it at all when the current one came out...

[vonVeezelsnider]

I've seen the Sebring up close and all and I never really understood the hate either. It's not the prettiest car but it's not as bad as it is made out to be.

[jmsjags]

why do chrysler's interiors have to be sooo bland?? every single one looks like it's been designed by a fourth grader using only a straight-edge. everywhere u look there's boxes, squares, and sometimes even rectangles! i've never taken a day of design class in my life and i could do better than that. and then they think by using leather seats and sticking an analog clock in the center stack that they can call it luxury and charge a premium over a similar dodge vehicle. lame

[Intrepidation]

why do chrysler's interiors have to be sooo bland?? every single one looks like it's been designed by a fourth grader using only a straight-edge. everywhere u look there's boxes, squares, and sometimes even rectangles! i've never taken a day of design class in my life and i could do better than that. and then they think by using leather seats and sticking an analog clock in the center stack that they can call it luxury and charge a premium over a similar dodge vehicle. lame

Daimler cost cutting followed by Cerberus spending freezes.

[BrewSwillis]

why do chrysler's interiors have to be sooo bland?? every single one looks like it's been designed by a fourth grader using only a straight-edge. everywhere u look there's boxes, squares, and sometimes even rectangles! i've never taken a day of design class in my life and i could do better than that. and then they think by using leather seats and sticking an analog clock in the center stack that they can call it luxury and charge a premium over a similar dodge vehicle. lame

Maybe that's just your perception from not actually looking at one. Here is the Sebring interior. Nothing is really "straight-edge"ed except for the center vents and radio.

[CSpec]

I get that if the Sebring was the only car on earth, it wouldn't be too bad. But why would you buy one at the same price as most of its competitors?

[Robert Hall]

Maybe that's just your perception from not actually looking at one. Here is the Sebring interior. Nothing is really "straight-edge"ed except for the center vents and radio.

In those pic, the interior looks pretty decent. But in the convertible rental I drove, the plastics were awful...just felt very cheap and poorly put together.