2011 Chrysler 200

Here we go folks. Welcome back to Road Reviews: Alaska! Today we’re looking at my hinted car from the first post on this page: The Chrysler 200. This car is a very special one because it is my first luxury car. But i am just amazed at how good this car was because of the company’s history in the past.

Let’s start with the styling. The 200, when you peel away it’s new, beautiful and smooth styling, is basically a rebadged and retooled Sebring . But the styling changes on the car are so smooth, and so well refined, and so…how do i say this…so, right, that while the car still retains the same basic lines as the old Sebring, it’s an incredible transformation and gives the car an incredible new look and sense of comfort. The car is designed as a scaled down 300 and more economical choice to it’s bigger, pricier sister car. Honestly you sit behind the wheel or just climb into a passenger seat, and you can’t tell that it’s priced and well as it actually is.

Prices start in the lower part of $20,000 dollars. For that you get a Leather trimmed interior, AM/FM radio, cloth seats, 4 speakers, power mirrors, locks, and much more in the way of standard equipment. The car has two engine options, Chrysler’s 2.4 litre 4 cylinder engine and their new Pentastar 3.6 litre engine.

In the interest of safety, the car has an incredible array of safety features for you and your family. Side curtain airbags, driver and passenger airbags, four wheel ABS, a headrest whiplash protection system, which repositions itself in a collision in order to prevent you from getting whiplash. Braking assist, child safety locks and a good amount more safety options are standard on this and all new Chrysler/Dodge vehicles.

In the practicality department, the car is quite well proportioned inside, plenty of legroom front and back, there is an exceptional amount of headroom, and it has a very good sized trunk for groceries or anything else you can think to carry. The 200’s fuel economy is quite impressive as well, with it’s standard 2.4L engine getting cty/hwy mileage of 21/30 mpg. The cloth seats are very comfortable and quite supportive, making this car great for those long road trips you might wish to take your family; say to Wasilla, or even the winding highway leading to Seward.

The ride is smooth, the acceleration in the base model that I drove was quite good for a luxury based car, the handling was sharp, the brakes were incredible. The ride was so smooth and comfortable i didn’t feel a single bump on the ride down O’Malley. 0-60 in the base model it recorded on paper as being just under ten seconds, about 9.4 but the car seemed to have beaten that quite well to me. And for those long road trips i mentioned earlier it even has a towing capacity of 1,000 pounds. In it’s performance it is front wheel drive so if you wish to drive it quickly i would expect at the very least a bit of understeer. (Note: being a road test from a dealership i did not drive vigorously enough to test this and do not recommend it unless you are on a track or some form of closed course).

Unlike last week with my review of the Kia i could not find a single fault with the 200, but whereas the Kia made sacrifices for affordability in a few areas, Chrysler, under it’s new ownership with Fiat, have made no sacrifices at all, there is no cheap plastic within immediate sight, every surface is covered in a very soft leather, making it very pleasing to look at and very very cozy to be in. And with as smooth a ride and with handling as sharp as this, also the price bracket it starts at, if you’re looking for a luxury car with drop dead good looks that is also economical and affordable, for these Alaska roads the 200 in all of it’s forms would be a perfect car for you and your family. That is all for today, hope you all come back next week when i test my next car! until then, Good night!