Released From Rehab, but Still a Bit Unsteady (Part 2 of 2)

Published: October 28, 2011

(Page 2 of 2)

Visibility, or lack thereof, was an issue; I’ve never been in a convertible that felt less like a convertible. The huge windshield pillars blocked so much of the forward view that I felt as if I were peering out of a helmet.

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Chrysler has replaced the bargain-basement hard plastic interior pieces with components (dashboard, armrests, switches) that at least feel softer and more upscale. But the cabin, all black in the test car, was still quite plain and stark. A black-and-tan interior is available.

The exterior styling is an improvement, but the whole package looks mildly disproportionate, as if the sedan had been designed first and then imposed on a coupe with an extra-large derrière (in which the retracted hardtop could hide). The convertible is three inches longer than the sedan.

The trunk is cavernous until the top is retracted into the forward two-thirds of the space; with the top down, the space will barely accept a single wheeled carry-on and a briefcase.

Although the car was obviously designed to accommodate the disappearing, space-eating metal roof, the 200 is still offered with a soft top. The retracting hardtop is a $1,995 option.

With the roof down, the cumbersome wind baffle — it affixes behind the front seats to reduce wind buffeting — can no longer be stored in the trunk. If you have rear seat passengers, you’ll be hard pressed to find a place to put it. I couldn’t figure out whether it was broken or simply a poor design, but I could not get it to stay in place.

With a base price of $32,190, the 200 Limited is some $4,000 more than a Mustang V-6 convertible and $2,000 more than the V-6 Chevrolet Camaro ragtop. (The 200 Touring is $4,995 less than the Limited, and a new Limited S, with suede accents, costs $500 more.) If you add options like the hardtop and an upgraded stereo, the Limited’s final price climbs over $35,000.

Perhaps the Chrysler 200 convertible suffers from having been based on an unsuccessful sedan, rather than on a successful coupe, as was the case of the Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. In my view, Chrysler’s convertible was much more handsome in the 1990s, when it was based on the J-body LeBaron.

In Europe, the 200 is to be sold as the Lancia Flavio Cabrio, which sounds sexier, although it is actually not.

But with the newly restyled 2011 version, the Chrysler brand seems to be asking for another chance to sell the public on its only drop-top. This new model may not go far enough to turn buyers on, but at least Chrysler has addressed some of its predecessor’s biggest turn-offs.

INSIDE TRACK: Improved, but not by a factor of 200.