The sumptuous leather trimmed seats have a six way electric adjustment as well as manual lumber support which was a godsend on the long journey to Hertfordshire last Friday evening – yes I know I was mad. Just wished I had the DVD player so the children could have left me alone.
Some really nice touches are to be found with the instrument panels being trimmed in silver, the leather wrapped gear lever, the tortoise shell implants on the steering wheel as well as the stylish door panels and again, cements it status as a luxury car not just a family car. To appease the needs of the latter are plenty of storage spaces including the rather clever front console cup holder that not only keeps hot drinks hot, but cold drinks cold. How refreshing is that! All the doors have map pockets, there are 2X12 volt auxiliary power outputs so no squabbling amongst the children over who can play with what, while in the very generous boot, with that all useful power boot release, are hooks to keep the designer bags from getting squashed.
At the heart of the Sebring is a 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine that is a first from the Chrysler group in the D- segment and delivers a reasonable overall performance with a top speed of 126 mph and 0-62 in 12 seconds. Suffice to say, the Sebring’s a bit slow off the mark and rather noisy until she nestles comfortably at a higher speed, whereby she stops protesting and quietens down. Being a diesel mated to a six speed manual gearbox, means good fuel consumption and the Sebring achieves 45.6 mpg on a combined cycle with CO2 emissions at 170. The Sebring is front wheel drive featuring independent front suspension with MacPherson struts and a multi-link rear suspension while both cross members are isolated from the body to create a quite ride, with less road noise, vibration and harshness. I am still deciding whether this is a good or bad feature for a family car. The steering is lovely and responsive being speed proportional and takes 3.3 turns lock to lock so those parking bays will pose no problems and thanks to the slightly raised driving position, visibility to the rear whilst negotiating these said bays should in theory, cause no concerns.
I could write a book with the amount of safety features the Sebring comes with as standard, from ABS, ESP with Traction Control and Brake Assist System. That’s just for the car. Occupant protection includes advanced multi stage front airbags, supplemental side curtains airbags, front seat mounted side airbags plus a structural safety cage, side guard door beams, crumple zones, an energy absorbing steering column, an interior head impact protection system, a side occupant protection system and tyre pressure monitoring system. Then there are the height adjustable front seatbelts, seatbelt pretensioners, BeltAlert in case one of the naughty children unbuckle when they should not, a Constant Force Retractors System, ISOFIX and those all important rear child door locks. But in case it still goes horribly wrong, the Enhanced Accident Response System kicks it that turns on the interior lighting, unlocks the door after airbag deployment and shuts off the flow of fuel to the engine thus making it easier for the emergency personnel to reach you.
Deterring would be thieves from your precious Sebring, is remote keyless entry, a security alarm plus engine immobiliser, thus falls into a very respectable insurance group of 10E.
So, the fifty million dollar question is what is on the price tag? Well, the Sebring 2.0 CRD Limited will set you back a cool £18,995 that may initially appear rather steep until you add up the toys on board, the luxury looking exterior and interior along with the endless list of safety and security features. You could opt for the automatic version at the same price or save a grand by dropping to the five-speed manual where performance is slightly better, but fuel consumption drops to 36.2 mpg on a combined and CO2 rises to 185 making it rather a false economy alternative. So stick with the old saying ‘You get what you pay for’ which is entirely true of the Chrysler Sebring.
FemaleFirst - Jackie Violet