Cupramax Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Just thought I'd put a few words together after one of the most uncomfortable days driving in my life. I made the mistake of requesting a hire car for a long business trip I had yesterday and to my horror a Chrysler Sebring was duly delivered to my office on Monday afternoon. :sauer: I must admit I didn't go into this with a particularly positive mind but heh hoh... it was either that or put 400 miles on my A4 Cab. Anyway, where shall I start? Well the interior is a thing of wonder ( you wonder what the budget was to build it, 3p? ) The plastics are hideous, I cant really find words to describe it other than everything feels of the same consistency of a wheelie bin lid, the dash, the door panels, everything! It has the henious crime of fake tortoise shell wood "effect" trim on the steering wheel and doors/dash, this may be acceptable for yanks but compare it to the brushed aluminium in mine and it really looks out of place. The seats are flat, unsupportive and downright uncomfortable for long journeys, perhaps Chryslery should have spent the money they used to make them electrically adjustable on some padding/support:ffs: Given all this the car did cruise quite happily on the motorway and was fairly well equipped with Cruise/Boston audio sound system which sounded nice and electric everything. The car I had was the 2.0CRD which uses the VAG 2.0TDi widely used in Golf's A4's etc. Somehow despite it having the same output as used in the A4 (140hp & 226lb/ft) the Chrysler takes 12 seconds to 60! The A4 with the same engine managed 9.4, how did they manage that??? The engine thrums badly and can be felt through the steering wheel & pedals which I found very irritating when sat in a traffic jam. Apart from the rattling and feeling slow it was OK for motorway work, about the cars only saving grace. The other problem I found was in yesterdays monsoons the Kumho Ecsta tyres provided it absolutely no grip, I mean, none, zero, zilch. A couple of time on curving slip roads the car felt like it had no front grip whatsoever, it felt twitchy at least 20mph slower than I would have done perfectly safely in mine For anyone considering cheaper tyres, dont, they are biblically sh1te. After 6 hours driving I got home and was totally exhausted, not the sort of thing you'd expect really with a modern car. I can safely say if they offer me one of those again they'll get told where to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Clarkson gave it zero stars in a recent review, who at Daimler Chrysler thought the UK market would accept such a shoddy motor ? Come to thing of it, what exactly would any self-respecting petrol head buy from Chrysler in the UK ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Clarkson gave it zero stars in a recent review, who at Daimler Chrysler thought the UK market would accept such a shoddy motor ? Come to thing of it, what exactly would any self-respecting petrol head buy from Chrysler in the UK ? Quality Yank thing! The Sebring, Neon, Cruiser, Avenger.............all sad horrible cars. However, we do see them about and I do wonder if the bods actually chose them or if they were given (forced upon them) them as they had nothing else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Quality Yank thing!The Sebring, Neon, Cruiser, Avenger.............all sad horrible cars. However, we do see them about and I do wonder if the bods actually chose them or if they were given (forced upon them) them as they had nothing else! I suppose they sell on "lots of kit and shiny chrome and wood and cheap to buy on finance" like many mainstream yank stuff. Thing is, thats just not good enough for most Europeans. The ones you see are prob rentals, or pensioners whose old eyes have failed to spot the tupperware plastics etc etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupramax Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Lol, just found Clarksons review, admittedly its the open top version but everything he says is true... Jeremy Clarkson Chrysler Sebring Cabriolet 2.7 V6 review | Driving - Times Online Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 And the US car makers wonder why they are in trouble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_hargreaves Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 (edited) You completely forgot to point out that if seen in this it will induce much hate. It's a hideous looking car, it's like a saloon version of the Subaru Tribeca. This was hilarious in the Clarkson Review: "Immediately, I was annoyed by a nonstop whining sound from the back. This turned out to be Richard Hammond, who, despite being 8in tall, claimed that he had never been so uncomfortable in his life, apart from when he was being born. “Only that,” he said, “was more spacious.” Edited October 17, 2008 by tom_hargreaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domus Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 Oh dear, number one daughter is on holiday in Florida. She flew to Miami and had booked a car on the cheapest tarif. She texted me that they have given her a Sebring Convertible for her drive down to the Keys. She was not too impressed on her last visit to the Americas, she drove a PT Cruiser through the Rockies. Will she ever learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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