By Kevin Miller
The Chrysler Sebring is not the most modern, most spacious, best-equipped, or best-handling sedan in the mid-sized class. If anything, it is the most under-rated sedan. Slightly revised for 2010, the Sebring lost the odd hood strakes that were eye-catching (though not pretty). Even in Limited trim with chromed aluminum wheels, the Sebring has a particularly anonymous look. With Chrysler’s ongoing financial troubles and and an uninspired design, sales have been slow (despite picking up in August 2010, which is surely heavy with fleet sales). The Sebring sedan has become a rental fleet queen as a result.
Nevertheless, the Sebring is the Chrysler brand’s entry in the crowded mainstream sedan segment, and the company is pressing on with production and sales. The good news, however, is that Chrysler has acknowledged this car’s shortcomings and is planning to sell a revised Sebring with an improved interior and more refined exterior design later this year until a new sedan can be put in to production (perhaps the 200c we recently wrote about). Many Sebrings spend the early part of their lives in daily rental fleets, but those Sebrings aren’t the top-spec Limited model that Chrysler provided for a weeklong evaluation. Perhaps this under-rated and under-appreciated car is slightly more desirable with all of the option boxes checked off.
