Photo: Chrysler Look out, Toyota, Honda and, yes, Mercedes. We recently had a chance to drive the new Chrysler 200C and it is one fine automobile. I can remember the days when the rental car agent would offer you one of Chrysler's hapless Sebrings, or even the prior 200 model, and you'd ask, "What else have you got?" Well, those days are over.
Plush, quiet and solid are some of the adjectives that come to mind as we drove this car. We were impressed with the precise steering and the thrust of its 295-horsepower V-6 that still manages to deliver 32 miles per gallon on the highway. We could absolutely do without the fake wood pieces in the interior, especially the one offered in blue, but this was a minor criticism, indeed.
Yes, our test Chrysler was loaded and the sticker price was over $34,000. But you can pick up a nicely optioned 200 in the upper-$20,000 range and, in our part of the country, dealers are offering fairly good discounts.
We drove this car back-to-back with the Mercedes CLA and its souped-up cousin, the CLA45 AMG. The two Mercedes cars felt cheap, while the Chrysler drove like something worth $10,000 more. If I had $30K+ to spend on a near luxury vehicle, I'd drive right past Mercedes and head down to my Chrysler dealer. Let's hope the Fiat Chrysler folks in Auburn Hills and Turin (soon to be London for the world headquarters) can churn out more cars as good as this one.
BY THE NUMBERS
Price: $21,700 ($34,000+ as driven)
Horsepower: 184 (four-cylinder), 295 (V-6)
0-60: 8.6 secs
Curb weight: 3,473 lbs
TO LEARN MORE
Chrysler
Motor Trend
Edmunds
Plush, quiet and solid are some of the adjectives that come to mind as we drove this car. We were impressed with the precise steering and the thrust of its 295-horsepower V-6 that still manages to deliver 32 miles per gallon on the highway. We could absolutely do without the fake wood pieces in the interior, especially the one offered in blue, but this was a minor criticism, indeed.
Yes, our test Chrysler was loaded and the sticker price was over $34,000. But you can pick up a nicely optioned 200 in the upper-$20,000 range and, in our part of the country, dealers are offering fairly good discounts.
We drove this car back-to-back with the Mercedes CLA and its souped-up cousin, the CLA45 AMG. The two Mercedes cars felt cheap, while the Chrysler drove like something worth $10,000 more. If I had $30K+ to spend on a near luxury vehicle, I'd drive right past Mercedes and head down to my Chrysler dealer. Let's hope the Fiat Chrysler folks in Auburn Hills and Turin (soon to be London for the world headquarters) can churn out more cars as good as this one.
BY THE NUMBERS
Price: $21,700 ($34,000+ as driven)
Horsepower: 184 (four-cylinder), 295 (V-6)
0-60: 8.6 secs
Curb weight: 3,473 lbs
TO LEARN MORE
Chrysler
Motor Trend
Edmunds
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