2015.Chrysler 200 first drive

[psntomaz]

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1403_2015_chrysler_200_first_drive/

Brief comparison drives in a Fusion, Accord, Camry, and Altima suggest the 200 will bring considerably more personality to the segment than the Asians, with a bit less back-seat space and—pending final production tuning—maybe a skosh less refinement. The Fusion is clearly its closest rival, and I’d guess Chevy and Ford are where much of the 200’s anticipated market-share increase will come from. I’d also wager that said gains will now be earned on the car’s merits, not on hail-Mary Super Bowl ads.


Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1403_2015_chrysler_200_first_drive/#ixzz2wOQe2dQi

 

[Cale]

I really (and I mean Really) like the 200C I played around in at the auto show.

 

[Robin]

The rear has the Maserati GT / Subaru BRZ / Audi RS6 vibe. The front instantly said MG6 to me!

All in all looks pretty nice but doesn't gel all that well with the rest of the Chrysler range which doesn’t really have a cohesive brand 'look' at the moment. Come to think of it it hasn't really ever had one! Some are muscle car looking, some are retro and some are more European.

I like Chrysler glad the brand is getting back on its feet.

 

[Parker]

I actually really like that car, it is pretty attractive and I think the interior looks wonderful.

 

[YSSMAN]

The question not asked yet is whether or not it will change the opinions on the Chrysler brand as a whole. They have otherwise been the laughing stock of the American marques since 1997. A few successes aside (namely the LX models which were largely Mercs to begin with), they haven't had a competitive vehicle since the '90s, nor have they been innovative really in any way for the better part of 20 years. All-in-all, the new 200 really comes off as a "Hey guys, I can build a nice sedan, too!" sort of thing. You know, the same thing that happened with the Dart, which has done nothing but flounder since launch. It isn't that the Dart is a bad car, in fact it is downright competitive in many senses of measure, but no one is looking presumably because it is a Dodge - and is constantly covered in deals and incentives. Unless you have a seven slot grille on the front, I'm not betting on strong successes for many of the new Fiat-Chrysler models.

Does that mean I don't like the 200? Absolutely not. It looks good. It sounds like it drives fairly well. It even sounds like it has a pretty nice interior. All in all, it's a reverse-engineered Fusion with some subtle tweaks in the same way that the Intrepid reimagined the Taurus 20 years ago. I'm not entirely sure if that makes the 200 the better choice. Although Chrysler is packing a lot of impressive technology in the car, it sounds as though it will only be available on the very highly trimmed models, and will likely be very pricey. Given the track record with some of their current models, I'd like to know how much content that volume selling 200 Limited doesn't have, and further more, how huge that price difference will be between the 200 Limited and the 200C.

I really want to like the 200, and I really want to drive one. But at this day and age, I'm not expecting it to blow the Malibu out of the water, and I'm certainly not expecting it to be better than the Fusion. Maybe that's where Chrysler wants my expectations to be?

 

[Joey D]

I actually drove one of these a couple weeks back in pre-production spec. It was a FWD with the V6 and I was really impressed with how it got up and moved. It was also way more comfortable than I thought it would be and had a ton of gadgets on it that were both useful and sort of neat. The build quality was hard to judge because it was essentially put together by a handful of UAW guys in a building using whatever means necessary to get parts to fit, so no comment there. I'll definitely be interested in driving a consumer spec model once they hit dealers.

 

[Wolfe]

With the previous 200 in mind, upon opening the link to the picture, I blurted, "whoa!" So I guess that means the design is good. It looks nice. I like the lines slicing out from the grille above the headlights. It looks an awful lot like a Dart to me...is it not directly related?

Regarding the article...

The 2011 200 was a rush patch-it-up job funded by loose change scrounged from bankruptcy-courtroom couches. Whatever sales that car has garnered are testaments to the power of Chrysler’s advertising efforts, like the “Imported from Detroit” campaign. The resources allotted to this 2015, however, car will leave no room for excuses. A Carl Sagen-esque $1 billion were spent just on upgrading the Sterling Heights (suburban Detroit) assembly plant that builds it, for example.

They didn't even spell his name right.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I could be the only one, but I'm pretty sceptical that this car will sell well. I don't like the front end one bit, though the back looks nice. It sounds like the interior is significantly tighter than the competition. And 35 MPG is nowhere near the top of the competition. But the biggest problem with this car? They benchmarked the wrong car. Any enthusiast without bias would pick the Mazda6. 42 MPG when the right boxes are ticked, manual or automatic, a truly great chassis, bigger interior, and it looks about $20,000 more expensive. Non enthusiasts are likely to continue buying what they know, even though some of them would likely prefer the 200.

 

[psntomaz]

Other Reviews say that the Handling is one of the best in the Segment. with the AWD V6 200, 0-60 in 5.8 Seconds is pretty damn quick. thats Charger RT times.

when compared to the LX V6 8spd sedans HWY millage, 35 could very well be the V6 Powered 200 since the LX's get 31 MPG weighing almost 800lbs more and is Less aerodynamic than the 200

 

[Joey D]

I could be the only one, but I'm pretty sceptical that this car will sell well. I don't like the front end one bit, though the back looks nice. It sounds like the interior is significantly tighter than the competition. And 35 MPG is nowhere near the top of the competition. But the biggest problem with this car? They benchmarked the wrong car. Any enthusiast without bias would pick the Mazda6. 42 MPG when the right boxes are ticked, manual or automatic, a truly great chassis, bigger interior, and it looks about $20,000 more expensive. Non enthusiasts are likely to continue buying what they know, even though some of them would likely prefer the 200.

Per the engineers I know at Chrysler, the 200C is basically there for people who want luxury but can't afford a 300C.

Going up against the Fusion, Camry, and the likes doesn't seem reasonable since it's more aimed at a similarly sized Acura or even some of the German mid-sized cars.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Per the engineers I know at Chrysler, the 200C is basically there for people who want luxury but can't afford a 300C.

Going up against the Fusion, Camry, and the likes doesn't seem reasonable since it's more aimed at a similarly sized Acura or even some of the German mid-sized cars.

I see. It doesn't strike me as being all that luxurious, but I'd have to sit in it to really judge it.

 

[Tornado]

The current 200 has been selling pretty well despite its roots as the Sebring, so I don't see why the one that they designed from the ground up to actually be competitive (rather than a thorough refresh of a piece of crap) wouldn't.

 

[Nish]

I actually like the outgoing model better for looks. This just looks like a Dart has been given a Chrysler upgrade imo. I like the Dart's design by itself and the past 200's as well. Is there any chance of that Pentastar coming to the Dart or the AWD?

 

[Cale]

Per the engineers I know at Chrysler, the 200C is basically there for people who want luxury but can't afford a 300C.

Going up against the Fusion, Camry, and the likes doesn't seem reasonable since it's more aimed at a similarly sized Acura or even some of the German mid-sized cars.

A loaded 200C is still $39K.

I would rather have a 200C than 300C though.

 

[psntomaz]

 

[YSSMAN]

Going up against the Fusion, Camry, and the likes doesn't seem reasonable since it's more aimed at a similarly sized Acura or even some of the German mid-sized cars.

Without the Avenger, though, I'm not certain if that's the smartest idea for Chrysler. I guess that's why the base model starts less than $22k, apparently. It certainly sounds like the 200C will have the ability to go toe-to-toe with those premium options, and that's very good. I just hope the standard models don't sacrifice too much in order to make that price point when competing against the Fusion, Malibu, Camry and Accord.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

What a bland and boring looking generic sedan.

 

[ranhammerR34]

As for a owner of a 2004 Chrysler Sebring, the current Chrysler 200 its not a bad car at especially with DAT V6 and the 2015 200 looks fantastic. However, I hope Fiat has thrown some bits from Alfa Romeo on the chassis to make drive much better and that is what the 200 really needed. Will be able to beat the Fusion or the Mazda 6? No, not right now. It needs a couple years of refinement and reliability to do that; but, it is knocking on the doors of GM and the Asian Manufacturers that is making some of them a little nervous. Especially this next version.

 

[MoLiEG]

It looked glorious... why did they do that???

 

[CodeRedR51]

The 200 is officially dead.

 

[Northstar]

Is Chrysler coming out with anything new? Seems rather odd that their line-up now is just an aging full-size car and a minivan.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

It just reinforces the idea that Fiat has absolutely no long-term plan in place, and just wing it.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Is Chrysler coming out with anything new? Seems rather odd that their line-up now is just an aging full-size car and a minivan.

Seems like Chrysler is shifting it's realm of focus to overseas, while the Dodge variants stay put. then there are the discontinued cars that seem to be in such a state as to where they don't conflict with other FCA on the market coming to the U.S.

 

[Tornado]

It's a shame. I always really liked the 200 as soon as I got to drive one. It and the Accord were the only ones that really felt "right".