The Sebring Convertible Limited creates a particular expectation when one slides in behind its steering wheel. It conjures a Californian picture-dream of cruising down a Seafront Boulevard with palm trees and pavement cafés on the right and white beaches and turquoise-coloured shallows on the left.
The Convertible managed to draw some attention and it’s a fair cruiser, but mediocrity isn’t something that buyers want from R300k luxury item, least of all one expected to turn heads and engender envious glances. In terms of on-road presence, the Sebring has a broad stance and is easily distinguishable from its European counterparts – but is it better looking than an Eos or CLK? – Arguably not.
There is a chunkiness to the Sebring Convertible’s exterior shape, but several of its design elements seem to exacerbate the vehicle’s bulk – note the protruding front bumper, large headlamps, taillights and over-emphasised wheel arches.
The route I drove wasn’t particularly scenic, but with the Sebring’s top down, the road oft travelled seemed somewhat different – even more interesting. The ascending shoulder line adds to the perception of the Sebring’s immense size, although it must be said that once the retractable hard top is raised, rear passengers (who already have scant legroom to deal with) will also find their headroom severely limited.
I really felt that the 2,7-litre V6 nestled beneath the sculpted bonnet was more than just a little underpowered. The 137 kW on tap at 5 500 r/min with 265 N.m of torque at 4 000 r/min doesn’t take eons to respond to throttle input, but it (the pedal) requires a firm prodding to get the Sebring Convertible off the mark. The soft suspension swallowed up the worst road imperfections, but a slight change in road camber or a bend taken too quickly saw the Convertible lean a bit too much.
The six-speed automatic transmission also plays a part in the mellow performance of the Sebring Convertible. It seems that the engineers have adopted a drive that favours low speed cruising in a high gear as any enthusiastic venture above 3 500 r/min reprimands the driver with an annoying whine that makes the Sebring feel just like a big lazy gargantuan that doesn’t want to wake properly.
As for the interior, I wasn’t impressed by what I felt was low-rent fabric lining the roof, the cheap-looking plastic door panels and plastic facia. The chrome surrounds on the metallic trim was a bit over the top, as was the extra wooden trim embedded in the metal strip on the door panel. What also annoyed me was the wooden “ten to two” section of the otherwise decent steering wheel – while the wheel slides through your hands coming out of a corner, all of a sudden that silky soft slide is interrupted by a jolt as sweaty palms meets coated wood.
The specification levels are better than average. The full leather trim has a smooth and comfortable feel to it, the Boston premium audio system (including a USB port for loading MP3s) and although the touch-screen driver interface was intuitive, I’d still have liked satellite controls on the steering wheel.
The Chrysler Sebring Convertible Limited might appeal to “new money” who aren’t particularly brand biased and will dish out the required R299 900 in order to appear swanky. Although the Chrysler Sebring Convertible Limited substantially undercuts other medium-sized, automatic transmission models in the market, it doesn’t excel in any particular department – a fact that consumers won’t ignore.