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2011 Chrysler 200 Salt Lake City

See Our New 2011 Chrysler 200 Salt Lake City, Utah

2011 Chrysler 200 Design

The new Chrysler 200 looks like a sedan version of the 2011 Town & Country minivan, with many of the same visual cues in the grille, headlamps, air intakes and front bumper.

Chrysler 200 is much sleeker and more rounded at the nose, but carries about the same aerodynamic drag coefficient as the outgoing Sebring, even though the front end has been lowered 12 millimeters and the rear end six millimeters.

At the rear, there's a cross-car chrome bar between the new LED taillamps and another chrome bar down between the exhaust outlets that serve to widen the look of the car. All Chrysler models will have a new wing logo in brushed metal and blue paint to replace the old traditional wing logo and signify the birth of yet another version of Chrysler.

Inside the 2011 Chrysler 200

The Chrysler 200 instrument panel, seat trim, door panels and door pockets have all been redesigned for more comfort and utility. The instrument panel, center stack, switches and controls have all been redone for the 2011 models.

Although the seat coverings have been redesigned for a more luxurious feel and appearance, the interior cube is the same as the outgoing Sebring, just over 100 cubic feet.

As for storage, the rated cargo capacity of the Chrysler 200 is 13.6 cubic feet.

The instrument panel contains the usual three-round-gauge package, and is much more pleasing to the eye after the 2011 redesign, with gray-on-gray graphics and white accent lighting that is brilliantly legible at night when the display remains gray on gray. The center portion of the instrument panel has also been modernized and treated to just enough chrome accents, as has the console and shifter portion lower down than before. On some models, it is possible to have two USB ports, which can be quite handy for phone and laptop charging. The cheap rental-car interior has been banished forever.

The three-spoke steering wheel has a nice, thick leather-wrapped rim and a thickly padded three-sided hub flanked by redundant switches for the sound system on the left and the cruise control system on the right.

2011 Chrysler 200 Lineup

The 2011 Chrysler 200 comes in LX, Touring, and Limited models. The Chrysler 200 LX is a base model with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, 4-speed automatic transmission, steel wheels, and cloth upholstery. There are no options.

The Chrysler 200 Touring upgrades with a 6-speed automatic, 17-inch alloy wheels, eight-way power seats, satellite radio, automatic temperature control, automatic headlights.

The Chrysler 200 Limited upgrades from the Touring content with heated leather seats, a new touch-control AM/FM/CD satellite radio with a 30-gigabyte hard drive for music storage and record/rewind/replay capability of up to 44 minutes of satellite radio programming, music tracking, UConnect Bluetooth connectivity, 18-inch wheels and tires, fog lights.

The V6 engine is optional  for Touring and Limited models.

Conclusion

We were genuinely surprised and pleased at the advancements made in the transition from Sebring to 200. It's prettier by far, the interior is more modern and the materials more luxurious, the cabin is quieter, the engine performance in the V6 is excellent, and the crisp, sharp handling was the biggest and most pleasant surprise of all, although a highway mileage rating of 29 mpg was a nice surprise, too.

Some information for this review was obtained from NewCarTestDrive.com