Considering the competition in the mid-size car segment, it's not easy to set up shop there and hope to sell many cars. Yet DaimlerChrysler thinks it may have just the goods people are looking for in its lineup of Sebring sedans and coupes.
Before we get into that, however, a few words of background and general explanation.
Sebring is essentially the replacement from Chrysler's so-called "cloud" cars-the Chrysler Cirrus, the Dodge Stratus and the Plymouth Breeze.
Stratus survives in the U.S., by the way, and is indeed itself extensively revised for 2001, but it will not be sold in Canada. Uniquely, the new Sebring uses two platforms-one for the sedan and one for the coupe-and there are significant differences as a result.
The 4-door sedan will be available in LX and LXi trims for 2001, with the former retailing at $23,240 and the latter at $27,195.
The 2-door coupe in the LX trim will list for $27,685 and the LXi for $30,095. Sebring sedan is much improved from the Cirrus model it most directly replaces, particularly in terms of body stiffnes, ride and handling, and general noise, vibration and harshness levels.
The base engine in the sedan is the 2.4-liter, DOHC, 16-valve inline-4, which was worked over for 2001 and serves up 150 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 167 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm.
For more power, the 2.7-litre V6 that's now available in the Sebring sedan delivers 200 horsepower at 5900 rpm and 192 pound-feet of torque at 4300 rpm. Both are attached to a 4-speed automatic transmission.