The Blue Ridge Parkway, serpentine asphalt curling across the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, slithers around peaks like Potato Knob and Craggy Dome in a road theme of seemingly endless curves.
This twisty highway quickly reveals the taut handling characteristics and sporty attitude of a new car from Chrysler constructed on a rigid platform with the independent suspension tuned to favor a smooth ride and the five-seat passenger compartment, padded and insulated, fitted with comfortable appointments.
The vehicle, slotted in the mid-size segment of four-door sedans with front-wheel-drive traction, carries the numeric label of Chrysler 200 as one step down in size and price from Chrysler's 300 series.
It amounts to a complete make-over for year 2011 of the discontinued Sebring series.
The re-do produces a shapely body carving muscular fenders over large wheels with a sweeping front hood scored by lines strafing across the top and the raked windshield tipping to the extreme to enhance aerodynamic efficiency.
Check that chin-forward prow -- with glimmering chrome-finned grille and corner-mounted projector-beam headlamps, it's the new face of the Chrysler brand.
The 200's silhouette shows brief overhangs front and back.
A crisp character line etched into the trailing edge of each front fender stretches rearward across the doors and rises gradually to the tail deck. And a high beltline pitched parallel to the character line gains a chrome trim piece along the bottom edge of cabin windows.
To forge the 200's taut handling traits and precise manners, Chrysler engineers re-worked and reinforced the architectural structure of Sebring to make it stiffer and stronger. They revised, retuned or redesigned the suspension geometry, expanded the wheel track width by an inch and dropped the suspension -- down 12 mm at the front wheels and 6 mm for rear wheels -- for a lower and wider stance.
Independent suspension elements consist of front MacPherson struts with coil springs over gas-charged shocks and stabilizer bar, and a rear multi-link arrangement with coil springs, link-type stabilizer bar with gas-charged shocks and an isolated rear suspension cradle.
Chrysler 200 provides many active safety systems designed to keep an alert driver out of harm's way by avoiding accidents. The equipment includes a quick-response rack and pinion steering system and four-wheel disc brakes tied to the anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic brake assist (EBA) and anti-skid devices via the electronic stability control (ESC) system and all-speed traction control (ASTC).
Measures for passive passenger safety in the cabin extend from the sturdy safety-cage construction to active head restraints on front seats, three-point front seatbelts with shoulder adjustment, backseat restraints with upper and lower anchors to mount a child's seat, smart multi-stage air bags up front with seat-mounted side air bags and curtain-style air bags concealed in headliners above side windows for outboard seats on front and rear rows.
Chrysler offers two different engines to propel the 200 through three trim levels.
200 LX the price-leader totes a 2.4-liter four-in-line plant with dual overhead cams (DOHC) and variable valve timing (VVT) to generate 173 hp at 6000 rpm plus torque of 166 lb-ft at 4400 rpm.
The four-cylinder plant links to a four-speed automatic transaxle, the 40TES.
This powertrain racks up the best fuel economy numbers -- 21 miles per gallon (mpg) for city driving and 30 mpg for highway cruising.
200's other trims -- Touring and Limited -- also carry the four-cylinder engine but connect it to an intelligent six-speed electronic automatic, the 62TE.
Fuel numbers also look good with this power package -- 20 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.
Optional power upgrade for 200 Touring and Limited is Chrysler's new Pentastar DOHC 3.6-liter aluminum-block V6 engine mated to the 62TE six-speed electronic automatic with AutoStick shift-it-yourself manual mode.
The dual-cam six-pack delivers big power numbers -- 283 hp at 6400 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque at 4400 rpm.
Yet it still earns keen fuel economy numbers -- 19 mpg city and 29 mpg highway.
Chrysler 200's airy cabin sparks with stylish appointments. The layout consists of two big buckets up front and followed by a rear bench broad enough for three but with indented sections for two.
Up front, the driver fits in a comfortable bucket which adjusts in multiple directions.
Instruments in the dashboard cluster include round analog gauges with bright gray-on-gray faces and vivid white accent lighting.
Chrysler 200 LX the base model shows no options. Stock equipment includes the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, four-speed automatic transaxle, 17-inch steel wheels with Sparkle Silver painted wheel covers and 225/55R17 Continental ProContact all-season touring tires, power exterior mirrors with heat elements, a remote keyless entry system, variable intermittent windshield wipers, air conditioning, tilting/telescoping steering column and the steering wheel with audio controls, power windows and door locks, a floor console with sliding armrest and stow bins, two 12-volt power outlets, cloth-covered front bucket seats with driver-side manual lumbar and height adjustments, a rear bench with 60/40 split folding seatbacks and fold-out armrest, and a four-speaker audio kit with AM/FM/CD/MP3 and audio jack.
Chrysler 200 Touring adds the six-speed automatic, 17-inch cast-aluminum wheels painted Sparkle Silver with 225/55R17 Michelin Primacy MXV4 all-season touring tires, automatic headlamps, LED reading lamps front/rear, illuminated sun visors, automatic temperature controls, eight-way power for the driver's seat, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, Homelink universal garage door opener, Sirius satellite radio and six audio speakers.
Chrysler 200 Limited upgrades to 18-inch polished aluminum wheels and 225/50R18 Goodyear Eagle LS-2 all-season touring tires, foglamps, heated leather-trimmed seats, UConnect Bluetooth cell phone connection and a Media Center 430 CD/DVD/MP3/HDD plus 28-gb hard drive.
Options for 200 Touring and Limited models include the V6 engine, a sunroof, cold weather gear, a remote starter, the UConnect and premium sound packages.
Chrysler cuts low price points for the 200 series. MSRP for 200 LX comes to $19,245, the 200 Touring tallies to $21,245, while 200 Limited begins at $23,745.
