OCR Text |
Show 1 Fridjy, Augujt if . s ' m . -- r . . r 8, 2000, THE DAILY KERALA (ww.HiATheHer4com), Pg DI 1 no nr' it ' Sii Prove, Utah PNew Sebring has attitude By ANN M. JOB The Associated Press - mid-siz- four-cylind- er f r ' fr er four-cylind- er ... a four-cylind- er 2.4-lit- e, four-doo- features include multi-stag- e front airbags that vary their deployment force depending on the severity of the crash and a honeycomb material that protects the knees of front-sea- t riders. For the first time in e sedans, Chrysler's the middle person in the back seat gets a three-poishoulder belt, although ' three adults are a tight squeeze. And child-sea- t anchorages are now standard, as is a trunk release in case someone gets locked inside the trunk. Rear seatbacks are two inches higher in the Sebring than the Cirrus to provide more protection in rear-encrashes. Seats still feel like heavy new, " double overhead cam V6. sponges when you settle This engine provides a full into them, though, and the sleek sedan's 35.8 inches of 200 horses and 192 footrear-sea- t headroom is less pounds of torque at 4,300 than the 37.6 inches in the rpm, up from 168 horses of and 170 Camry and the 37.7 inches in the Altima. torque in the Cirrus' V6. But the Sebring's 38.1 No matter which engine inches of rear-sea- t legroom is in the drive betters the Camry's 35.5 inches and the Altima's 33.9 Sebring sedan, riders don't inches. hear much of it. New sound insulation kept the The Sebring, which is whine to a minilonger overall than the two mum in the tester, for examcompetitors, also has a much larger trunk 16 ple. And window glass that's cubic feet. And split, 50 percent thicker on the front-doo- r backs are standard for windows keeps out other noises. all Sebring rear seats. The Sebring and Dodge Interiors look richer. The Stratus sedans are the first ' base LX had a good amount of shiny Chryslers to offer side plastic curtains. on the dashboard and doors. a airbag They're Radio buttons no longer are $350 option. recessed and have a cleaner Other standard safety 2.2-lit- Good-byChrysler T Cirrus. Hello, Chrysler Sebring. For the 2001 model year, e sedan Chrysler's gets a new name sort o Sebring, a legendary nameplate in the Chrysler brand, has been used for ' years on a Chrysler coupe and a convertible. Now, it's going on a newly designed and engir neered that is Ha; replacing the Cirrus. DaimlerChrysler, the parpFc ent company that produces "t. vs. Chrysler cars, said consumers associate the Sebring name with a Mouthful attitude" that- 'salso sophisticated. 'v.- The Sebring sedan has more V6 power than the old Cirrus V6, yet the new car is ' quieter to ride in. It also has a stiffer body for better ride, bigger trunk and updated "safety features. "There's a lot of surprise , as to how good these cars '; are," said Tony Richards, vice president of passenger , . car operations at DaimlerChrysler. He wasn't kidding. Even the base Sebring sedan, the 2.4-- ; . LX, which comes with a liter, double overhead cam, engine, was surprising, especially for its upscale styling and com-- f Zmendable engine power. hT For 2001, horsepower remains at a decent 150, best-selhn- g which tops the 136 horses in the 2000 Toyota Ckmry's base It's just slightly under the 155 horsepower of the in the 2000 Nissan Altima. But the Chrysler Sebring bests both competitors in torque with 167 at 4,000 rpm. In the test drive, the Sebring sedan felt with good from stoplights and in highway merging. It was too, with no steer and torque rarely any shifting felt from the stanautomatic. dard Even better performance comes with the Sebring's . it mid-siz- foot-poun- nt 3 ' well-powere- d, d, four-spee- d d 2.7-lite- r, foot-poun- 2.5-lit- er front-whe- The Anoculed Prcsi Vavoom: Chrysler's new Sebring sedan, a replacement for its Cirrus model, and a good sticker price. appearance. With a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price (including destination charge) of $18,520, the 2001 Sebring sedan is in the thick four-cylind- er fold-dow- of the competition. A 2000 Toyota Camry with engine and automatic transmission starts at $18,773, and a 2000 Nissan Altima with BASE PRICE: $17,945. AS TESTED: $19,040. front-wheTYPE: Front-engin- n e, TOP SPEED: drive, el cam, faux-woo- d 2.4-lite- r, MILEAGE: inline four cylinder. 21 mpg (city), NA. LENGTH: 190.7 inches. WHEELBASE: 108 inches. CURB WT.: 3,250 pounds. BUILT AT: Sterling Heights. Mich. OPTIONS: Side airbags $350; sedan. double overhead 16-valv- e, 9 SEBRING LX SEDAN mid-siz- e ENGINE: four cylinders and automatic starts at $16,460. Consumer Reports ranked 1998-9Cirrus sedans as having better than average reliability. four-cylind- 2001 CHRYSLER has power, grace 29 mpg remoteilluminated entry group $170. DESTINATION CHARGE: $575. $ W00G ta) ,7 t 1 1 1 r OfflGB mm mm Come See the New Honda S2000 IIS S2000 in stock vAll be sold to the highest bidder, 2 vcdes only. Auction closes on mm mm , 1 ar- I I I iv 11 II mi i m u m l mMt-- nv in in m m SEE DEALER FOR DETAILS August 3UH ? 11 ' (ifi.,,, ,J "y 0 mm- - lcdCars mm |