The new, 2007 Chrysler Sebring is an overdue update of the marque's affordable, mainstream family car. It's intended to compete with Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima, plus the Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Mitsubishi Galant, and Saturn Aura. As the list makes obvious, it's a hyper-competitive market niche. Just being "good enough" no longer makes the cut. It also helps to stay current with the competition's generational cycle, and the Sebring was falling short in both regards.
The 2007 Sebring rectifies these shortcomings in almost all respects. It gets a third powertrain; a new look; a new interior; and a subtle but generally effective tweaking of the acoustical foundations and structural underpinnings.
Chrysler's engineers, designers and stylists did more than just enough with the new Sebring. The base engine, a new, 2.4-liter inline-4, is not only significantly more powerful, but also more fuel-efficient. The mid-level engine, still a 2.7-liter V6 gains an ability to run on E-85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. A new, top-of-the-line, 3.5-liter V6 is paired with a new, six-speed automatic transmission.
The designers of the '07 Sebring kept just enough of the previous generation's styling cues so people will know the two cars are related. Beyond that, other than four doors, four wheels and a decent aero-look, there's little of the previous in the current. The very visible message this sends is unmistakable: The '07 truly is new, not just a face-lifted, quick makeover to keep the brand in dealer's showrooms.
Inside, there's as much new as there is outside. Other than the basic ingredients, like gauges, seats and dash, there's little that carries over to the '07 from the '06. And this job is exceptionally well done. The look is sleek and polished, all nicely integrated and finished. There's more room inside, too, thanks to the several added inches in height and the fraction of an inch of added length. All is not fine and wonderful, though. Some interior surfaces, for example, are cold and hard to the touch, and the trunk, for another, gives up 15 percent of its capacity from the '06, giving it one of the smallest trunks in the class.
The list of safety features expands. A new, optional, rear-seat video system keeps passengers entertained. The optional, voice-activated navigation/audio system now incorporates a hard disk drive for quicker mapping response that also can store for playback personally recorded audio tracks.
All in all, very little about the new, 2007 Sebring was left untouched or to chance. And not by chance, very little of what was touched hasn't come out better.