At first glance, the
2008 Chrysler Sebring sedan and convertible are stylistic twins. Closer inspection reveals the convertible has only two doors versus the sedan's four. It also has a shortened coupe-like greenhouse, and is 3.2 inches longer overall. Both ride on the same 108.9-inch wheelbase and share the same 61.8-inch front and rear track. Tires and wheels are interchangeable.
Viewed head on, both body styles feature the current rendition of the idiomatic Chrysler grille: eggcrate with bright horizontal strips and topped by the brand's winged crest. A substantial, but otherwise unremarkable bumper tops a slim lower air intake bracketed by two, smaller, grille-like openings at the outer ends of which pods provide housings for fog lamps. Molded-in strakes, patterned after those on the Crossfire, Chrysler's underappreciated sporty coupe, dress up the hood.
There are also differences in balance and proportion between the sedan and convertible. Were the convertible designed as a traditional soft top, we daresay it'd look better. But the retractable hardtop required added length that unsettles the design.
The sedan is decorated with creased character lines on its sides. Flowing rearward from the front quarter panels, these creases spread, expanding the distance between them and emphasizing the car's sharply outlined wedge shape. Mild fender blisters circle the wheel openings. Body-color, anti-ding door moldings are optional on all trim levels. Side windows are framed in flat black. Door handles are body color on the base and Touring, chrome-finished on the Limited. Mirror housings are body color across the line.
The convertible uses the same basic design as the sedan, but the wheelbase looks too long and there's too much of the hindquarters for a two-door. If the expanse of metal between the trailing edge of the door and the rear wheelwell were halved, then it'd fit. But there has to be some place to store large segments of an articulated, metal roof, along with the motors, pumps, and other hardware necessary to lower and raise it. On the Sebring convertible, this results in a bulbous back end, with a top surface area nearly the equal to that of the hood. Also, to allow the retracted roof to fit inside the rear quarters, the rearmost edges of the rear pillars must be drawn inward. This awkwardly positions the retractable hardtop roof more on top of the rear fenders than allowing it to smoothly flow down into the side of the car. The look is better on soft top convertibles because the top looks more like a separate piece than an integrated whole.
At the rear of both body styles, large, multi-element taillights wrap around the rear fenders, crossing over into the trunk lid, which has a modest, molded-in lip at its trailing edge. The sedan's trunk lid is shorter than the convertible's trunk lid. The sedan also has a visually jarring inset rear window, which seems to be an effort, however futile, to enlarge the trunk opening while maintaining the desired top-to-bottom proportions.
The sedan's trunk has 13.6 cubic feet of cargo room, but the opening is quite small, so it won't accept larger boxes. The convertible's trunk opens like a normal trunk with any of the tops up or down and has 13.1 cubic feet of cargo room. Cargo room shrinks to 6.6 cubic feet with the top down, so you won't want to leave packages in the trunk when putting the top down. Chrysler says the trunk can hold two full-size golf bags with the top down. That's true, but access with the top retracted is very restricted. next page