Inside, the sedan and convertible are virtually identical. However, the convertible has a narrower rear seat that allows for seating of just two passengers in back, while the sedan can take three.
The dashboard styling carries the motif of the Chrysler winged crest, or at least that's what the designers say. It's a stretch, but if you look at it kind of sideways, it works. Picture the winged crest from the grille magnified, say, 100 times, then with the wings severely cropped. Drape this image over the dash, so about half lies on top and the other half hangs down the front, add a couple cut lines, mold in a bead for some character and a hood to shade the black-on-white gauges, and there you have it. Speakers sit on top of the dash, with the vent registers outboard in a contrasting surround.
The speedometer, tachometer and fuel level and engine coolant gauges are clustered in three pods. The center stack houses the audio and climate controls, which are easy to use, a classic analog clock and, when ordered, the MyGIG screen with navigation system display.
The center stack is laid out to be inclusive of the front seat passenger, subtly reinforcing the family car personality. The center dash flows smoothly down into the center console, a single piece of nicely textured, hard plastic running all the way back to the raised storage bin that doubles as an armrest for front seat occupants. Just aft of the shift gate are two cup holders. As an option, the rearmost of the two can heat (to 140-degrees Fahrenheit) or cool (to 35-degrees Fahrenheit) a beverage.
In our test drives, the stereo's well-mixed, crisp audio did a decent job of masking the ventilation fan. When ordered with MyGIG, a USB port is provided to download music and picture files. Chrysler says the hard drive can hold up to 1600 songs.
In-cabin storage compares favorably with the class. Besides the two cup holders in the front center console, a bottle holder is molded into each of the sedan's rear door map pockets. Front door map pockets are a bit shallow for anything besides, well, maps. The glove box door is damped, so it doesn't bruise an unwary passenger's shins. The bi-level bin in the front center console provides a power point, supplementing another in a covered compartment forward of the shift gate where the optional ashtray and lighter fit when ordered. A thoughtful feature: One power point is wired to the battery and on all the time, which is good for charging cell phones and such. The front center armrest adjusts fore and aft over a range of about three inches, which is helpful for drivers of short stature, but a height adjustment would be helpful, too.
The quality of the materials is consistent with the car's price range: good, not great, and it looks better than it feels. Fit and finish is a grade above, with consistent and close tolerances between panels. The Touring model's trim finish of satin silver and chrome had the most eye appeal for us. The Limited model's combination of tortoise shell and chrome did not look real.
The Sebring is not the roomiest car in its class. The sedan offers almost as much headroom front and rear as the class-topping Accord, but the Sebring's front- and rear-seat hip room and rear-seat legroom trail all but the Saturn Aura. Front seats are adequate, if a bit short on thigh support. Side and bottom bolsters are proportioned for folk of substantial girth. Of note, too, is that only drivers enjoy a manual lumbar adjustment. Less than two hours in the front passenger seat left us painfully craving even the slightest lumbar support. The convertible has the same front-seat room, but it's rear legroom drops almost four inches from the sedan's, leaving enough space for an average-height adult only when someone short is sitting in front.
The Sebring's thick A-pillars can block sight of cross traffic at intersections and when exiting a driveway or parking lot. The roof's rear taper doesn't leave much room for the rear window and makes for exceptionally deep C-pillars, both of which compromise rear quarter vision.
The convertible tops raise and lower smoothly, whether vinyl or cloth soft top or retractable hard top. Watching the hardtop operate is entertaining: the clam shell opens; the roof separates into three segments, folds, then collapses into the trunk; and finally the clam shell closes. When we rolled down the windows after encountering some rain during our time in the test hardtop convertible, water dripped from the roof onto the armrest and the power window controls. Note that in the convertible the rear-seat head restraints do not function as roll bars to protect rear-seat passengers in a rollover.
The Sebring convertible compares well with the Volkswagen Eos and Volvo C70 in terms of interior spaciousness. In fact, the Eos and C70 are more snug all around. next page