Jeremy Clarkson's review of the new Chrysler Sebring

[Casa]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article4873574.ece

haha i found it quite amusing

[Graham_A_M]

So did I. Clarkson has such a brilliantly colorful way of describing cars, and his experience with them. :rofl:

"no stars, out of 5"

WOW. but I agree, 188hp and 187 torque out of a 2.7L V6 that promotes 18MPG on the highway is beyond laughable.
My engine is a 3.0 I6 that does 240 and 185 torque, yet I get 26 in the city, and 37 on the highway. Its also powering a convertible. I drive it quite spiritedly too. :dunno:
the 3.2L I6 (S54) engine offered in the Z4 "M" series is 330hp (and around 250-270 torque I believe). The fuel economy is almost as good. (I was told it is 33highway, 20 city), again not bad for a 330hp 6cyl. :dunno:
The newest ones have a refined version that does 350hp and closer to 290 torque. Again, not bad for a 3.2L I6. ;)

How those guys deemed that car "Okay" for production is beyond me. really..... leave alone considering their financial statement as of the last few years.
:confused:
Way to go Chrysler, winning customers one at a time eh? :thumbsup:

Even with the top down (or up, which doesn't alter it), I get fantastic trunk space, almost as much as a civic or corolla. How a car as obstintatious as a Sebring to have such minute truck space is an engineering marvel within itself.

I love BMW and GM and pre '06 Honda, they are my favorite manufacters in all reality, but I can' help feel Pity for some of the Domestic offerings.

I just dont know what the fuck these guys are doing with shit like this, or the G6's, which are almost as bad. :rolleyes:
At least the G8 is a decent counter-offer in the least.

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M

blah blah blah


I love how you are comparing a shit"econ"box to a 2 seater convertible that costs 3 times as much. That's almost as clever as the designers that designed the Sebring, Good work

[TorqueDog]

Couldn't agree more. Hated it when I saw it, hated it when I sat inside it, and driving it was 'gun-in-mouth' frustrating. Generally I'm appreciative of many domestic models because some of them are genuinely good these days. But not the Sebring.

Fail. Massive fail, Chrysler.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Team_Mclaren


I love how you are comparing a shit"econ"box to a 2 seater convertible that costs 3 times as much. That's almost as clever as the designers that designed the Sebring, Good work

Comparing the car is one thing, I didn't do that. Comparing the engine to mine is another. I dont neccessarily think a price tag has to reflect that. :dunno:
And for the record, my car is around $50-59k new, not 3x as much as what you've mentioned
:confused:

[Eleanor]

Originally posted by TorqueDog
Generally I'm appreciative of many domestic models because some of them are genuinely good these days. But not the Sebring.

Fail. Massive fail, Chrysler.
:werd:

[Kloubek]

My roomie rented a non-convertible for a day, and took it back immediately thereafter. He absolutely hated it.

But then, would we expect any more from a Sebring? They've always been crap.

[Trini]

:rofl: true clarkson style

[finboy]

domestics :thumbsdow

[TorqueDog]

Originally posted by Kloubek
But then, would we expect any more from a Sebring? They've always been crap. At least the most recent generation before this new atrocity was livable. I had one as a demo, and it was okay and I didn't hate driving it.

The new one made me lose my will to live.

[Supa Dexta]

So do they call them "imports" over there? or how does that work.

[Casa]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
So do they call them "imports" over there? or how does that work.

hey that is a good question

[black13]

:rofl: love the way he describes it. Bring back Top Gear already!

Chrysler might as well just go away with GM together. They still haven't learned a thing.

[Xtrema]

Had an Avenger when my car was in the shop. It's a pure piece of shit. No power and use as much gas as my 3.5L VQ.

Can't imagine that engine with extra weight from the drop top.

This is what Chrysler need to work on. They have a nice 3.5L unit that's comparable to the competitions'. Just slap that into every fucking car you make and drop other engines. It's much cheaper to reduce number of offerings.

[Redlyne_mr2]

I was asking myself why Clarkson would waste his time reviewing a Sebring then I read the article and found out it was his rental car that he reviewed. lol

Oddly enough he made a negative comment about the ZR1 as well.

[Kloubek]

I think they just call them "American". (I've read quite a few UK reviews.)


Originally posted by Supa Dexta
So do they call them "imports" over there? or how does that work.

[bspot]

Read his CTS-V review (linked at the bottom). An American car he really has nothing negative to say about... amazing!

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by bspot
Read his CTS-V review (linked at the bottom). An American car he really has nothing negative to say about... amazing!

He raved about ZR-1 as well, until it "felt apart".

[hypnotoad]

Terrible review, barely even talks about the car just talks about music and politics.

[Casa]

Originally posted by hypnotoad
Terrible review, barely even talks about the car just talks about music and politics.


AHAHHAHAHAHA

[ExtremeSi]

haha Clarkson is hilarious. I'd rather read his reviews than most cookie-cutter reviews that you get from other magazines that are afraid of bad-mouthing anything.

And I haven't driven this gen Sebring, but the previous gen convertable was absolute crap too. It felt like one of the cheapest cars (of any year) that I had ever driven. Cowl shake like you would not believe.

[Tram Common]

Clarkson is extremely biased, but then again most automotive journalists are.

I find he fails to see the forest from the trees when it comes to most things American.

The flip side is he does say things that, as brash or crude as they may sound, need to be said.

...let's not forget that American Car Top Gear special he did though.

...most ridiculous and biased motoring show done to date IMO.

[hypnotoad]

Originally posted by Tram Common
Clarkson is extremely biased, but then again most automotive journalists are.

I find he fails to see the chrysler from the sebring when it comes to most things American.

The flip side is he does say things that, as brash or crude as they may sound, need not be said.

...let's not forget that American Car Top Gear special he did though.

...most ridiculous and biased review done to date IMO.

I agree, the sebring's way better than he let on. Well said, well said.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by hypnotoad
the sebring's way better than he let on.

:bullshit:

Do you work at a Chrysler dealership or something? :rofl:

[Kennyredline]

Ahhhh, I love being a Brit...we can throw words together so quickly, and still come up with a very witty and eloquent sentence. The power of exaggeration is used perfectly in that article!
And the car sucks too.

[Hakkola]

We see this with so many American cars. Dynamically, some of them are pretty good these days. One or two are even a match for what the Chinese are doing.

LOL. :rofl:

[TorqueDog]

Originally posted by hypnotoad
I agree, the sebring's way better than he let on. Well said, well said. No, it's really not.

[Pollywog]

I got a kick out of:

POWER 185bhp @ 6400rpm


Lots of power, you only have to redline it to find it.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Inzane


:bullshit:

Do you work at a Chrysler dealership or something? :rofl:

Because his final choices are Cirrus, Sebring and Grand Prix.

He already strike out Mazda 6 and didn't like everyone picking Grand Prix over the 2 Chrysler cars.

It's well documented here:
http://forums.beyond.ca/st/236972/if-you-could-take-home-one-/

:rofl:

[89s1]

Originally posted by Pollywog
I got a kick out of:

POWER 185bhp @ 6400rpm


Lots of power, you only have to redline it to find it.

My last engine made peak power over 7,000. What's the big deal? :dunno:

[mark4091]

So in Britain he reviews ferrari's and in america he reviews sebring's....... Their not very good vehicles but it's in no way meant to be raced.

C'mon clarkson review the G8 GT.

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by mark4091
So in Britain he reviews ferrari's and in america he reviews sebring's....... Their not very good vehicles but it's in no way meant to be raced.

C'mon clarkson review the G8 GT.

Its a rental, far from a "true" review. They do talk about econ boxes on the show.

As for the G8 GT, he already test drove the CTS-V.....

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
obstintatious

Nice.

[Pollywog]

Originally posted by 89s1


My last engine made peak power over 7,000. What's the big deal? :dunno:

Its a honda 4cyl vs a 2.7 liter V6. Honda's are known to have no power in the low rpm, and just because you have come to terms with that doesn't make it acceptable to have such cheaply engineered components collaged into the much larger and differently oriented engine from chrysler. If it was a miniscule B15, I'd have other thoughts reserved, but c'mon man.

Good cars make power allover, not just up high. Its like having a full band, not just screechy singers.

[shin0bi]

I think we can mostly agree that, as awesome as Clarkson and his reviews are, he harbours a ridiculous and often unfounded negative bias towards American cars.

If that turd of a Sebring was built buy a British company, he'd likely have lavished it with a sparkling review. Or at least a 2 out of 5 star rating.

Slightly off topic, but does anyone else notice that virtually all Sebring drivers in calgary drive around with a smug sense of superiority?


"Move over underling, for my Sebring commands John Laurie BLVD, and if thou dares to drive the speed limit, I shall be sure to tailgate you until I get the chance to crawl past you and give you a dirty look before cutting you off and slamming my brakes to avoid a ticket from that cop up there"


Just my observations anyway. Fuck I hate those cars.

[hypnotoad]

Originally posted by shin0bi
Just my observations anyway. Fuck I hate those cars.

Well when you drive an old saturn, of course we're going to have a smug look on our faces because sebrings have a chrysler logo on them. Chrysler's big air force style wing compared to a silly 4-pane window or something just doesn't compare in the smugliness department.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by shin0bi
I think we can mostly agree that, as awesome as Clarkson and his reviews are, he harbours a ridiculous and often unfounded negative bias towards American cars.

If that turd of a Sebring was built buy a British company, he'd likely have lavished it with a sparkling review. Or at least a 2 out of 5 star rating.

He certainly has the negative bias, but I don't think it's ridiculous or unfounded... most of the time.

And I have seen him bash British products before. In fact I think I've heard him bash most British brands with the exception of maybe Aston Martin. (he's disliked some Jaguars, Morgans, etc. in the past).

[TorqueDog]

Originally posted by hypnotoad
Well when you drive an old saturn, of course we're going to have a smug look on our faces because sebrings have a chrysler logo on them. Chrysler's big air force style wing compared to a silly 4-pane window or something just doesn't compare in the ugliness department. Fixed.

And :facepalm: to the unedited version.

[Casa]

haha this hypnotoad just cracks me up, every single post he makes lawl

[clem24]

And he didn't even talk about the seats.... I rented a 4 door from Vancouver back to Calgary. OMFG. The top of the headrests stick out about 1 foot from the top of the seat. Basically you can't sit back, otherwise you crane your neck. WHO THE HELL designs these things??? And WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE do they get to test them??? And this is FRONT AND REAR seats!!!! My wife had a sore neck when we got back into town.

The other feature I hated... The car honks full blast whenever the keyless was used to lock the car. Maybe this is good for the deaf or the American idiots it's tailored to, but have they considered that people buying this car might have families, and one family member might be a sleeping baby? And that the car might be parked in a parking garage? Lock the car one minute, crying baby the next.

There was absolutely nothing that could save that car. The trunk was soooo hard to close with one hand (they used struts, lid was light, and the short trunk made the deck open at a weird angle). And yeah, they used friggin' duct tape in the trunk to tape down some trim. YEAH!!!

And the quality of the plastics... They *MUST* be molded in China or something. Seriously. It's like American interiors haven't improved in the last 50 years.

And the reason why that V6 is so shitty is because it's based on 1000 year old technology. They haven't updated their designs... EVER. And don't even get me started on the 4 speed tranny. How the hell is this thing even supposed to compete with an Accord or Camry? At least even GM wisened up and came up with the new Malibu, which I think looks fantastic... And I *hate* American cars.

I could go on and on and on.

Luckily when I got back into town, I returned the Sebring and got a Magnum. At least that car is marginally better.