Test Drive: 2011 Chrysler 200 Limited sedan

2011 Chrysler 200 Limited. Click image to enlarge

Inside, the leather interior in our Limited test car was a charcoal black colour with subtle white stitching, and the instrument panel was black with a tasteful use of chrome and silver trim that turned a potentially sombre interior into a classy cabin. We liked the new dash, door and armrest materials that have a quality appearance and are soft to the touch. However, we noticed the leather in the driver’s seat cushion looked loose and the side bolster looked worn, even though the car had only 6,400 km on it.

Both front seats are power operated and include two-temperature seat heaters. The driver’s seat includes a manual lumbar adjuster and the steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach. Headroom and legroom is generous in the front and rear seats and there’s extra footroom under the front seats for rear passengers.

Behind the fat, leather-wrapped steering wheel are three bright, backlit gauges and sharp green-on-black digital displays for outside temperature, compass, odometer and transmission.

In the centre stack, our car had the optional 430N AM/FM/Sat/CD/DVD/MP3/HDD/NAV system ($1,200) which comprises a 6.5-inch touch-screen, 40-GB hard drive, and integrated Garmin Navigation system. Our car also included the optional six Boston Acoustics speakers ($240) which provided clear, undistorted sound. For personal music devices, there are USB and auxiliary jacks next to the touch-screen, another USB and 12 volt powerpoint at the bottom of the centre stack next to an open bin, and another powerpoint under the centre armrest.

The touch-screen is used to adjust the audio, navigation, telephone and information functions, while the climate controls comprise of three simple round dials below. The optional 430N navigation system in our test car didn’t have voice-activation, but there is another optional Nav system with voice activation available. We found the large screen graphics easy to read and the touch-screen easy to navigate. Still, having to switch from navigation screen to the audio screen to change radio stations requires more steps than simply pressing a traditional pre-select button or turning a dial. It takes longer and is more of a distraction when driving. Fortunately, major audio and telephone functions can be operated from the steering wheel – the audio volume and channel select buttons are located on the back of the steering wheel spokes where they are easy to adjust with your forefingers while driving – personally, I like this design the best.

The 200 includes split folding rear seatbacks plus a pass-through behind the rear centre armrest. The rear armrest also includes two cupholders. The fully lined and carpeted trunk includes an insulated trunk lid to reduce booming in the cabin, and outside struts which don’t impede trunk space. However, the trunk’s size of 394 litres (13.9 cu. ft.) is smaller than average for a mid-size sedan.

Standard safety features include standard front airbags, front side airbags, curtain airbags, four head restraints, and active front head restraints, but a centre rear head restraint is not offered. The 2011 Chrysler 200 received a Top Pick crash test rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2011.