The $26,995 200S offers 18-inch alloy wheels, a special interior, paddle shifters, sport suspension, a driver-selectable Sport Mode “S” option (that provides more immediate and aggressive gear shifting, steering and throttle response and less intervention by the stability control system), acoustic windshield and side glass and the interior/exterior dark chrome accents.
The top-of-the-line $27,995 200C includes leather-faced seats, heated steering wheel, rear back-up camera, large-screen Uconnect multimedia centre and an in-cluster display centre, remote start, chrome exterior accents, turn signals in the mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control and garage door opener.
All-wheel drive is a $2,500 option on the 200S and 200C but is only available with the V6 engine. Likewise, 19-inch wheels are optional only on the 200S and 200C.
  2015 Chrysler 200. Click image to enlarge |
The 2015 Chrysler 200 is a good-looking car competing most directly with the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion. Exterior fit and finish is first rate, with Chrysler having done an excellent job in assembling and presenting this vehicle. The paint is luxurious and rich, the wheels are finely crafted, the overall look is smooth and aerodynamic. It is an appealing design, surpassing the Honda and Toyota, I think, but still a bit wanting in comparison with the Fusion.
The interior is likewise finely crafted with several details that stand out. The retracting centre console, for instance, is a clever stroke, enabling the driver or passenger to slide the drink holders and storage container back underneath the armrest to reveal a cavernous container that will easily swallow an iPad or similar. It’s also the location for the media inputs.
  2015 Chrysler 200. Click image to enlarge |
Rear seat accommodations are generous, although the attractive coupe-like roof profile did cause me to bang my head when getting in. The trunk is large and deep at 453 L.
The rotary gearshift is discrete, easy to use, if not entirely satisfying in the hand. The instrument panel is bathed in blue light and the steering wheel is thick and comfortable to use. Interior surfaces are pleasant to the touch and look well-tailored and expensive.
We drove the V6 Chrysler 200C AWD and the I4 200 Limited and have nothing but good things to say about the driving dynamics of this car. Handling on the twisty two-lane country roads outside of Louisville far exceeded the abilities of the outgoing model and felt BMW 3 Series–like in control, stability and ride.
The cabin of the Chrysler 200 was just about silent on smooth pavement. Wind noise is all but absent, the aerodynamic mirrors slicing through the air, creating no turbulence as we proceeded at highway speeds. On rough pavement you get tire noise, but that’s typical for all vehicles no matter the cost. The exhaust note of the V6 model is assertive under acceleration but still evident when cruising. Too much so, I think. While it does remind you of the power available when accelerating, it doesn’t need to keep doing this when cruising. In my opinion, buyers for this type of vehicle would be more impressed by quiet than the drone of the exhaust.
The instrument cluster is a fine design, but I found the major gauges only dimly illuminated in daytime driving, and the gauges themselves a bit small. Fortunately, the 200C’s in-cluster display can give you a digital readout, but if you select that, you lose the trip odometer.
Nonetheless, that electronic display is comprehensive and easy to scroll through. Obviating the need for rotary temperature and fuel gauges, one wonders when the big tachometer itself will rightly be subsumed. After all, who really looks at it (or even knows what it does!)?
That said, the rotary shifter – similarly a space-saving replacement for the column or console stick shifter – may take some getting used to. I found I had to look at it (or at the display), which is inconvenient when you’re alternating between Drive and Reverse while maneuvering in close quarters. My experience was that it seems a bit too delicate to confidently operate by touch alone, as one can with a conventional shifter.
