1998 Chrysler Sebring Coupe LXI review from North America

1. Drivers door had to be adjusted at 56,000 miles to allow it to open properly. Poor design in that it is at.

2. Ball joint recall.

3. Plastic fascia had to be fixed under recall. Design resulted in the repair noted above being done. If there was no fascia or designed better the door probably would have been OK.

4. Dented rim needed a lot of balancing.

5. Warped rotors at 30,000 miles.

This car is mixed bag.

Handling is very good at speed and it is very comfortable on 3+ hour trips. The brakes, especially when new, were fantastic comparing well to a BMW M3 that I drove for awhile. Full stop literally threw you into the restraint harness (under 100 feet from 60 mph!) Good ergonomics and good back seat and trunk space. Overall a good open road GT to carry gear for a weekend. Good looks too.

Now the not so good.

Engine HP and torque is weak for a car this size, especially from a standing start. The transmission shift points add to this problem. Older versions like the Laser had a dual range selector to allow for mileage or performance The front end plastic is too low and results in banging into curbs etc. The plastic side panels are a curse to fix and really do not make the car look any better. Doors should have a three point attachment and not two. This would reduce the door sag. Replaced two batteries which seems above average. The battery and tire sizes are odd so that you are stuck with Chrysler parts. Poor turning radius.

I good faith, the car never left me stranded, although I did not go into high mileage. The rim denting issue is really more the reality of too low profile tires combined with too large rims on small cars. I went to higher sidewall height and smaller wheels on my new car. I think a lot of people may do the same after their first experience with low profile stuff.

What many of the critics of this car miss when they lament their last Toyota or Nissan is that this is a Japanese car (Mitsubishi) and is not reflective of Chrysler's own products. (Daimler/Chrysler wisdom in carrying this product may questioned1)