New cars: 2011 Chrysler 200

Motor Trend

The sedan that enlisted the rapper Eminem for a splashy Super Bowl ad is “a much better car” than the vehicle it replaced. The 2011 Chrysler 200 will satisfy most any driver who’s simply seeking a “casual cruiser” for “long, easy drives.” Given just a year to knock out an upgrade of the late, unlamented Sebring, Chrysler’s engineers also have done a remarkable job of providing the 200 with “smoothly anonymous” exterior styling.

Car and Driver

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Considering the tight turnaround schedule, the makeover is pretty impressive. The new front end is “cleaner, more sweeping,” and in the interior, “cheapness is now banished—or at least much better disguised.” Drivetrain and suspension improvements have meanwhile woken up “the Sebring’s sleepy dynamics.”

Automobile

Yet because the Sebring simply didn’t have “the DNA” to become great overnight, this year’s “monumental” leap forward still leaves the 200 with “mediocre build quality” and handling that’s only attained Camry-level. Chrysler’s midsize sedan has finally met routine 21st-century expectations, but “it still isn’t leading the pack.”