2013 Chrysler 200S Convertible: Stylish and Fun, Even With Kids
Guest Contributor
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Think a family car has to be large and boring? Not so.
As my kids get older, our definition of family car is changing, too. With a third driver at home I no longer need a big people-hauler. Instead, aesthetics is replacing SPACE in my top criteria: I am interested in style and frankly, I’m a little tired of being practical. And after driving a gas guzzler for so many years, I would like fuel efficiency, but not at the price of style.
So I was curious about spending a week in the Chrysler 200S on a trip to Los Angeles with two of my three kids. Chrysler has become known for some fun convertibles, and while it sounded like fun to spend a week in this sleek convertible, I had to wonder: would the 200S have enough passenger comfort for us as we spent a week driving around LA?
I learned that a car can be both family friendly and cool and sporty. The cool part is easy: the Chrysler 200S design, which has gotten even more sophisticated since we reviewed it last year, includes lots of attention to extras like dual exhaust, color contrasts like the black grill on a silver body and wheels that make you look twice. And the car’s sporty drive was a relief in LA traffic: We drove on freeways, on side streets and to the beach, and the punch of the 200S engine made it solid to drive, like a quality automobile should. And, the 200S was just named best full size convertible by the Miami Auto Show.
The top rarely went up the week we had the 200S
Because it’s a convertible, you lose half the trunk space when the convertible top is down, but it still has enough room for three bags of groceries. The backseat, never the best seat in the house, was acceptable in legroom and seat comfort. The driver’s seat is extremely comfortable with built in lumbar cushioning and ventilation that kept me cool even in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Two things I was not crazy about on the Chrysler 200S: the navigation system is cumbersome and the trunk door weighs a ton. I never felt confident that the nav sytem offered the best routes and traffic information so I was constantly comparing it with the map on my phone. It turned out that my mobile navigation was more reliable for the best routes. And it took two hands to close the trunk. This is not ideal for an older person or single mom (or dad) with kids in tow.
What We Loved:
Convertible. Enough said.
Good trunk space with the top down
V6 engine provided power we needed in traffic and for cruising
Perforated ventilated seats
Push button convertible top
Plenty of passenger comfort
Stylish details including a black front grille and wide chrome wheels
What You Need to Know
Cumbersome navigation system
Heavy trunk door that could be hard to close
Base price of the model we tested: $33,400
19MPG city/29MPG highway
Overall, the 200S delivers on fun and style and even better, it delivers it at an affordable price.
Disclosure: The 200S was provided to us by Chrysler for our test drive; opinions here are all our own.