I Just Drove a 200 For the Time

[Frisky Dingo]

And hot damn, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little impressed. Nice steering. Great ride but not at the compromise of handling, which itself is pretty nice. Low noise levels. Solid brake feel and action. It's let down by the transmission, which is painfully slow to respond under heavy throttle and can deliver harsh shifts. Under part-throttle upshifts, it's generally fine. The smallish back seat, cheap interior, and Chrysler reliability would keep me from buying one, but I can't in good conscience say it drives bad. Which is rather surprising. 

[Suaviloquent]

I really like the looks of the 200. Too bad it's the longest car in the midsize class, yet fails to have a roomy cabin.

 

And I think the wheels on the upper trims are quite good looking. Same with the tail lights.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

It doesn't float my boat as I am more of a sports car kind of guy, but it has some decent qualities.

[daves87rs]

On 11/23/2016 at 6:28 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

It doesn't float my boat as I am more of a sports car kind of guy, but it has some decent qualities.

Yeah, comes off kinda floaty to me...

[Frisky Dingo]

11 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Yeah, comes off kinda floaty to me...

 

It's really not. The overall driving dynamics of the car are pretty solid and crisp. It feels very Accord-esque in that regard, if you can believe it.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

It's really not. The overall driving dynamics of the car are pretty solid and crisp. It feels very Accord-esque in that regard, if you can believe it.

It has to be mind blindingly frustrating to be a Chrysler engineer...they have a lot of good ideas and input, but are never alloyed tor really make their cars all that they should be.

[Frisky Dingo]

Yeah, you can't but wonder how they didn't think to make the simple fixes necessary to make this a compelling offering in it's class. It's blatantly obvious.

[A Horse With No Name]

47 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

Yeah, you can't but wonder how they didn't think to make the simple fixes necessary to make this a compelling offering in it's class. It's blatantly obvious.

Or why they polluted the Jeep lineup with its brand equity with products like the Compass. Everything they build seems compromised in some ways...

That being said, i do enjoy the Jeep lineup and the performance Charger/Challenger vehicles.

[hyperv6]

The 200 was never a bad car. The problem always was it was just not a good enough car in a very tough segment. 

The car just was a mix of too many wrong things. FCA should have just given Chrysler the pull to make their own platform and placed this car on that platform to compete with the best in segment. Just making the car better than the one it replaced is not enough. 

Styling was find but the details killed this car and many of them were rooted at FCA not Chrysler. 

I agree to be an engineer at Chrysler right now must be like being on the Titanic listening to the band as the last life boat is lowered. I saw they were closing the Chrysler museum for more office space. I would thing many of these guys would be looking to go else where to do what they were really trained to do with proper funding. 

At the rate things are going Jeep and Ram may end up owned by China with VW hurting for money and most other players already owning their own trucks. 

I have often pondered what GMC and Jeep could have done?

[A Horse With No Name]

57 minutes ago, hyperv6 said:

The 200 was never a bad car. The problem always was it was just not a good enough car in a very tough segment. 

The car just was a mix of too many wrong things. FCA should have just given Chrysler the pull to make their own platform and placed this car on that platform to compete with the best in segment. Just making the car better than the one it replaced is not enough. 

Styling was find but the details killed this car and many of them were rooted at FCA not Chrysler. 

I agree to be an engineer at Chrysler right now must be like being on the Titanic listening to the band as the last life boat is lowered. I saw they were closing the Chrysler museum for more office space. I would thing many of these guys would be looking to go else where to do what they were really trained to do with proper funding. 

At the rate things are going Jeep and Ram may end up owned by China with VW hurting for money and most other players already owning their own trucks. 

I have often pondered what GMC and Jeep could have done?

I like the Idea of GMC and Jeep...but wonder if ti might not be too much of the same thing under one owner.

[hyperv6]

Not really. 

GMC is trucks and Cross overs. 

Jeep could be left to fill the niche that GM has considered but never moved into. they have hinted at a Wrangler fighter but never did it. 

The entire line up would change under GM as they would not be installing hemi engines and using Fiat based platforms. 

To be honest It is a neat dream but for all the changes they would need to make they could do it much cheaper to do it just at GM and not take the other models. 

The one thing Jeep adds that is of great value is the name and the Wrangler. Both are seen as global cars not just American cars and are well accepted globally. As for the rest. GM would have to invest so much to change it that it would be not worth the investment. 

Lutz had said his one great mistake was not making Hummer a GMC model and not a division. He said it would have been cheaper and easier to control. GMC could still do this under the GMC brand and do more rugged version of the Truck platforms. No need for the Hummer name. Just take these models to the next level. 

[cp-the-nerd]

Did you drive the 4-cylinder or the V6? Because I find them to be two distinctly different cars to drive. The V6 is intoxicating and generally smooths out the shortcomings of the 9-speed, but the 4-cylinder powertrain is not class competitive.

I would not hesitate to recommend a 200S V6 at a good price.

[daves87rs]

15 hours ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

It's really not. The overall driving dynamics of the car are pretty solid and crisp. It feels very Accord-esque in that regard, if you can believe it.

Might be right there...it simply may be more of the size of the car that throws it off for me.....other than that-it was a fun drive!

Just drove my buddy's new 2017 Sonata....and that handles quite well too!

[Frisky Dingo]

9 hours ago, cp-the-nerd said:

Did you drive the 4-cylinder or the V6? Because I find them to be two distinctly different cars to drive. The V6 is intoxicating and generally smooths out the shortcomings of the 9-speed, but the 4-cylinder powertrain is not class competitive.

I would not hesitate to recommend a 200S V6 at a good price.

It was actually the I4. I need to try a V6 car.

[Stew]

Apparently V6s bring even better brakes and some nicer interior materials.  I love the luxury interior offered on the 200C.  I was surprised how solid it is.  The one we had reminded me of my brother's Audi in Chassis feel.  I feel the 2.4 is adequate, but just such.  Honestly, I feel that way about most of the base power-trains.  A v6 is still high on my list fr a future purchase though I love the 16+ Malibu Premier 2.0T as well.  Maybe when it is time for the Camry and Bug to go (or the bug to become a weekend toy) we can get one of each for our drivers

[2QuickZ's]

On 11/26/2016 at 1:15 AM, cp-the-nerd said:

Did you drive the 4-cylinder or the V6? Because I find them to be two distinctly different cars to drive. The V6 is intoxicating and generally smooths out the shortcomings of the 9-speed, but the 4-cylinder powertrain is not class competitive.

I would not hesitate to recommend a 200S V6 at a good price.

The V6 9 speed combo is killer.  My FWD is definitely quicker than the 300S V6 I had before it and would probably not be too far off the Charger R/T I had before that.  Car and Driver got 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and 14.3 @ 100 mph in the 1/4 for a FWD version like mine.

In regard to a good price, how does a 5500 mile 2015 200S V6 with heated and ventilated leather, Nav/Premium Audio and Convenience package for $17,600 sound?  To me it sounded just right which is why one is parked in my garage!  The V6 versions are way underrated. 

[Stew]

12 hours ago, 2QuickZ's said:

The V6 9 speed combo is killer.  My FWD is definitely quicker than the 300S V6 I had before it and would probably not be too far off the Charger R/T I had before that.  Car and Driver got 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and 14.3 @ 100 mph in the 1/4 for a FWD version like mine.

In regard to a good price, how does a 5500 mile 2015 200S V6 with heated and ventilated leather, Nav/Premium Audio and Convenience package for $17,600 sound?  To me it sounded just right which is why one is parked in my garage!  The V6 versions are way underrated. 

Have you had any issues with it so far?  i really want to pic up a V6 200 in the next few years, plobably a limited Platinum or an S. 

[2QuickZ's]

So far, so good.  I really love this car.  The 9 speed everybody complains about has been flawless.  It is the first car I have had in years that will readily downshift without having to be in some kind of sport mode or needing full throttle.  You give it gas, it downshifts to the right gear without hesitation and goes.  I do occasionally get a firm shift on light throttle 1-2 shifts but not at all objectionable.  I see one definite issue with this car: it is going to eat tires.  You stab the throttle at 30 mph and it will downshift and spin the tires.

[daves87rs]

On 12/1/2016 at 8:12 PM, 2QuickZ's said:

The V6 9 speed combo is killer.  My FWD is definitely quicker than the 300S V6 I had before it and would probably not be too far off the Charger R/T I had before that.  Car and Driver got 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and 14.3 @ 100 mph in the 1/4 for a FWD version like mine.

In regard to a good price, how does a 5500 mile 2015 200S V6 with heated and ventilated leather, Nav/Premium Audio and Convenience package for $17,600 sound?  To me it sounded just right which is why one is parked in my garage!  The V6 versions are way underrated. 

Wow that is a good price!