Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Chrysler, Design/Style



It's fair to say that Chrysler Corporation has been on a major perception upswing with its new products, but that rise has largely been centered around its trucks and utility vehicles - the car side has been somewhat left out. The outgoing 200 (previously skinned as the Sebring) never garnered any laurels, the Dart has suffered a rather cool reception both critically and in terms of sales, the second-gen 300 is a nice car yet it hasn't sold as well as its predecessor, and even the mighty SRT Viper has had its V10 bark muted by the less costly and multi-talented Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Resurgent Chrysler could use a hit car, and the 2015 200 may just be it.
For one thing, it looks great here under the lights at the Detroit Auto Show. Eschewing today's oversized headlamp and grille trend, the sleek 200 (with a coefficient of drag of just .27) displays a 'four-door coupe' sensibility with a sense of style that the old 200 with its gawky greenhouse and forced details never did. The new 200's exterior may look a bit like a greatest hits compendium of other high-style cars (see also: Audi A7, Tesla Model S, etc.), but it doesn't come off as a pastiche, it's all well-integrated and organic all the same.

It also appears to have the goods under the skin, employing the same Alfa Romeo compact-wide platform that's been pushed and pulled to form the basis of the Dart and Jeep Cherokee and a segment-first all-wheel-drive system with rear axle disconnect for improved fuel economy. Power will come from a 184-horsepower, 173 pound-feet-of-torque Tigershark 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine or Chrysler's well-regarded 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with 295 hp and 262 lb-ft, the latter coming with standard all-wheel drive.

At first blush, the 200S is our pick of the litter, and not just because it looks sportier sitting on 18-inch alloys with its more sinister trim. It also gets a firmer suspension and standard paddle shifters, which should be particularly fun on the AWD V6 model, as that system can divert 60 percent of the engine's torque to the rear axle.

It all looks pretty promising. Could this be the hit car that Chrysler needs? Review our galleries, watch the videos and check out the press release by scrolling below... then place your wagers in Comments.Continue reading 2015 Chrysler 200 looks to put Pentastar's cars back on track [w/videos]

2015 Chrysler 200 looks to put Pentastar's cars back on track [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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