[hmk123]

Well, the 4 is cheaper, so they can sell more; the power is fine; it's a great engine with 173 hp (vs my Daytona's 100 hp). And my wife would kill herself with the 280 or so hp from the V-6. So she got the 4 and is very happy with it.

I have the I4 engine in the Journey and I agree, it is fine for the 200. It is just that the 200 with the V6 is a blast . I was just surprised that the local dealer had none...

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Our dealer has had a good mix of both. I still think it's a price point to stimulate sales. I noticed that our dealer started off carrying Darts with the 1.4L turbo and 6-speed manual, and they were slow to move. Prices were about $22K. Now they have at least 3 Darts on the lot, FINALLY, with a sticker price in the $18K range. They're 2.0L and two of 3 are automatics. They're finding what sells fastest, and perhaps for the 200 it's the 4 with its minimally better gas mileage.

 

[jimboy]

Well, in our local Challenger club of about 100 members we have had two incidences last year. I own an R/T myself and wouldn't want this to happen...

I'm a member of the local LX club, and have never heard of this issue! My Maggie has 107,000 kms on it and has not given me an ounce of trouble, powertrain wise, and it has the MDS system. Maybe it's an issue with later models?

 

[hmk123]

Yes, this is only an issue with the 2009+ VVT HEMIs (5.7L so far). The chain and tensioner are different from the pre VVT HEMIs. Of course, the failure rates are very low and a lot of it might be noise. But I was surprised to see two of them happening in our club. Both happened around 50k miles.

 

[saltydog]

I have the 4sp in my 2008 Sebring with the 2.7 and it does just fine, does what it is supposed too and very smooth. Great fuel economy! I have gotten a high of 37mpg highway, but generally highway is about 30-32mpg.

When I bought the car, I was looking at the 3.5 with 6sp auto, but the economey was not near as good.

I generally don't like 4cyl due to the noise and viberation & I get just as good economey with 6 as I would with the 4cyl.

 

[jimboy]

I have the 4sp in my 2008 Sebring with the 2.7 and it just fine, does what it is supposed too and very smooth. Great fuel economy! I have gotten a high of 37mpg highway, but generally highway is about 30-32mpg.

When I bought the car, I was looking at the 3.5 with 6sp auto, but the economey was not near as good.

I generally don't like 4cyl due to the noise and viberation & I get just as good economey with 6 as I would with the 4cyl.

I always thought that the problems associated with the 2.7 were more hype than reality. Glad to hear you're happy with it.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Not hype. The 2.7 problems were fixed, but very real back around 2000.

 

[Christopher]

About 178K on my 2004 with the 2.7. No problems with it so far.

 

[jerseyjoe]

I have the 4sp in my 2008 Sebring with the 2.7 and it does just fine, does what it is supposed too and very smooth. Great fuel economy! I have gotten a high of 37mpg highway, but generally highway is about 30-32mpg.

When I bought the car, I was looking at the 3.5 with 6sp auto, but the economey was not near as good.

I generally don't like 4cyl due to the noise and viberation & I get just as good economey with 6 as I would with the 4cyl.

My wifes 2.7 300 gets good mileage, makes less trips to the pump than my Challenger. the 300 steering feels lighter and is quicker to 15 MPH, usually wins the across the intersection sprints. I don't like 4 banger for the same reason. The balance shaft 2.5 was quiet and smooth, a little vibration at idle. not swift but good torque.

I gotta drive a speed Avenger.

 

[jimboy]

Still gushing about my rental! I've had the car for 2 weeks now and have gone through my first tank of gas, about 444 kms./276 miles, which is about the same range as the Magnum. Average fuel economy has been about 10 L per 100 kms. in mixed driving, mostly city.
I just wanted to mention a feature I haven't written of yet, which is the remote start. I had it in the Contour, but not in the Maggie. The 200's remote start activates the defrost on the windshield (max blower), mirrors and rear window automatically, no matter what position the manual setting are in!
That is terrific as far as I am concerned! When you insert and turn the key it resets to the original settings on the car. Call me out of touch, but I think that is the cleverest thing I've ever seen. Is that normal for remote starts these days? My Contour certainly didn't do that.
Just can't get over how much I like this car - I'm pretty sure my next vehicle will be a 200S convertible with the V-6.


NB. Thats an average mpg of 23.52 (U.S.)

 

[MickM]

I love the remote start on my Avenger, I just wish it would turn the seat heater on when the outside temp is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[saltydog]

"The 200's remote start activates the defrost on the windshield (max blower), mirrors and rear window automatically, no matter what position the manual setting are in!"

I wish my TC did this...I have to make sure my HeaterA/C system is on or nothing happens...

 

[UN4GTBL]

"The 200's remote start activates the defrost on the windshield (max blower), mirrors and rear window automatically, no matter what position the manual setting are in!"

I wish my TC did this...I have to make sure my HeaterA/C system is on or nothing happens...

I've heard that it does, just doesn't turn on the climate display

 

[willy4110]

I'd rather the remote didn't turn on the air blower to max upon engine start up. When it's very oold outside I prefer the blower to run for several minutes so the bushings warm up first before turning the blower to a higher speed. Whether it makes a difference to let the bushings warm up is debatable, however I have never replaced a blower motor yet and I know people who changed the blower motor several times on the same vehicle.

 

[JRS200x]

If the vehicle with the Remote Start system has Chrysler's Remote Start Comfort System or whatever it is called, it WILL turn on your heated or cooled seats and heated steering wheel when the temperature calls for it.

 

[Dave Z]

My first experience with a 200 four-cylinder was in Detroit; it was a rental as well, a six speed 2.4. It just flew onto the highway, in my opinion, (keeping in mind my daily driver at the time was a 300M, which is no slouch, being the fastest of all the LH cars). I was running around 38 mpg on the highway at typical Detroit speeds (I won't say 75-80 mph, which would be illegal, but I was keeping up with the passing lane of the highways). It came down a bit when I had to go that long route up Van Whatsit, past Warren, Sterling Heights, etc., but at the end of my journey, in Washington, MI, I still was showing 34 mpg in a car whose manners were impeccable and whose quiet interior, well-appointed was a far cry from the only other car I've had that could manage 34 mpg ... my Neon.

That's the best performance I got out of it, but I loved the way its suspension smoothed out the rutted concrete roads and railroad tracks as Chris Carpenter and I test-drove the “factory tour” route.

 

[larryv]

Um... not quite sure why the Trenton wastewater treatment plant photo gets thrown in with the others, but that has to be the single biggest crapplant picture on Allpar since Daimler departed.... :rimshot:

 

[Dave Z]

I liked the building, and it was on the route. It's about half a block from the Trenton plant, and across the street.

 

[saltydog]

If the vehicle with the Remote Start system has Chrysler's Remote Start Comfort System or whatever it is called, it WILL turn on your heated or cooled seats and heated steering wheel when the temperature calls for it.

That part works just fine for the seats and steering wheel, but if the HVAC is off it does nothing.

Also if I wnat it to work, i have to leave it on Auto mode and then it will work with the Remote start, but only the front system, the rear system does not work while remote start mode.

Very odd...

 

[ShadowRider]

I liked the building, and it was on the route. It's about half a block from the Trenton plant, and across the street.

When the wind is blowing in the right direction the odors from the waste treatment plant are sucked into the plant ventilation system and spread through out the building. It makes for a smelly 12 hr day.