[itzahemi]

I have to say. I have a 2011 charger, a 2011 civic, a 2012 lincoln mkz, and i usually lease a car once a year. Ive had several recent Honda Accords as well. While the hondas are good, reliable, I have to say that the civics ride like crap, are not very solid at all, in fact mine with 20k miles is just so noisy and annoying to drive. The accords ride decent, but still have a very tinny feel and jarring ride, although not as bad as the civic. I always get amazing lease deals because of the residuals, but damn they are not that comfortable to me at all regarding ride quality. Two days ago i bit the bullet and leased a 2013 Chrysler 200 limited "loaded" and i did it because i got an amazin sign and drive lease deal. I have to say, I am to say the least very very very impressed. Solid, great handling, quiet as anything Ive driven in a long time. Just an incredible enjoyable car to drive on New York roads. I am a car nut and i am truely amazed how well this car responds. The v6 is quiet, smooth, and so quick. Anyone who drives on NY roads can tell you that cars today just feel crappy, because they are bred to handle like a bmw and give up every enjoyable aspect of driving like every day normal people ,,,,for comfort instead of extreme handling. This 200 has 18inch rims and still rides amazing. Very impressed. And, it is actually very sharp in black. I feel like a 53 year old kid showing everyone this car and asking them to drive it to show them how great it really is. Damn, chrysler reall has come a long way in value, but honest to goodness great stuff here. I feel the same about my charger and i really didnt expect it to ride as well with the 20 inch rims on it,,,,to my surprise it blew me away as well. While Ive always been a mopar nut all my life, for many years I havent ever owned one because the lease deals sucked, and there was never any daily driver that I was drawn too. The 200 ,,,pure value, and i think anyone who gets themselves into one now, will be a repeat customer for sure. I am convinced all these car magazines are politically motivated, there is no way someone could drive this 200 and say it dont compare to the hard riding noisy crap out there. The proof is in the owning and i proved them wrong, I will never listen to opinions and always go with the experience from now on

 

[ShanePerrone]

I have to say. I have a 2011 charger, a 2011 civic, a 2012 lincoln mkz, and i usually lease a car once a year. Ive had several recent Honda Accords as well. While the hondas are good, reliable, I have to say that the civics ride like crap, are not very solid at all, in fact mine with 20k miles is just so noisy and annoying to drive. The accords ride decent, but still have a very tinny feel and jarring ride, although not as bad as the civic. I always get amazing lease deals because of the residuals, but damn they are not that comfortable to me at all regarding ride quality. Two days ago i bit the bullet and leased a 2013 Chrysler 200 limited "loaded" and i did it because i got an amazin sign and drive lease deal. I have to say, I am to say the least very very very impressed. Solid, great handling, quiet as anything Ive driven in a long time. Just an incredible enjoyable car to drive on New York roads. I am a car nut and i am truely amazed how well this car responds. The v6 is quiet, smooth, and so quick. Anyone who drives on NY roads can tell you that cars today just feel crappy, because they are bred to handle like a bmw and give up every enjoyable aspect of driving like every day normal people ,,,,for comfort instead of extreme handling. This 200 has 18inch rims and still rides amazing. Very impressed. And, it is actually very sharp in black. I feel like a 53 year old kid showing everyone this car and asking them to drive it to show them how great it really is. Damn, chrysler reall has come a long way in value, but honest to goodness great stuff here. I feel the same about my charger and i really didnt expect it to ride as well with the 20 inch rims on it,,,,to my surprise it blew me away as well. While Ive always been a mopar nut all my life, for many years I havent ever owned one because the lease deals sucked, and there was never any daily driver that I was drawn too. The 200 ,,,pure value, and i think anyone who gets themselves into one now, will be a repeat customer for sure. I am convinced all these car magazines are politically motivated, there is no way someone could drive this 200 and say it dont compare to the hard riding noisy crap out there. The proof is in the owning and i proved them wrong, I will never listen to opinions and always go with the experience from now on

Agreed 100 and 10 percent on the civic. I can see why a journalist on a track that is completely smooth might be happy, or people doing donuts in a parking lot... but my lord I've never been in such an abusive car that felt it was out for itself than a Honda Civic. The car to me felt like one unit, like a carnival ride that forced you along whether you wanted to or not. Instead of the car attempting to smooth out a rode, it always felt like it just transmitted it right into the seat with no regard for your spine as long as the car was "happy".

The front also had such minimal ground clearance that you could ride up on packed snow all the time with little chance of getting out.

Even the worst roads so far have not jarred me in my mom's 200 compared to any of her Hondas.

 

[jimboy]

Update on the 200. I finally picked up the Magnum yesterday, the 27th, after a month in the repair shop. Final bill for the repairs was $8,400.00 labour and parts.

I guess the decision was very close on whether to declare the car a write off or not. Other than the radiator-a/c assembly and bumper, everything else was basically cosmetic. Kind of makes you wonder about the connections between Gov't mandated insurance and repair costs doesn't it? The more the insurance companies will make off me and others for raising my (mandated) premiums, seems to directly relate to what the autobody shops charge for parts and labour. Ever hear of an insurance company going broke? Or being allowed to?
Anyways, the parts were essentially a grill, bumper assembly, hood, belly pan, radiator, and headlight assembly's. No fenders, re-used fog lights and housings, and some paint. $5400.00 in parts, $3,000.00 in labour. I think one more part would have necessitated a total loss!!

The 200 performed well, but I was not terribly impressed by the mileage, which averaged out to about 11 L. per 100 kms. or 21.38 US mpg. The Magnum, with a hemi, gets 13.2 L or 17.82 mpg. Both were good for about 440 - 460 kms. in range, (280 miles mostly city driving). I think it depends on power to weight and the 4 speed transmission installed, but I expected better from it overall. I had a couple of glitches with the key fob as well when it refused to function when locking or unlocking the doors.
One evening I had to manually unlock the doors and it set the alarm off, waking half the neighbourhood before I could figure out how to disable the darned thing, which no one bothered to tell me. ( No owners manual in a rental!) Btw - key in ignition on/off 3 times to reset.

All in all I quite enjoyed the 200, but I would certainly opt for the 6 speed in the four, or most likely get the V-6. When I got back into my Maggie yesterday, I spun the wheels several times because I was used to goosing the 200 harder, LOL!