Important From Detroit Chrysler 200S V-6 Awd (Part 2).

Important From Detroit Chrysler 200S V-6 Awd (Part 2).

We’ll also call out the Bridgestone Ecopia rubber for letting down the handling. Tire Rack tests show the Ecopia to be one of the least-grippy and dullest-responding variants of low-rolling-resistance tires. In trying to eke out every last tenth of an mpg to meet toughening federal mileage standards, this choice is understandable for the 200 range. Not so, though, for the sportier 200S, where better braking and cornering performance would authenticate its heavy-breathing design cues. And no, upgrading to the 19-inch wheel won’t help much; you just get bigger Ecopias.

Chrysler 200S Awd rear view

Also, their lower profile would do nothing for the tire-thump and road roar that cheapen the driving experience. When Chrysler boasts that the new 200 has a “quiet cabin,” it must be comparing it to the previous model. Despite acoustic glass and other attenuation measures, our noise test put it on the loud side of the mid-size realm. Noise may be worst in the four-wheel-drive version; most of the tire sizzle seems to resonate in the big trunk.

The cabin’s ergonomics are generally solid and logical, making it easy to get around the minor controls. But even if the 200S approaches Korean-brand levels of content- with features such as dual-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, and keyless entry- all of it is expressed in Chrysler-typical love-it-or-hate-it style.

Chrysler 200S Awd interior

The console is a flying-buttress affair that houses the dial-oper-ated gear selector. The resulting space underneath is handy for phones or mini tablets and includes a port to route cords into the bin behind it, where the USB/audio/power plugs reside.

To keep your devices from sliding into the footwell, the bin is lined with a rubber mat embossed with a depiction of the Detroit skyline that only lacks its most recognizable building, the Renaissance Center, currently serving as General Motors’ headquarters. The mat is also “signed” by a certain Walter P. Chrysler, so it’s quite a busy little piece of rubber.

Chrysler 200S Awd back seat

Walt’s signature notwithstanding, a stronger link to Chrysler’s heritage would have been a push-button gear selector. With nine forward gears- plus park, reverse, and neutral- a calculator-like three-by-four grid of buttons would do the job. It couldn’t be worse than the “manual” selection alternative presented here: an S setting on the dial and a pair of abbreviated shift toggles offering no more satisfaction than the redundant audio volume and tuning buttons with which they share space.

Shift quality sharpens a bit in S mode, but you’d be hard-pressed to call the gear changes “crisp.” The same could be said for the whole car. That sense of driver engagement that should be the very point of an S model is absent.

Chrysler 200S Awd wheel detail

A set of proper tires would cost less than the cash spiff that Chrysler offers buyers at this writing, and they would do more to convince us the 200S truly is a sporty option in the mid-size wars. As it is, the 200 is important for Detroit. It provides a basis for hope that future model-year tweaks will develop it into an interesting driver’s car, one that could be important everywhere.