Cars Worth Noting: 2004 Chrysler Sebring Convertible

This one was a no-brainer. Daimler- Chrysler was sponsoring a summer media event in Petosky, Mich., just north of Traverse City. My wife and I would be driving up from the Detroit area and I was given the option of picking out our weekend transportation from the media fleet. Being the loving spouse that I am, I let Anna make the choice. A convertible it was.

Driving on the expressway with the top down is a little too much for both of us, but it did give me a chance to check out the up-top at freeway speeds and I was impressed. DaimlerChrysler has set some tough quality goals for the Chrysler division and it seems to be paying off. The Dura-supplied power soft-top didn’t buffet and there was little or no wind noise interrupting our CD listening and conversation.

The power top is easy to use and worked flawlessly, though this one comes with a hard tonneau cover that takes up a lot of trunk space when it’s not in place.

Once off the freeway we were able to enjoy some top-down driving along the shoreline of Grand Traverse Bay, just the kind of adventure this car is designed for. The Sebring is a great top-down or top-up cruiser. The leathertrimmed buckets were comfortable over the long haul and there’s room for four adults.

While I prefer the lines of the coupe, this convertible looks sharp, painted in Satin Jade Pearl with a deep jade green interior. Our test vehicle came with about $2,000 worth of options attached to its $30,325 base price including a battery and engine block heater and an in-dash 6-disc CD changer.