Sebring Convertible is first with hard, soft tops

After competing convertibles arrived in showrooms in the past year with hardtops, rather than fabric roofs, it's easy to see why Chrysler's 2008 Sebring Convertible is the first Sebring to offer a hardtop.

But thankfully, Chrysler doesn't limit shoppers to the hardtop, which pushes Sebring Convertible prices above $30,000.

The open-top, four-seat Sebring -- long a favorite of U.S. consumers -- still is available with lower-priced vinyl and cloth tops, too.

Combined with a selection of three engines -- a base four cylinder and two V-6s -- the new Sebring Convertible offers more consumer choices than any other convertible in America.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $26,145 for a base Sebring Convertible with 173-horsepower, four-cylinder engine, automatic transmission and a power-operated vinyl top.

Because the hardtop isn't available with the four cylinder, buyers wanting the new, power-operated, hard, metal roof must move up to a Touring model with 189-horsepower V-6. The Touring model starts at $28,745 with a power cloth roof, and then the optional hardtop adds $1,995, for a total $30,740 starting price.

This isn't the highest-priced Sebring Convertible. The top Limited model with high-output, 235-horsepower V-6 and a hardtop has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $34,340.

Competitors include the 2007 Volkswagen Eos starting at $28,750 for a 200-horsepower, turbocharged, four-cylinder model with manual transmission, and the 2007 Pontiac G6 Convertible starting at $29,400 with 224-horsepower V-6 and automatic transmission.

Power hardtops are standard on the Eos and G6 which, like the Sebring, have four seats. But they're new nameplates, while the Sebring Convertible dates to 1996 and has been known for its affordable pricing, decent amenities and comfortable front and back seats.

In seven of the past 11 years, the Sebring has been the best-selling convertible in the United States.

Built on the front-wheel drive platform of the Dodge Avenger that's also used for the 2007 Sebring sedan, the two-door Sebring Convertible looks stylish with the top down and up -- no matter which roof it is. All roofs are power-operated, so a driver just pushes a button and the machinery takes care of everything, even putting down the hard tonneau cover behind the rear seats.

It takes the most time for the hardtop to go down -- about 30 seconds -- as it splits into its three pieces, then moves back and stacks itself in a mesmerizing fashion.

Besides additional interior insulation and structure, this metal roof gives the Sebring a new look because it's painted the same body color as the car. In contrast, the low-cost vinyl roof, which is fully lined inside, comes only in black, and the cloth top is available in black, taupe and beige.

All the roofs have glass rear windows and look good. Chrysler officials said they used the same under-structure in all three, so they have the same shape.

The stylish, new Sebring Convertible is about the same length as its predecessor, but at 4-foot-9-inches, it's a few inches taller.

The trunk lid is also relatively high, which helps explain why the trunk is so roomy. It can hold at least two, regular-sized golf bags even when the top is down and four bags when the roof is up.

I also liked the pretty interior styling. The darker-colored, top of the dashboard dovetails nicely into the lower dash via a subtle V shape that's reminiscent of Chrysler's winged badge. I appreciated that the front-seat safety belts were attached to the seats, not the side pillars, so belts don't flap in the wind when the top and windows are down.

But seats could use better support for long drives, and rainwater dripped onto the window buttons on the driver door when I opened the window.

I heard wind noise emanating from the passenger side with the top on while I drove the test car, a mid-level Sebring Touring Convertible with hardtop, on the highway. There was no shaking or shuddering of the car body over road bumps, but I sometimes noticed weight transferring sloppily from one side to the other in hard driving on mountain twisties.

Likely due to the extra pounds that the hardtop adds to the car, this weight -- and the automatic transmission with only four speeds -- also seemed to affect the performance of the 2.7-liter, double overhead cam V-6 at times.

The engine droned some and during highway driving sometimes acted more like a four-cylinder engine than a V-6. Torque peaks at 191 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm.

I advise convertible shoppers to test all versions of the Sebring Convertible, because the base, 2.4-liter four cylinder can feel decently peppy propelling the lighter-weight, vinyl-top model.

The uplevel 3.5-liter V-6, however, is mated to a more modern, more refined, six-speed automatic that boosts torque to 232 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm.

Seat-mounted side air bags and antilock brakes are standard, stability control is not.

The 2008 Sebring Convertible is one of the first cars to be subject to the upgrading of federal fuel economy ratings.

So shoppers will see that the best mileage rating for the new Sebring convertible is 20/29 miles a gallon with the four-cylinder engine and vinyl top.

If 2007 model year calculations were applied, this top mileage would be 23/31 mpg.