Chrysler Concorde 2002

After years of being almost identical to the Dodge Intrepid in all but appearance, the Chrysler Concorde has finally come into its own. With Chrysler's usual skill in confusing customers, the company "discontinued" the LHS and "redesigned" the Concorde. In reality, of course, the LHS was given some Concorde components - such as the front clip - and renamed "Concorde Limited." The base Concordes were given the LHS body, which is four inches longer than the Intrepid (though, oddly, Chrysler claims both have the same size interior - perhaps they failed to update their spec sheets?).

The Concorde is quite a deal, a full-size car with good handling for the price of a mid-size. Though you can pay more for a Camry or even an optioned Accord, the Concorde provides a smooth, well-filtered ride, good handling, and surprising pep. Even quality is good, if J.D. Power is to be believed. The only price you pay for size is gas mileage: with the LXi's 234-horsepower 3.5 liter engine, the EPA estimates 18 mpg city, 26 highway. That's not too shabby for a full size car.

The base LX model, incidentally, comes with a sprightly 2.7 liter engine producing 200 horsepower (with 2 mpg better economy than the 234-horse 3.5). Move up to the limited and you get the 300M's 3.5 V6, with 250 horses on tap. Each engine has at least as much torque as horsepower, for good off-the-line (and up-hill) power. Putting the air conditioner on our LXi did not affect perceptible power. Both the 2.7 and 3.5 take unleaded; only the Concorde Limited's 250 horsepower version of the 3.5 requests midgrade (but will take unleaded).

The weak point of the Concorde is the transmission, which, while very smooth, is not especially efficient. Rumors of much better performance with other transmissions have been floating around for years, and, indeed, Chrysler will be dropping its current transmissions when it moves to rear wheel drive in the next generation. The current automatic is still very well-behaved, with barely perceptible shifts even under hard throttle. High-speed kickdown is gentler than most other vehicles' low-acceleration shifts, and the downshifts are equally smooth.

The transmission automatically adapts to its own internal conditions, learning what its tolerances are and also adapting to the driver's style. This makes us wish the optional "driver settings" button (which moves the seat to a preset position) was linked into the transmission computer - so if two different people with very different driving styles share a car, the transmission would be able to learn about each of them. But where there is a single driver, it takes about a week for the transmission to figure out how they drive and make its shifts accordingly. That means gentle drivers get gentle shifts, and performance drivers get firmer, later shifts.

Cup-holders flip out of the front center console, and are integrated into the rear center console, which includes its own storage area. The front console/armrest, which folds up, also includes a change holder and space for cassettes, CDs, and maps.

You can feel the road, but it is never rough inside the car, even when you know the surface is harsh. Sudden bumps and potholes are well filtered, and rough concrete poses no problem. On the other hand, the wind noise could be lower at high speeds.

Handling is very good for a large car, and the new variable-assist power steering is an excellent addition. It is possible to make the tires squeal, especially by mashing down the accelerator from a stop while turning, but it is not easy, and the car always feels like it is under control. A Concorde isn't a BMW, but few people will push it to the limits, and most will appreciate its ability to deal with whatever they throw at it. Those who want a little bit more can go for the Intrepid or, better, the Intrepid R/T - on which the Intrepid's police package is based - to get better handling. Other automakers need to resort to an active suspension to get the kind of handling Chrysler has achieved without all sorts of expensive sensors and pneumatic doo-dads.

Acceleration works luxury-car style: nothing is abrupt, but you still move very quickly. The V6 engines are high-winders, which have adequate power off the line but really get moving as the revs climb. Either the engines are very quiet, or they are well insulated, because they work fairly unobtrusively. Power is substantial at any speed, and acceleration is quick. The transmission helps by downshifting quickly and without fuss.

We were happy to see that the trip computer is now standard, complete with three different built-in garage door openers. The trip computer provides gas mileage, a compass, outside temperature, and other features, in both English and metric.

Another appreciated standard feature was the rear vents - two of them, one for heat and one for cool air - with a simple switch for rear passengers to choose where they want air to come out (or to shut it off entirely). Not many automakers consider the back seat passengers. Perhaps Chrysler figured that anybody buying a car with such a huge back seat would find someone to put in it.

The front passengers have twin cupholders which fold out from the center console and provide a decent grip on narrow containers, while rear passengers have a center console that folds down from the back seat with two larger, less useful cupholders, and an armrest which folds up to yield a storage space. There is also a trunk pass-through behind this console, which is fortunate since the back seats do not fold down (they do on the Dodge Intrepid). Child seat anchors are well marked and have integral covers, so there's no need to worry about losing the plastic caps.

The instrument panel is clear and conventional, with bright chrome rings adding a little class - though not nearly as much as the 300M imparts with its ornate lettering and black-on-white color scheme. The cruise control is on the steering wheel itself, while at least one of the optional stereos has control buttons on the back of the steering wheel. This system makes unusual sense, with up, down, and center positions for tuning the stereo, changing the band, or adjusting volume. Likewise, the cruise control includes a cancel button, and is well marked.

Since reviewers are usually careful to point out the quality of buttons and switches when they review luxury German and Japanese cars, we will note that the buttons and switches seemed to be of very high quality on this Concorde - and have been since before Mercedes hit the scene. The turn signal is a tactile pleasure to use.

The climate control is easy to understand and use. Our test car had the thermostatically controlled system which, like most of its ilk, is best left to adjust the heat level by itself, and be overruled on all other fronts. This is easy to do. The same sensibility no doubt led to the headlights - you can have either full manual control or automatic headlights, and if you want parking lights, you can have those too.

Interior lighting was good, and there were no squeaks or rattles even when the car was cold. The driver's floor mat was fastened in place, and the horn was easy to reach and use. The controls are generally logical, though Chrysler seems to be trying (as usual) to trick its customers into leaving the air conditioning on all the time; with the Concorde, they also seem to want us to leave the air on recirculating mode.

The windshield washers were particularly effective; there were three nozzles for each side of the car, and the oversized wipers worked well at all speeds.

Under the hood, everything is clearly marked, and all the fuses and electrical gadgets were in a clearly marked box. (The layout of the fuse panel was on the underside). Every fluid receptacle was easy to get to. The jumper cable connections were helpful.

Overall, the Concorde looked and felt like a car costing considerably more than it did. The trunk shut easily, with a satisfying thunk, and the doors felt and sounded solid as well, combining the feel of precision craftsmanship normally associated with Toyota and the comfortably heavy feel of American cars.

If the Concorde was sold as a Lincoln or Cadillac, no doubt it would start at $30,000. The interior is much larger than many cars in its class, the ride/handling balance is excellent, and the value is incredible.