The V6 engine provides plenty of muscle when you punch the pedal. It fades a bit at higher rpm, however, taking more than 10 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. So the Sebring isn't exactly a high-performance road machine. But its V6 propels it quickly in critical passing situations. And there's plenty of torque for freeway driving or cruising around town.

When we drove the 1999 model, we noted that the engine is noisy under hard acceleration. We also noted a fair amount of road noise, which is not unusual for convertibles. For 2000, Chrysler has taken steps to reduce noise inside the cabin, such as new wheelhouse silencers, a foam backing for the convertible top, additional silencing in the rear seat and added trunk bulkhead material.

At times, the automatic transmission didn't respond as quickly as we'd like. Using the AutoStick transmission that comes on the Limited model helps address this. Here's how it works: Move the shift lever into the semi-automatic mode and you can manually downshift a gear or two. This improves control by allowing you to keep the engine in the power band for coming out of corners or passing maneuvers. It's also more fun--a valuable commodity in a convertible.

The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering responds with precision and poise. All Sebring Convertible suspensions employ unequal length upper and lower control arms and coil springs front and rear. Last summer, we noted that bumps and road vibration is transmitted into the cockpit. The suspension is soft and the car leans a bit in corners, but the handling is predictable making this an easy car to drive.

The four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, which are standard on the JXi Limited, were sure and firm, with no fading or grabbing. It's very stable in panic-type stops. The JX and JXi come standard with front disc and rear drum brakes with ABS.