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Well, take a seat in it and you’ll know! I was impressed with this luxury sedan as soon as I opened the door. The first things that stood out to me, being a detail person, were the beautiful black leather seats that were accented with double-stitched white trim. After I adjusted the power seats, I used the integrated controls on the four-spoke steering wheel to choose a radio station via uconnect (touch screen media hub).

As soon as I left the Paul Sherry dealership parking lot, I drove about a quarter mile before I hit the railroad tracks. Normally, I would slow way down before driving over railroad tracks, but I wanted to see how the Chrysler 200 handled a bumpy and uneven surface – to my surprise, it handled beautifully and perfectly smooth. When I turned onto the access road to merge onto the highway, I took the “S” curve at full speed. The Chrysler 200 hugged the corners well and was not jerky around the bends. When I was getting off the highway to turn around, I slammed on the brakes to see how it handled a sudden and powerful stop – it had quick and controlled brake reflexes (without giving me whiplash, I might add). I was also impressed with how quiet it was inside the car, considering I was driving on the highway. I later learned that the windshield and front-door glass had been acoustically treated to prevent road noise from entering the cabin.

Some of the other details that stood out to me on the test drive were on the dashboard and the center control console. The Chrysler 200 is equipped with a vintage-style analog clock, drive and passenger heated seats, a leather-wrapped shifting knob, an easy tilt/telescoping steering column, LED interior lighting, a USB port, smooth-turning temperature controls, illuminated cup holders, and a universal garage door opener.

Some of the things that I learned after my test drive impressed me even more. The Chrysler 200 comes equipped with bifunctional halogen projector headlamps that use high/low beam capability to optimal lighting. This luxury sedan was built with MacPherson struts that sit up front to provide the finest balance of ride, handling, and noise isolation. That explains how it handled the curves at full speed so well. The rear seats (which had plenty of leg room and were surprisingly spacious for a sedan) have optional trunk pass-thru which offers additional storage capacity or the option to haul longer and larger items. The uconnect media hub not only provides a touch screen satellite radio, but hands-free Bluetooth capabilities, GPS navigation with SiriusXM Traffic, hand-free Voice Command for all uconnect functions, high-speed internet, Bluetooth steaming audio, iPod control with Voice Command, a DVD player, audio jack, and SO much more. Remarkable.

To top off all of the impressive features of the Chrysler 200, the safety features are also noteworthy. There is electronic stability control/ESC and brake assist to help maintain vehicle stability, multistage driver and front-passenger airbags, side-curtain airbags, and front-passenger seat-mounted airbags, active front head restraints, tire pressure monitoring system, antilock brake system/abs, Sentry Key theft deterrent system, a security alarm, and remote keyless illuminated entry. Impressed yet? I was.

Come take a test drive in the new 2012 Chrysler 200, and you’ll understand what all the hype is about.