2015 Chrysler 200 remake sweetly disappointing

Looks cool, needs work.

The 200 has grown up into an attractive midsize sedan that Chrysler hopes will face off very well against the big dogs in the category — Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata.

Appearance and power are sufficient to do the trick. But our two 200 test cars had issues we thought would have been ironed out by now.

First, the good stuff:

Styling. Great job distinguishing the 200 from the many other midsizers that look like a worn bar of soap. The general shape is dictated by the need for low wind resistance, to meet tightening federal mileage standards. So it's hard to distinguish your bar of soap from the next guy's, but Chrysler does it well.

Ford's Fusion, which Chrysler says is No.1 rival to the 200, likewise has great eye appeal.

Interior. The two well-furnished test cars had thoughtful and good-looking insides, as befits the higher end of the 200 model line. The wood trim is actual wood, not woodish plastic, Chrysler says, and that's rare outside the luxury-car universe.

The multi-featured center console has several ways to hold phones, iPods, beverages, what have you, usually without interfering with each other or having to share space.

Seats were just OK on comfort. Your physique might find them swell. And they certainly look good in either leather or cloth upholstery.

Power. We drove no four-cylinder versions, so withhold comment on those. The V-6 is a howling good time under hard spur. It's the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 (295 hp) used in many Chrysler Group vehicles.

Mileage. Good by our admittedly low standards. Both V-6 cars registered 19 mpg, one in heavy-foot suburban running, the other in a mix of city/highway.

The V-6 and four-cylinder both use regular gas, saving you a few bucks at the pump. And they are what they are: straightforward gas engines with good technology but eschewing turbo this and hoo-hah that. Those more exotic engines — which claim to sip like mini powerplants but go like mega muscle — usually do neither.

Infotainment. Chrysler's true-blue Uconnect immediately paired with any phone we offered and stayed paired. Voice control was above-average in ease of use and speech intelligibility.

Still no match for Test Drive's Garmin aftermarket navi, though.

Now, the not-so-good:

Trunk lid. Ouch. On neither test car would it stay partway open as you sometimes want, or assume it will. Nor did it rise all the way when you lifted it casually.

Bu the test cars were pre-production vehicles and Chrysler, alarmed by our report, checked them It said the trunk lid setting was incorrect and adjusted it to match cars in showrooms now. Much better.

Brake pedal feel. Numb. And once you can feel the brakes respond, it's not in proportion to how hard or far you push the pedal.

Nine-speed automatic transmission. Shared with the Jeep Cherokee and the Dodge Dart, the gearbox was too busy in the test cars, shifting too often, and too noticeably as it moved among the gears. The programming kept the transmission in the lower gears a bit longer than seemed proper, revving the engine a little more than most people probably prefer in normal, low-speed driving — sort of a "sport lite" mode.

We didn't notice those flaws driving the Jeep or Dodge.