The 200 comes in four trim levels. The LX is the options-light entry-level package, starting at $21,700. The Limited trim clocks in at a starting price of $23,255. The S — what we drove — is Chrysler’s sports-sedan trim. At $24,495, the car comes with leather-trimmed sport seats, a tighter, sports-tuned suspension, 18-inch rims, paddle-shifters, and dark-finished interior and exterior accents. More on all that later. The top-of-the-line 200C starts at $25,995, though if you feel like treating yourself, a checklist full of options can push the car well north of $36,000.

All 200s come standard with a 184-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and Chrysler’s nine-speed automatic transmission. The 200S and 200C are available with Chrysler’s award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, which pumps out 295 horsepower. All-wheel drive is available in the 200S and 200C, albeit for an extra $4,200.

The styling of the 200 makes it an attractive car. Some have complained that it looks too much like something else; but if that something else is an Audi or Hyundai Genesis and not the old 200, it seems as if Chrysler’s doing something right.

And the 200 actually can be fun to drive. The V-6 has power-a-plenty and it works quite well with the nine-speed. So well, in fact, that the paddle shifters seem kind of pointless. Keep your expectations realistic, but putting the car in sport mode adds to the fun by changing up the throttle response andshift points and tightening the steering. The V-6 also sounds good, especially at higher revs.

So now the 200 can stop pretending. It is in fact a highly competitive vehicle in the mid-sized sedan class!