“A PT Cruiser? Seriously?!?!”
March 12th, 2006That’s what my mother said when I suggested she and my father choose a PT Cruiser over a Neon, Stratus and Taurus at the LAX rental counter. Here’s why:
The fundamentals really work. The PT Cruiser was born as a sit-high car. Your eyes enjoy a near-SUV view. The driving position is excellent. The firm front buckets hold you like good dinner chairs. The oversize, deftly detailed four-spoke steering wheel is contrary to today’s fashion… All around you see interesting details. For example, the outside hatch release: It has intricacy, and a feeling of value beyond anything offered by the others. The Chrysler simply overwhelms in its sense of quality. It has fewer quivers through the structure, fewer thrums from the powertrain, and fewer thumps from the road. Wind noise is subdued. The Cruiser feels far more expensive than its price. – Car and Driver 06.02
[with the optional touring suspension] Cruiser is surprisingly adept on snaky sections of back roads. Body roll is well-controlled, particularly in view of the relatively high center of gravity; the power rack-and-pinion steering is nicely weighted, with better-than-average road feel; and the damping rates are well-selected for keeping the tires in contact with the surface… Car and Driver 06.00