2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser Touring from Finland - Comments

So far, nothing, very,

My wife and I bought a brand new Chrysler PT Cruiser 2003 model (Touring) in July, 2003.

We've had the car now for about 4,5 months and driven about

6000 km:s with it and are just as happy with it as we were on the day we

bought it. You've all heard this before:

* cute looking car, styling a real masterpiece

* functionality inside very good

* good handling capabilities

* practical seats that can be folded according to one's needs

* seating position relatively high, good view of road

* very comfortable to drive, sit in for long trips.

There are also things I'm not so happy about, but they are minor

things like:

- petrol tank cap somewhat difficult to open/close sometimes

- hand brake position a bit awkward, should be closer to driver

- rear part of car gets very dirty in rainy/snowy weather.

One thing that was a pleasant surprise for me was the petrol/km rate.

After having read a lot of critical comments on different web pages

I decided to test it out myself. On a 1000 km return trip to another

part of Finland I received the following results (speed 80-100 km/hr, no AC on, winter tyres on) :

* petrol consumption, pure motorway driving: 7 l/100 km

* petrol consumption: half motorway/half town: 9,2 l/100 km.

It's also been interesting to see how different the pro:s and con:s can

be in different countries. I've noticed that in the USA many people seem

to get annoyed by things that don't have much importance over here, for

instance:

* the window up/down switches are OK to me (I use them maybe 2 times a year)

* the motor noise, we can legally drive 80/100/120 km per hour on our roads,

so there's no motor noise to speak of, in fact I've never driven this silent

a car before)

* acceleration is fast enough for me, with a 2.0 l engine and manual gearbox

(why would anyone want a car with automatic gears, beats me?)

My wife, who maybe was even more enthusiastic about the car than I was

when we actually bought it lists things she likes as follows.

* the colour (metallic red), styling, interior design (e.g. hand rest)

Whenever I pick her up from work she always seems to get in a good mood

when she lays her eyes on the car (so the "wow" factor still seems to work for her!).

Great review.

We have owned our PT since September 2003, I have yet to make a submission to this site, as we have only done 3k miles to date. So I shall will wait a little longer to submit an accurate review.

We love the Chrysler PT, not only do they look fantastic, but it also drives exceptionally well too. I CANNOT fault how it drives, the steering, gearbox, engine are just great.

It is fight for the car keys... 'who's to drive'

The PT is in my opining a exteremly well built and superbly engineered car.

Though the design of the petrol cap NEEDS a big re-think, it is horrible and fiddly to use.

Chrylser have given the PT a vast amount of GREAT design features... the parcel shelf for instance is just brilliant, the folding front passenger seat, the armrests, compass, electric folding door mirrors... all fantastic ideas... which make life easy.

But the 'petrol cap'... I can only surmise that the ideas run short here, a little slot on the back of the door would not go wrong.

Regards.

I bought a 2001 Touring edition in June and so far have done about 5000 miles, including a trip to Denmark with my wife and two children. All the family appreciated the excellent features of this good looking and individualistic car.

Petrol consumption is better than expected and the drive is positive and enjoyable.

Minor gripes would be the turning radius, only one reversing light and the slighty audible axle whine when gear changing.

The carrying capacity is impressive and the air conditioning and cruise control are useful features.

The anchors for the child seats is also a thoughtful addition. The drive is remarkably quiet.

I have read that the front bushes have shown signs of premature wear and indeed mine were replaced before purchase, after an AA check. The vehicle had only covered 9000 miles.

But it is a lovely car and we are impresed with it. so much that everone in the family nevr refers to "the car" but "the cruiser". If I did get another, I would consider the diesel version, for the extra economy.

Apparently you don't have much traffic in your country. If you live in LA you must have an automatic! But I admit, manuals are much cooler!

Yngvae2@gmail.com