Comments: 1-15, 16-17
Nothing, but seats stain bad.
I bought the PT Cruiser to replace my old Volvo 850 wagon. The Volvo was getting old and needed repair frequently, and I needed a new small car that would provide versatility and good fuel economy.
To tell the truth, I was a little wary of buying an American car given their overall poor reliability record, but they have been getting better as of late. The reviews I had heard about the PT were exceptional and reliability was above average, so I caved and bought one.
I purchased the base model (with and automatic transmission and a/c being the only two options) at a price of about $16,700. That was not a bad price at all considering what this car has to offer.
One of the cons I have heard about the PT was that the powertrain (150hp 2.4 Liter 4 Cylinder) is too small and underpowered. Quite frankly, I think that it is quite peppy. I drove this car on the highway during a family vacation and frequently had to take my foot off of the accelerator pedal because I was going too fast.
The automatic transmission isn't bad either, and shifts smoothly enough. I like the fact that Chrysler designed the car so that you selected overdrive by moving the gearshift, and not pressing some button on gear lever itself. I have had cars in the past with this feature and when I went to go shift the car it would pop out of overdrive because I accidentally hit the button.
The build quality of this car is very impressive and rivals the top Japanese makes. The PT has a heavy, quality feel not usually seen in small cars today. Soft touch plastics garnish the interior and the doors and exterior features feel solid.
I love the exterior design. The chrome grille strakes and large Chrysler emblem add a sense of elegance to the car. I also like the enormous liftgate (useful for loading wide objects) with the electronic touchpad. All I have to do is give a gentle press on the pad and the liftgate swings open. Ingenious!
On the inside, the PT is even more amazing. The gauges are large and easy to read, while the color keyed bezels surrounding them match the exterior color of the car. I think that this feature is particularly nice because it brightens up the interior. The center stack is logically laid out, with all of the controls right where you expect them to be. The placement of the window switches here may seem a bit awkward at first, but when you think about it, this is a good place for them to be. The salesman at the Chrysler dealership told me that when most power windows fail, it is actually the switch itself and not the window mechanism and that is why Chrysler put them there.
I have never seen such a great center console in a car. It has two large storage bins for CDs, pens, and cell phones, along with an integrated armrest. There are also cup holders for all five passengers. The seats in this car are comfortable as well. The fabric is nice looking, but I have had a hard time keeping it clean. RAIN will stain these seats. Why isn't there any protectant on these seats to begin with? Anyway, I got a can of stain protectant at the local auto parts store and am in the process of coating the seats.
I can store tons of items in the cargo area, and the removable 60/40 split rear seat is a marvel of engineering. We went on a 2 week vacation recently and I didn't even have to fold the seats down! I was still able to install the cargo shelf as well, so nobody could see our luggage.
Overall, this is the best small car on the market you can buy right now in my opinion. It is cool looking inside and out, fun to drive, and supremely reliable. The dealership I have been going to has excellent sales and customer service as well.
The PT Cruiser has everything you could ever want in a car.
I don't think so. My family got the "pleasure" of getting one of these bland cars from Hertz...
My dad constantly had to keep the thing floored to maintain 70 on the highway, and the engine always had to rev to do anything and it was buzzy inside when it was acclerating. The main thing I noticed was the tach dancing up and down for normal driving...
The interior was not bad. I thought the auto tranny's shifter looked goofy, but it's a matter or taste. Windows... odd.
My biggest gripes were the seats. The fronts were so so. But the back seats just outright sucked. From that 1/8 inch thick foam "headrest" to the nasty seating position. ugh I'm 5'10 and 150 lbs. Not fat or anything, but the seat didn't fit me well (not legroom) and I was constantly falling on the door and it was overall uncomfortable.
The car looks cool on the outside, but really needs a 2.5 or 3.3 V6 in it.
You can't fit a V6 in the car. The engine bay is way too small. Even the 2.4 Liter 4 is a tight fit.
I got a brand new 2006 PT with a 5 speed for $11,999. It's a GREAT deal of car for the money... A/C, electric windows, power door locks, alarm, keyless entry. The list goes on! There is something to be said for power to weight and that little "hand shaker." Since I have so little invested, I don't care a bit about abusing it just to see how long it will last. You would be surprised at how many cars of all shapes and sizes you can blow away with this thing. I've had it up to 110 and it seemed to wanna go faster. Overall, I love the interior design! I like the outside temp gauge and the analog clock. Oh heck, I guess I'll just write a review of my own! Got $12K to spend. Take a look at the base PT. You won't be sorry!!!
I have a 2005 5 speed and it runs and beautifully. Has plenty of power and will definitely do more than 70 on the hwy.
As for the initial review saying they were afraid to buy american just so you know the PT cruiser is actually a Mitsubishi. the 2.4 is a mitsu engine and the 5 speed is a Japanese Transmission.
I recently rented a PT Cruiser for a trip in New Mexico (Albuquerque to Taos), which included driving up and down mountains. I was interested in comparing the PT Cruiser to a Dodge Caliber I rented in Maryland. I must say I was very impressed with the PT Cruiser. The car is solid, comfortable for two hour drives and had plenty of power going up hills easily achieving 80 mph. I enjoyed driving the Dodge Caliber, but I must say the PT Cruiser was superior in my experience. I felt the ride and handling in the PT Cruiser was smoother and the engine had a better feel, maybe I'm not comfortable with CVT used in the Caliber. You sit a little higher in the Caliber and the windshield is farther away, which I didn't like, but someone familiar with SUV's may. I was surprised how different the two vehicles seemed and if you are interested in Chrysler products one of them may be a fit for you, I would definitely take them both for a test drive before purchasing either one. Previously, my wife would comment how ugly she thought the PT Cruiser was when we saw one, but after our trip she softened her view. I had always felt Chrysler had no cars that would appeal to me, but now I must say there is a least one I would consider buying, I still don't like cab forward designs seen in many Chrysler products.
I disagree that the performance of the non-turbocharged engine is adequate, at least certainly not with the automatic gearbox.
I hired one for a week in California to do the Pacific Coast Highway, Route 1, and at times the lack of acceleration verged on dangerous. Overtaking needed a lot of forward planning, more so than it does in my 1.3 Ford Fiesta in the UK. Accelerating on slip roads onto the freeways only just brought enough speed to get up to the pace of the traffic. Once roughly 75 is reached the engine is in the powerband so further acceleration is possible, but then this speed is higher than most freeway limits anyway. On hills, the car needed kickdown and a noisy 4500rpm to maintain speed.
I will state for the record that I had a light passenger and a boot full of luggage and this will have influenced the acceleration slightly.
The lack of pace is a pity because otherwise the PT is a very nice car. Handling impressed me, with good grip and balance and accurate steering. Brakes too were strong and not prone to fading. The only things to better my pace on the twisting cliff-edge roads of Route 1 were motorcycles! Unfortunately, low speed turning is hampered by a pathetic turning circle.
The car seems well made both inside and out, and I found the seats comfortable (I'm 5'9 and about 10 stone). With 16000 on the clock there were no rattles either.
A great car in need of more power - the turbo or manual transmission versions should be better!
Most recently Dec. 6-9, 4 of us travelled to Orlando, Fl and rented a PT Cruiser from a rental car company. I believe this to be the baseline model. It had 2300 miles on the odometer. Here are my observations:
The "trunk" is short and tall, which limits carrying anything larger than a medium suitcase.
The center console is wide enough to hit you in the knee upon entry, and certainly while operating the vehicle.
There is no front map light.
The parking brake is so weak that you can drive with it "on" and not notice.
The seating position is so high that a person 6 ft tall has his vision obstructed by the A-pillar and roof line, and the seat has no vertical adjustments.
While stopped at intersections, I had to "duck down" to see the high stop lights on the opposite side of the street (a lot are like that in Orlando).
The brakes had a "creak" as you eased on the brake pedal while stopping. Although it had a spongy brake pedal, it did stop more than adequately.
The turning radius seemed long compared to other vehicles I have driven.
I didn't drive the vehicle enough miles to make a call on the fuel economy, but with 4 people, it wouldn't be valid anyway.
Generally speaking, the vehicle seems safe.
Overall, this would probably be a good car for the wife to "toodle" around town in something cute... perhaps a first car for the teenage daughter. Male drivers need to be secure.
I saw ads at 15k for a new baseline model. For my dollars, I would buy a 3 year old something else with more features.
Glenn Yee Motorsports, LLC.
Have a 2006 base model. Will have it to 2009. That's when I buy and store the last model.
Yes this car isn't American so don't worry about that. As said before the engine is a Mitsu and the car itself is made in Mexico.
So you think the Americans are still designing their own engines? Maybe for tractor trucks and jet airplanes, but not for 4 and 6 cylinder passenger cars. The PT Cruiser was built in Mexico, but under supervision of Daimler when they owned the company. The quality control was good.
The claims that the 2.4 is a Mitsubishi engine are incorrect. It's a Chrysler designed belt-driven 4-cylinder that was also employed in the Stratus, Cirrus, Neon SRT/4 and minivans. It's a decent, albeit older engine -- not to be confused with the new GEMA 2.4L that Chrysler uses in the new Sebrings, Avengers, and Sebring Convertibles.
The five-speed transmission is a standard Borg-Warner design produced for Chrysler, Ford, GM and Mazda for their cars.
<i>So you think the Americans are still designing their own engines? Maybe for tractor trucks and jet airplanes, but not for 4 and 6 cylinder passenger cars.</i>
This is patently incorrect when it comes to talking about Chrysler's products.
As mentioned earlier, the 2.4 4 cylinder in the PT is a Chrysler design. Chrysler's other 4-cylinder products use a Chrysler-built 4-cylinder GEMA engine with Chrysler heads and a common block design that Chrysler shares with Mitsubishi and Hyundai.
Chrysler's V6 engines, including the 2.7 and 3.5 used on all its cars, are also a Chrysler design. They're set to be replaced with a "Phoenix" engine design from Chrysler that gets better mileage and more power.
We purchased our 2006 PT Cruiser Convertible with the 2.4 non turbo, and this car has been nothing but GREAT...
For the price you couldn't ask for a better car, great pick up, for the room they had to put the cramped 2.4.
Don't forget this car is heavy almost 1600kg, that's about the same as a Dodge Charger... so this engine does great at booting along, the power top is awesome, love the headroom front and back, for me I'm 6' tall, and for the rear passengers.
I am glad I didn't purchase "just another Mustang". This car has been nothing but great, and has certainly changed my mind on Chrysler products... And the things you can get for these "mini roadsters"... Awesome+++++
This car is heavy for its size. I use mine as a commuter car and took out the incredibly heavy 2 piece folding back seats. Together they weighed as much as a big beer bellied passenger. I think I am getting better gas mileage now.
When I bought my 2007 PT convertible, it was used. The seats had a reddish stain on them and the dealer had them cleaned and the stains came back. I have had them cleaned 3 other times and the stains just keep coming back as soon as the material dries. Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you get the seats cleaned?
Thank you, Nan.