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The Chrysler PT Cruiser blends the retro look of a late-1930's or early 1940's American sedan with new-age styling cues such as dual-beam flush headlights and teardrop-shaped taillight lenses.
The look has been refined for the 2006 models, but not drastically changed. Chrysler says the PT Cruiser now has the face of Chrysler, which seems to translate into a more horizontal-themed grille that no longer extends down below the bumper, topped by a more prominent Chrysler eagle and flanked by gently scalloped headlamps. Round foglights now frame a horizontal slot in the bumper. Around back, a new body-color spoiler on the liftgate is said to improve aerodynamic efficiency.
In terms of exterior dimensions, the PT Cruiser is quite compact. It's nearly 6 inches shorter than a Neon. Yet with 63 inches from the pavement to the highest point of its roof, the Cruiser sedan is also 7 inches taller than the Neon, and nearly as tall as some minivans. That height is a crucial element of the PT Cruiser's design.
The design of the convertible is quite a bit different from that of the sedan. For starters, it's a two-door rather than a four-door. The convertible looks shorter than the sedan, but isn't; maybe it's the single long door on each side that creates this illusion. It's certainly lower, by almost 3 inches, which certainly alters the looks. But there's a lot more to it than that: Close examination reveals that the windshield is raked more radically and uses a different A-pillar design. With the top up, the convertible looks like a custom chopped-top hot rod. Pretty cool.
Drop the top and the gangstermobile turns into a chick car. With its top down, the PT Cruiser convertible's high tail and integrated sport bar remind us of the old Volkswagen Cabrio. But where the VW's side windows sealed against its sport bar, the Chrysler's windows seal against each other for a more modern convertible profile. Its slightly narrower and color-keyed sport bar sits behind the windows, inside the car, and is aerodynamically designed to minimize wind noise. A nice boot is provided that dresses up the appearance with the top down. Our GT convertible drew many admirers.
Interior Features
The PT Cruiser pulls its exterior styling themes into the cabin, although here, too, the retro theme is tempered a bit for 2006 by a new and very modern-looking center stack that visually splits the vintage-styled dashboard. Less obvious improvements for 2006: All instruments are now bigger, the radio is mounted higher, the glovebox is larger, and the glovebox door is now damped.
The driver still faces three white-faced gauges set in individual cylinders, with speedometer center, tachometer right and fuel and water temperature left. The GT's silver-faced speedometer reads up to 140 mph, while the standard Cruiser's speedo goes to 120. It's unlikely you'll peg either needle, and we recommend against trying.
Accessory switches are concentrated in the center panel, with radial-type climate control dials at the bottom. Window switches are still high in the center stack, inconvenient for quick operation, forcing the driver to search for them. The door levers have a nice action, and the switches operate with good tactile feel, though they're not world class. The standard stereo sounds tinny; we haven't tried the new Boston Accoustics system. Also, there's a separate Set button for the station presets, fussier than simply holding the preset down.
A bonus of the Cruiser's tall profile is its upright seating position, with a fairly high view ahead, somewhat like a sport-utility vehicle or minivan. The front seats in the three lower-line models have a reasonable amount of bolstering to keep driver and passenger from sliding side to side.
The leather package offers a rich appearance given the Cruiser's price, with suede inserts in the doors and along the lower cushion edges. The GT gets sportier seats with more padding in its side bolsters to hold you firmly in place in corners. The GT also features a leather wrapped steering wheel with satin-silver spokes, and bright accents on the pedals.
A redesigned center console now incorporates a sliding armrest, replacing the seat-mounted armrests provided previously. The new console also includes a covered tray for concealing small items, a storage bin that holds six CDs, a new coin holder and fold-out cup holders for rear-seat coffee consumers. A cell-phone charger is optional.
Roominess is a virtue in the Cruiser. The sedan's 120.5 cubic feet of interior volume is comparable to that of large cars such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Lincoln Town Car, though it certainly doesn't have the ambience of those cars. Much of that space is a function of the Cruiser's height. The roof rises toward the rear like on a chopped-top hot rod.
To take advantage of this, the rear seat bottoms are higher than those in front, resulting in what what the industry calls theater seating. The front seats are mounted on tall boxes, leaving plenty of room for rear passengers to stretch their legs underneath. A six-foot, nine-inch passenger can fit comfortably in the front or rear seats.
Chrysler claims the cabin of the PT Cruiser sedan can be configured 26 different ways. This flexibility stems from three features: a 65/35 split rear bench that can be folded flat, tumbled forward or removed, a movable parcel shelf in the cargo bay, and a front passenger seat that folds flat. The rear seats are anchored with quick-release attachments for easy removal. Suitcase handles and steel wheels make it easier to stash the rear seats in the garage and move them about. The smaller seat weighs 35 pounds, but the larger section weighs a hefty 65 pounds.
With both rear seats out, the Cruiser provides 64 cubic feet of cargo volume. A mountain bike fits with the rear seats removed; take the front wheel of the bike and you can leave the rear seats in place. The load floor measures 40 inches between the wheel wells, not wide enough for four-foot building materials, but still enormously useful. Folding the front passenger seatback flat forms a table next to the
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