- 112,941
- 1,256 below average
- 2,500 great
- Springfield, OH
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- autoshopper.com
- 1,256 below average 112,941 automatic
2003 chrysler pt cruiser review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. Turbocharger turns this cruiser into a hot rod. introductionlast year the flames were on the outside of the pt cruiser. For 2003, there's more fire under the hood. The 2003 pt turbo gets significant handling upgrades to go with its more powerful engine. The end result is the hot rod many wanted when the cruiser was first introduced. though it has become a familiar sight, the cruiser still attracts attention. People from all walks and stations want a better look, intrigued by the cruiser's difficult-to-define character. It is, as chrysler says, too cool to categorize. the two strongest virtues of the cruiser are its practicality and its affordable price. These two virtues make the pt cruiser suitable for everyday use. All of the limited edition's luxury goodies are available as options. options on the other models include antilock disc brakes with traction control 595), engine block heater 35), and a roof rack 175). . walkaroundchrysler's pt cruiser blends the retro look of a late-1930's american sedan with new-age styling cues such as dual-beam flush headlights and bullet-shaped taillight lenses. But that's not all that makes up the pt cruiser. The shape is intriguing, but underneath is a modern platform with front-wheel drive. by exterior dimensions, the pt cruiser is quite compact. It's nearly 6 inches shorter than a neon subcompact. Yet with 63 inches from pavement to the highest point of its roof, the cruiser is also 7 inches taller than a neon, and nearly as tall as some minivans. That height is a crucial element of the pt cruiser's design. the pt turbo is distinguished from the other models by its chrome exhaust tips and larger grille and air intakes. . interiorthe pt cruiser pulls exterior styling themes into the cabin with painted inserts on its t-shaped symmetrical dashboard. The driver faces three white-faced gauges set in individual cylinders, with speedometer center, tachometer right and fuel and water temperature left. The turbo's silver-faced speedometer reads up to 140 mph, while the standard cruiser goes only to 110. Switches are concentrated in the center panel, with radial-type climate control dials and a single pair of buttons for the front windows. The door levers have a nice action and the switches operate with good tactile feel, not world class, but a noticeable improvement over chrysler's sloppy mid-1990s standard. the same improvement applies to the interior finish. The leather package, in particular, has a rich appearance, given the cruiser's price, with suede inserts in the doors and along the lower cushion edges. the front seats have a reasonable amount of bolster to keep driver and passenger from sliding side to side in the three lower-line models, but the turbo gets more padding in its side bolsters. And with 120. 2 cubic feet of interior volume, there's no premium on space in the pt cruiser. The government's standard for defining a large car, like the mercedes-benz s-class or lincoln town car, is 120 cubic feet. all that space is largely a function of the cruiser's height. Its roof rises toward the rear, and its rear seat bottoms are higher than those in front are. The industry calls this 'theater seating.' the front seats are mounted on tall boxes, leaving plenty of room for rear passengers to stretch their legs underneath. We tested a six-foot, nine-inch passenger who fit comfortably front or rear, and, no, he wasn't an nba star. chrysler claims the pt cruiser's cabin can be configured 26 different ways. We didn't count, but there are clearly a lot of options. 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, and an available front passenger seat that folds flat. The rear seats are anchored with quick-release attachments, and fitted with suitcase-style handles for lifting and steel wheels for rolling. The smaller section weighs 35 pounds, while the larger section weighs a hefty 65 pounds. the load floor measures 40 inches between the wheel wells. With the front passenger seatback folded flat onto the bottom cushion, there's a table next to the driver and in front of the rear passengers. Even better, there can be more than 8 feet of flat surface between the dashboard and the tailgate. Front passenger side-impact airbags are standard on the limited edition and optional on the other models. Seatbelts should always be worn, however, and the pt cruiser comes with three-point safety harnesses at all positions, including the rear seat's center position. The front belts have pyrotechnically charged tensioners, just like luxury cars, to keep the belts tight during an impact. The rear bench is equipped with child-seat tethers. . driving impressionpt cruiser was introduced with styling as its main draw, and when onlookers found out there was no hot-rod v8 motivating the wagon, many were shocked. At heart, the pt cruiser is an economy car, not a hot-rod. In reality, though, the pt cruiser's power-to-weight ratio is better than the volkswagen golf's. It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in a lively 8. 5 seconds and can cover the quarter-mile dragstrip in about 16. 7 seconds. So the pt cruiser is relatively quick for an economy car. the turbo model is another story: it feels like it's got a bigger engine under the hood. High-tech oil jets spray the undersides of the pistons to keep them cool because turbocharged engines make a lot of heat as well as power. the turbo's engine reaches its peak of 215 horsepower 500 rpm sooner than the 150-hp base engine, at 5000 rpm. Horsepower is only part of the story, because torque is increased dramatically from 162 pounds-feet at 4000 rpm to a wheel-twisting 245 lbs.-ft. In fact, 220 lbs.-ft. Is available at just 2300 rpm. A rumbly exhaust makes the car sound more like what most people expected when the hot-rod body was first introduced. The 2. 4-liter happens to be the base engine in chrysler's minivans; for the cruiser, improvements were geared toward reducing noise and vibration rather than increasing power. the base pt cruiser can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 8. 5 seconds (when equipped with the manual transmission), which is more than respectable for a car in this price range, while we estimate the turbo can get to 60 mph in about 7 seconds. We tried the manual, which is surprisingly precise; it's not sports-car grade, but not bad for a longer-throw gate with a lever that's a foot long. Working the gears to get the most from the base engine is pleasing. The automatic isn't as effective as the five-speed at getting the base cruiser cruising, because the power is biased toward higher rpm, which is not where automatics work best. With properly timed dips of the accelerator, there's enough torque for safe, clean overtaking on two-lane roa. AM/FM✔ Power Windows✔ Anti-lock Brakes✔ Tachometer✔ Climate Control✔ Cruise Control✔ Aluminum Wheels✔ Sunroof/Moonroof✔ Air Conditioning✔ Alloy Wheels
2,500 Springfield, OHSpringfield, OH at autoshopper.com