The paradox of this car is that it attracts some people, but repels others with the same force. At the beginning of the noughties, a return to retro design was in trend. Volkswagen launched the New Beetle, Ford in 2002 launched the Thunderbird last, eleventeenth generation (which was a reference to the car 50s), Mini has already controlled by BMW launched the new Cooper, and the Italians from Fiat relaunched the 500.
2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser was produced from 2001 to 2010. Of course 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser is not as neo-classic as Zimmer, but sales of this car exceeded all expectations. By the 2010 were sold 1,350,000 of these cars. In 2001 alone 92,000 of these hatchbacks were sold. The cars of the first batches ran out quickly, and the queue stretched for almost a year. As you probably know, the base for the PT was Neon.
Initially, the PR Cruiser was conceived as a Plymouth. Development began in ’97, before the Chrysler and Mercedes merger. And by the time the PT Cruiser was put into production, the extravagant Prowler was already produced. PT stands for Personal Transportation. The PT Cruiser was not a reference to any one car. It was a common stylization of passenger cars of the second half of the 30s and 40s.
For a long time the car seemed to be very successful. This was primarily evidenced by the level of sales. Motor Trend magazine called the PT Cruiser the best car of 2001, and Car and Driver included it in the 10 best cars of 2001. With that, the famous columnist Doug DeMuro ran over the PT Cruiser driving a HMMWV. And British Top Gear called it one of the worst cars. Quite strange, because that was at a time when the PT Cruiser was still selling well. Perhaps the Brits managed to look into the future, where the masses at some point began to play against this Chrysler. In fact if originally you could buy a new, rare and at the same time not expensive PT Cruiser, and it was the car which attracted attention of pedestrians and drivers. Later, such a car was already a lot of people and people began to notice some of its disadvantages – hard plastic, poor noise insulation, and a bright design has become accustomed to all and he stopped to be considered an asset.
Of course, the main market for the PT Cruiser was the United States. But originally, even for the North American market, the assembly was done in Mexico. Later the production was established even in Austria. Somebody may be surprised, but these hatchbacks were officially sold even in Japan!
Sale and price of 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser.
You could buy a new PT Cruiser in 2001 for $15,935. That’s the equivalent of $2,329 in 2020. Extra options could push the price up over $20,000, and the most powerful GT variant cost significantly more.
Today, the PT Cruiser in satisfactory condition costs about $2,000.
Exterior and photos.
In addition to the hatchback, the PT Cruiser was also available as a four-seat convertible. This car looks even more stylish and is equipped with a large safety bar and a soft, folding roof. But this modification was produced only for two years – from 2005 to 2007.
Brian Nesbitt is the name of the talented designer who gave life to PT Cruiser. He was only 27 years old when he started working on the car.
This is not usually mentioned in reviews, but one of the features of the PT Cruiser is the presence of a special hatch in the armpit. It can come in handy in case you need to change a light bulb. I tried to show it on the photo. By the way, after the 2006 restyling, the car lost the fuse box. So after the bulb burned out and replaced, a visit to the service is needed to prescribe the new bulb in the ECU.
Outwardly, it is easy to distinguish a restyled car by a new grille and headlights. The grille on the pre-styled car was lower than the front bumper and it looked like a Prowler. In my opinion, the grille on the restyled cars looks more attractive. After the restyling the bottom line of the headlights received curves, whereas in the restyled cars the bottom part of the headlights was flat. The turn signal section in the taillights on the pre-restyled car was orange, whereas after the restyling it was white, but got an orange bulb.
Chrysler’s base hatchback wore 195/65 R15 tires. More powerful modifications wore 205/55 R16 tires. Body length of the hatchback was 4219 mm and wheelbase was 2616 mm. Ground clearance is 147 mm, cars with 2.4 engine have 140 mm clearance. Hatchback with a 2-liter engine had curb weight 1425kg, with 2.4 – 1448kg.
On the right fender you can see a high antenna. It was still mounted on the Chrysler, although most automakers have already refused such antennas.
You probably noticed the door handles, which open the doors with a button. Also, the keyhole is separate from the handle, which was the norm on vintage automobiles. Pay attention to the rear Chrysler emblem – from 2000 to 2002, it served as a trunk door handle. Only when opening the door preferably do not grab the edge of the emblem, as it is plastic and sometimes breaks off. Probably for this reason, in 2002 a more familiar plastic handle was installed behind the emblem.
The powerful GT variant can be easily recognized by the rear antifender.
Interior and equipment.
In the cabin you can recognize the post-restyled car easiest by the presence of the handle on the front panel in front of the passenger. I want to draw your attention that the front panel of the PT Cruiser before the restyling was symmetrical. You could easily rearrange the steering wheel and dashboard on such a panel. The location of buttons for controlling the windows is very unusual – they are not between the front seats and not on the door cards, but between the central air ducts on the front panel.
The interior is trimmed with cheap plastic, later it was criticized. Note the holes in the door card pockets. A very unusual solution, which would be logical on a utilitarian SUV, but very unusual on an urban hatchback. By the way, the updated car had a clock installed in the front panel. The steering wheel of the more expensive modifications was equipped with aluminum spokes, which of course gave style.
Pay attention to the gearshift’s ball-shaped thumb rest. Check out the dashboard dials recessed into the interior. The powerful GT variant in the cabin has only one reminder that this is the PT Cruiser’s fastest modification – the 2.4L Turbo inscribed in the middle of the tachometer. Another of the PT Cruiser’s features is that when the rear gear is engaged, there is a beep, but not outside, but inside the vehicle. Obviously, this is done so that the driver doesn’t forget that he has engaged reverse gear.
There is no cigarette lighter in the interior of this car, but there are two outlets for the driver and front passenger only! It seems that this car is designed for people who prefer active leisure. Proof of this is the trunk, but we will come to it a little later.
In basic equipment the car is equipped with manual adjustment of mirrors. In the more expensive Limited configuration, the PT Cruiser was equipped with leather interior with suede inserts not only on the seats, but also on the cards and a sunroof.
Also unusual is that the key of this Chrysler is made of beige plastic, and the alarm keychain is made of black.
The driver’s seat back is covered with leather and has a pocket. Whereas the back of the passenger seat is trimmed with plastic. It looks like it was made in order to use the seat in folded position as a table in the nature. Even more unusual is that the rear seats are not just easily removable, but even have a handle and wheels, which allow you to drag the folded seat behind you like a cart. The rear sofa folds down in the 40/60 ratio.
Note the shelf in the trunk. It can be rearranged in height. In the middle position, it is flush with the folded backrests of the rear sofa. It can be put not only horizontally, but also vertically – thus covering the backrests of the rear sofa.
The shelf can be slid out of the car and with the help of an additional leg, the shelf turns into a table, which can also be useful out of town. Under the shelf there are small hooks on which you can hang bags and packages. In the trunk provides another outlet, and the trunk itself has a volume of 540l. The spare wheel is placed under the bottom.
Engine and features of the 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser.
The base engine was a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder, gasoline unit with 116 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 157Nm of torque at 4,450 rpm.
The two-liter four-cylinder engine produces 141 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 188NM of torque at 4,140 rpm.
The 2.4 liter, power unit is widespread. This motor develops 143 hp at 5200 rpm and 214Nm of torque at 4000 rpm. With 4-speed automatic transmission, this PT Cruiser can accelerate to 100 km/h in 12.2 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 171 km/h.
The most powerful was the GT’s 2.4 Turbo engine. It had a maximum power of 223 hp at 5100 rpm and 332Nm available at 3950 rpm. With manual transmission, the PT Cruiser could reach 100 miles in 7.5 seconds.
The diesel powered 2.2 liter engine was carried over to the Chrysler from Mercedes. The 121 horsepower maximum was reached at 4,200 rpm, and 300Nm of torque was available at 1,600 rpm.
Of course it has front-wheel drive and the engine is mounted transversely. From the photo you can see the plastic, intake manifold. The battery is mounted under the hood, under the same cover as the air filter.
When the PT Cruiser went into production I was still in high school and was not ready to understand this car. It seemed too strange to me, but now I really like this unusual Chrysler, despite the fact that over time it got a lot of abuse. Also, today you can buy such a car very cheap, and there is nothing difficult to maintain this car.
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