I made the decision to buy this car when my husband was away on business and to be honest he wasn't best pleased when he returned. When he heard the word 'Chrysler' he told me to go for it but when he actually saw the car he said it looked like a hearse. Officially I disagree but he does have a point. At least it's not in black.
My favourite thing about the Chrysler PT Cruiser is not the looks, though, it's how it drives. It's hard to believe, when you're behind the wheel, that you're actually in control of what's essentially an MPV; it feels like a much smaller, lighter car. A few years back I had a VW Beetle and it really reminds me of that. It's not as big as most cars of this class but it could comfortably handle five fat people AND their shopping.
So for me, it's quirky, fun, I like it, but I'm not sure I'll keep it very long. The MPG isn't actually all that impressive and the servicing costs are pretty high. I bought it on a whim and it probably won't be in my garage for long. But for a great drive you should definitely check it out.
We loved our Chrysler PT Cruiser. Yes, parts can be expensive and you need to replace some of the suspension wear parts a little too frequently but overall its a good car. Pleanty of power and not too thirsty.
I got this in 2003 second hand, think it was an ex company car or something. It looked like a fairly good bet, bigger than a lot of other hatchbacks about, and ok on the petrol usage.
I was impressed by the airbags and things on the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which seemed kinda new at the time, but seem standard these days. Although it was good to have a car with electric windows front and back. We haven't got kids to be messing about with them, and in our old Yaris the manual back windows kept falling down a little bit as we drove, which was always a bit of a security worry.
I've been a little bit frustrated with the stereo over the years. It's got a bit more dated and I can't replace it cos it's not a standard size. Maybe there's a kit to replace the whole dash panel, haven't seen one and I don't really wanna deface the whole thing as I might wanna sell up soon. The Chrysler PT Cruiser overall has some quirks that are a bit of a bugbear, like also the back seats that need removing completely from the car, they don't just fold away (that's one thing I miss about the Yaris).
Anyway the bigger problem with my Chrysler PT Cruiser, getting worse all the time, is the amount of repairs it needs. I think I've probably spent about two grand over the past three years on various things, including a number of electrical problems including the alarm and the climate control, and the locks too. The bushes also went, and it's had a number of other things go wrong over the years. It's always been just below the level where I think I should just get rid of it here and now, but it has not been a very reliable machine.
Still, it looks good, performs ok, and feels safe enough, if a bit noisy at speed. I don't regret buying it, but I'll be cautious about going back to Chrysler any time soon.