Not Even an SRT-4 Motor Can Redeem the PT Cruiser
Doug DeMuro feels the excellent 2.4-liter turbo ultimately became some very nice lipstick on a cheap and dynamically-awful pig.
Dodge created one of the best front-wheel wheel drive performance cars of all time with the 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4. It still puts out competitive numbers when compared against contemporary models like the Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen GTI. There’s no doubt Chrysler could have become the undisputed leader of sporty front-wheel drive vehicles if they had kept at it. Instead, DaimlerChrysler decided to devote resources to things like the PT Cruiser.
YouTube favorite Doug DeMuro recently had the opportunity to sample the PT Cruiser GT. Basically, the thing is a rolling disaster. But it wasn’t a complete catastrophe. He enjoyed how the SRT-4’s turbo behaved in the Chrysler, even if everything else stunk. The entire video makes an excellent case for the engine, and by extension, the performance Neon.
Inside the PT Cruiser
To understand why the PT Cruiser is considered to be one of the worst vehicles of all time, all you really have to do is spend some time in one. Chrysler outfitted the interior with the cheapest quality parts it could possibly build. And they made no effort to hide what they did. “Everything has cheap, crappy, hard plastic in some varying degree. Some of it’s textured, some of it’s gray, some of it’s black. But it’s all really cheap,” says DeMuro. With two separate pieces for the center console, window controls on between the front air ducts, and a perfectly symmetrical interior clearly designed so the company could easily convert the PT Cruiser to right-hand-drive, Chrysler had no qualms about letting its buyers know that what they were purchasing was a bottom tier product.
SRT-4 Powertrain + PT Cruiser GT = A Vehicle That’s Not Completely Atrocious?
The interior is pretty bad, but the PT Cruiser GT isn’t completely irredeemable. At this point it’s pretty obvious what saves the Chrysler from being a total disaster, and that’s the SRT-4’s engine and transmission. “I was expecting this to still suck. And it does. It’s not a good car. But, it’s better! And more importantly, it’s faster. And this engine feels like an old-school turbo engine, which I love,” says DeMuro. With the same horsepower and transmission as the Neon, the PT Cruiser GT can apparently provide an enjoyable experience under the right conditions. “It’s actually fun and fast and exciting to drive fast in a straight line…in a straight line,” says DeMuro. Unfortunately, everything else about driving the PT Cruiser is bad. “The steering is not good. It never was good. They did not make any real upgrades to this car to make it good,” says DeMuro. Similarly, the handling leaves a lot to be desired. “When you do throw it around corners, you get body roll, you get steering that’s not very precise,” says DeMuro.
The Bad Old Days
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the PT Cruiser is its complete failure to be something of a sleeper. It may have been a hit for Chrysler at the time, but the car clearly hasn’t aged well at all. It is the poster child for the type of thinking that almost led to the demise of the Big Three. Fortunately, dead PT Cruiser GT’s can at least provide their engines to something worth saving: the Neon SRT-4. That car was the bright spot in an otherwise dark period for the American auto industry.
And of course we should all be thankful that FCA has not resorted to the bad old days of extremely cheap interiors and shoddy workmanship. The odds of Dodge building a modern SRT-4 are slim, but we can take solace in the fact that the brand is still alive and well with products like the Charger and Challenger SRT. Overall, DeMuro’s review is worth a look if you want to see just how bad the PT Cruiser was at basic things.