According to Chrysler's market research, 97% of the people who have bought PT Cruisers in the UK have said that the car's looks and design were the key reason for their purchase. I'd be interested to know why the other 3% bought it, but let's leave that for another day; the point is that while some people may not like the Cruiser's retro look, other people love it. Add to this the British love affair for cars with folding roofs, and the PT Cruiser Cabrio can hardly miss.It would be uncharitable to suggest that Chrysler could therefore make money selling the Cabrio without going to the trouble of making it any good. Uncharitable, but not necessarily unfair. In fact, it's possible to find yourself admiring the cleverness of the styling while at the same time being fully aware of what a hilariously bad car this is.The styling is at its best inside, where the 1930s pastiche touches are effective as they have been since the PT Cruiser was first introduced. The exterior sometimes works well, but only from certain angles, and only if the top is down. If it's up, the Cabrio looks absolutely terrible, since the rear line of the roof clashes with the line of the tailgate - and, incidentally, destroys one of the most effective parts of the hatchback's design.Another thing that has been destroyed in the transition from hatchback to Cabrio is any semblance of structural stiffness. On anything other than smoothest tarmac the car oscillates like an awful lot of ocelots. I've heard older colleagues arguing about whether the Cabrio's scuttle shake is worse than that of a 1960s Morris Minor Convertible or only nearly as bad, but I don't know if any of them have come to a definite conclusion about it. Maybe someone should arrange a twin test.Anyway, ride and handling both suffer terribly as a result, though I did notice that the Cabrio has a less jarring ride at the rear than any other PT Cruiser I've driven. Maybe that's because the suspension back there is attached to such a floppy chassis that it couldn't make the ride harsh even if it wanted to. Unfortunately there's no similar payoff at the front, where body control is as dubious as it is in PT Cruisers with real roofs.Chrysler says the rear legroom in the Cabrio is just as plentiful as it is in the hatch, which is to say not very plentiful at all. You can only judge this once you get into the back seat, and that's quite a chore in itself because of a peculiarity of the front seatbelts.No, really, stay with me on this one. One end of each belt is attached to the body of the car, and the other end is attached to the seat itself, which means that the belt is always in the way of anyone trying to get into the back. Either you push the belt down and climb over it, or you pull it up and crawl underneath it. That's not much fun if you're trying to get in, but what happens if you need to get out in a big hurry? What do the US safety organisations have to say about that?You might ask them about head protection while you're at it. Driving the Cabrio, I was conscious that the top of my head was slightly above an imaginary line joining the central Sport Bar and the top of the windscreen. If, for whatever reason, the car had turned upside down, I'd be feeling - at the very least - awfully sore right now.If the same thing happened while I was sitting in the back, I might not be feeling anything. Draw another imaginary line between the Sport Bar and the next highest thing behind it which could support the car in the event of a topple. I think you'll find that the heads of many adults would rise well above it; and bear in mind that that line represents the road surface if the car turns turtle.Considering all that, it may be just as well that the Cabrio is very slow, at least in the form tested here. The 2.4-litre engine, first brought into the range early in 2005, has never seemed like much of an advance over the original two-litre job, and any attempt it makes at providing decent performance is strangled by the old-school four-speed automatic transmission.This is a better unit than the awful three-speed contraption Chrysler originally foisted on the Neon (which, though now out of production, remains the basis of the PT Cruiser), but by current standards it's sluggish, and seems to cast the Cruiser into a deep depression.At the touch of a button, the Cabrio's roof can be raised or lowered in just ten seconds, which is at least twice as quickly as any of the new-generation coupé-convertibles can manage. But they do the complete job. Once the Cabrio's roof is up, you have to lock it into place - a fiddly procedure first time round, though I suppose you could get used to it - and once it's down you need to hide it under a tonneau cover.In either case, rear visibility is feeble. The roof has a proper rear screen, heated and everything, but it's very small, and judging the location of anything behind the car depends on a lot of peering and even more guesswork. Stow it away and the view is better, but unfortunately the tonneau cover lies between you and most of the things you need to be able to see.I could go on, but what's the use? If you don't like the Cruiser style you would never dream of buying this car anyway. If you're a PT fan with a penchant for open-topped motoring, you have just reached Nirvana. I couldn't attempt to persuade anyone in the second group that the Cabrio is Just Plain Wrong, and no one in the first group will need convincing.Compared with most other road tests, therefore, this one seems strangely futile. But it's been nice chatting. Engine 2429 cc, 4 cylinders Power 141 bhp @5200 rpm Torque 165 ib/ft @4000 rpm Transmission 4 speed auto Fuel/CO2 26.6 mpg / 240 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.5sec Top speed 106 mph Price From £18726.00 approx Release date 01/03/2006
Our Rating
