The Story Behind the Story
We leased a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited Edition for 39 months in December 2003. We turned it in with a little over 37K miles on it. This review is limited to what we remember most, both good and bad.

The Good
--The heated seats. The heated seats on the PT cruiser got HOT! Some heated seats just get warm at best. Not these. On a freezing winter day, you could shut the heat off after 30 minutes with these great seats. We miss them.
--Exterior styling. The PT was snappy. Everybody looked at it.
--Cargo Room. The trunk was great. It opened upwards, not sideways, and it got us out of quite a few jams. The seats could be folded down, put up, or rolled right out of the car.
--Seating. The way the front seats were positioned always made it feel like the PT was much larger than it actually was. The armrests were also very nice.

The Bad
--Acceleration. I swear I saw a turtle once pass me after the light turned green. It goes from 0-60 in like 11.2 seconds. There were a few times on the freeway or a fast road where somebody literally had to swerve around us to avoid an accident. So, even if you do not want a fast car, be very careful in this turtle. Note that the 2004 models and later can get turbo engines in the limited edition and is much better in this regard.
--Gas mileage. The gas mileage was not very good. We did not measure it, but it was probably about twenty miles per gallon.
--Prone to flat tires. The 16" tires on this car go flat just about anytime you hit a pothole. We seriously recommend going to Discount Tire and buying their non-prorated warranty.
--Turning circle. 41 feet. It really became a nuisance.
--Headlights. They just didn't seem to light up the road.
--Heavy seats. The seats can be removed, but they are very heavy. Do not make it a habit.
--Wind Noise. It becomes very intrusive past 65 mph.

All that being said, in our experience, the good did outweigh the bad. If it were not for The Ugly, we might have purchased the car.

The Ugly
--After 2 or 3 months, the shifter had to be replaced. It was almost impossible to shift out of park sometimes. It was difficult to press the button down when you wanted to shift out of park.
--After about 15 months, the car kept choking as we would drive. They flushed something or other, and it eventually got better.
--After 36 months, this car just about died on us. The power steering rack went, there was a leak in the power steering fluid, some bar had to be replaced in the braking system, and the choking returned. At low speeds or at idle, the PT just kept puttering--even worse than before. A week before we turned it in, it even stalled right in a parking lot!



Amount Paid (US$): 23,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: Limited Edition