New PT cruiser

That's frankly awful when a 3.5L AWD Pacifica weighing 4,675lb before
I sit in the driver's seat gets 21MPG (US) on the highway in real
world driving. And that's with nearly 110,000miles on the odometer.

 

I agree with you. It's offset by the low price, they almost give them
away. My Crown Vic gets 25 mpg on highway trips. My Mustang GT often
gets 20 for my commute if I baby it, otherwise 18. The saving grace
of the PT is that in town it looks like I can count on between 18 and
21 depending on how heavy traffic is. I got 21 tonight on a 15 mile
in town trip with light traffic.

 

That car really needs the CVT transmission! Wonder why they didn't do
it two years ago!

 

Hey Ashton - you're just a piker compared to these guys - golf carts
legally qualifying as "electric vehicles" if they are shown to be "road
worthy":
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574473724099542430.html

"...Golf Cart Man is referring to his offer in which you can buy the
cart for $8,000, get a $5,300 tax credit off your 2009 income tax, lease
it back for $100 a month for 27 months, at which point Golf Cart Man
will buy back the cart for $2,000. "This means you own a free Golf Cart
or made $2,000 cash doing absolutely nothing!!!..."

 

It's been living on borrowed time for the last several years. I think
the Caliber (which I believe has CVT) was supposed to replace it but
people kept buying the PT. I'm pretty sure 2010 will be it's last
year but who knows. If they can keep making money on them and people
keep buying them due to the low price and they don't need the factory
for something else maybe it will go longer. Originally I think 08 was
supposed to be the last year.

 

You're too late. I did that here in AZ over a decade ago with a NEV
(Neighborhood Electric Vehicle).

 

Seriously?

 

Yup. Paid 8,000 for the NEV, got 10,000 tax credit, sold the NEV for
$2000. It was the political scam of the day. Followed a decade later
by the Alt-fuel scam where you could get about half the cost of your
F-150 paid by the state if you bought one that could run on propane as
well as gas. Most of them had 8 gallon propane tanks.. about enough
to make a trip to the grocery store. It was pushed by a Mormon who
apparently though no one but other Mormon's was going to hear about
it. It put a huge hole in the state budget once word got out. They
had to repeal it pronto before the state went bankrupt buying everyone
half of a truck.

 

In 2006 the sales droids at one dealer were pushing me to buy the
Caliber instead of a PT Cruiser.
Their reasoning was a college kid wouldn't be caught dead in an stodgy
PT Cruiser, and look at all the extra
cup holders, the built in AC inverter, the drop down rear tailgate
speakers, the glove box that doubled as a cooler!

I stuck with the Cruiser because it seemed to be better able to handle
the load of "stuff" my daughter stuffed into her college dorm, and she
liked the slightly higher seating position.

 

I've had occasion to rent both the PT and the Caliber over the years
as the PAC was in the shop. The early Caliber CVT you couldn't pay me
to own. Floor it and it took eons to rev the engine. I've heard it's
improved a lot since. But the PT was peppy even without the turbo,
comfortable, as as you note has relatively cavernous cargo area. But
gas mileage has always sucked.

Now what they really need is that Nissan 2.5L with their CVT that I
drove in an Altima over the weekend. Miserly on gas (32MPG EPA on the
highway) and when "required" embarrasses just about anything else on
4 wheels that isn't a sports sedan. Nissan could learn a great deal
from Chrysler about how to set up suspensions though. (And the tires
were garbage.)

 

I read a lot of complaints about the CVT like you mentioned. I was
originally going to buy a Patriot instead of the PT but there were
none left. Anyway, I rented a Patriot to see how I liked them and the
2009 models seemed to have had the CVT problems ironed out IMHO. It
worked very well and I would love to have the Patriot
engine/transmission setup in the PT. But the transmission in the PT
shifts very nicely. For FWD the PT feels pretty good, I generally
hate FWD vehicles because of how they "feel".

 

I think the insurance company will total our 2006 PT Cruiser after it
was rear ended last week.
I'm wondering if I should replace it with a 2010 PT Cruiser or the Dodge
Journey.
The Journey doesn't have the same personality of the Cruiser but may do
a better job carrying "stuff"
and pulling out on the interstates with a V6 engine.
AWD might be a better choice for coping with winter in New York.
Negatives I've read about the Journey are mushy handling and feeling
like it will roll over.

Any one here know more about the Dodge Journey or can compare one to the
PT Cruiser?

Steve

 

My wife and I had a 2003 base sedan and a 2005 Turbo Convertible. Both
got lousy mileage! I wish that the CVT transmission would have been
available. We now have a 2007 Caliber and get around 27-30 around town,
and 31-35 on the highway. Never saw anymore than 26 with my two PTs.

 

Our 2007 Caliber sits as high as our 2003 and 2005 PT Cruisers. I
agree, I like the body style of the PT, it is like my 1941 Windsor!

 

My wife says that her 2007 Caliber with the CVT has a lot of pickup,
more than the base 2003 sedan and as much as her former 2005 Turbo PT
Convertible. You are right about the lousy mileage. The Nissan Murano
has the CVT as well as the Caliber. Chryslers have always handled
better, going back to the torsion bar days. Hell, my 1941 Windsor as a
front and a rear anti-roll bar, all standard from the factory, it is all
original, 23K miles! The Fluid Drive does move off slowly, but who
cares, gives me more time to smell the old car interior!

 

The Journey is nice, we were thinking about trading in our Caliber for
the new one. However, after looking at the payments, we decided to
stick with the Caliber for a while longer. The Journey rode very
smoothly and had good pickup.

 

The Journey is a very good value vehicle.
I'm 5'-11" and I found it a bit high for easy entry.
IMO the Journey is actually a small van. Not surprising Chrysler dropped
their short Van when the Journey came out.

 

The urban/city mileage is reasonable.
That 25 mpg highway mileage is poor.
My 300M (3.5LV6, 250HP) gets a consistent 28 mpg (US gal) on the highway
at 60 to 70 mph on regular fuel. I'm quoting actual measured fuel &
distance for a long trip, although the digital mpg read out shows about
the same.

It's likely the the poor body side streamlining that causes the low
highway fuel mileage. The VW New Beetle has the same problem.

 

We've owned my wife's 05 for about a year now (bought used with 35k
miles). Love everything about it except, as you said, the gas mileage.
Power isn't bad for a 4-holer, actually, but you'd expect 30+ MPG
instead of 25.

If they'd put the World Engine with varible valve timing and the
continuously-variable transmission from the Caliber/Patriot in it,
that's what they'd have. But I imagine they'll keep costs to a bare
minimum and build it for one more year with the 2.4/41TE combo that's
already certified (smog, crash, etc.) and proven.

 

The World Engine is already as good or better than the Nissan 2.5, and
the CVT in the Caliber/Patriot is the same one (JATCO) as Nissan uses.
All they need to do is put Iit in the PT Cruiser in place of the 1995
tech (and very good for 1995) 2.4/41TE.

I haven't had an Altima rental yet, but I've had a Sentra and was very
impressed with the Jatco CVT. The engine (a 1.6 or 1.8 IIRC) was only
decent- not amazing- but it did have VVT and combined with the CVT it
always managed to be pretty much able to deliver optimum torque. The
only time it suckered me was when I used about 60% of the accelerator
pedal merging onto an interstate, and then went for the remaining 40% to
keep a safe distance ahead of an approaching truck.... and it had
NOTHING left to give. That's part of how the drivetrain controllers in
VVT/CVT cars work- the percentage of the total available power they're
giving doesn't always correspond to your right-foot position, which
makes them seem peppier than they should in casual driving and you only
discover what's going on when you ask for the rest of the power that
isn't really there.