Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £24,995 to £27,390
Striking and original styling, tuneful and responsive V6 engine, well equipped, reasonably entertaining and fair value
Poor fuel consumption, slightly cramped cabin, uncomfortable passenger seat, tacky centre console finish, could be a more engaging drive, old-tech fabric roof on convertible
A fine mix of style and substance, backed by Mercedes' engineering but spoilt by some cheap details . Not as much fun as the alternative Nissan 350Z and Mazda RX-8, either, but a distinctive and desirable car.
With well-proven Mercedes mechanicals and systems, there should be few reliability worries. Quality doesn't match the latest Mercedes standards, either, nor Audi's, but accurate assembly and, in the main, upmarket materials such as leather for the seats and plenty of soft-touch surfaces all lift it well above previous Chryslers. The whole structure is taut and rattle-free, too. The only downsides are the silver paint-blitz over the centre console and all its switches - the idea was to evoke aluminium, but it doesn't work ; instead, it looks like someone dipped a distemper brush in aluminium paint, and wiped it down the centre console. Even cheaper-looking are the exposed screwheads revealed when you open the glovebox, and the whine of the rear spoiler extending and retracting gets irritating after a while. But overall, it's reasonably good.
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wrote on 21 06 2006