Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £12,995 to £18,180
Retro style, spacious practical interior, decent specification, Mercedes diesel engine
Raucous, thirsty engines, unsettled and noisy ride, sluggish auto 'box, boot not that large, petrol's high fuel consumption, feels very dated now
A style statement that's also reasonably practical; a long way off the class-leaders in terms of performance, handling, comfort and versatility, but a unique and likeable proposition nonetheless
Neither the petrol or diesel choices offer great economy figures; the diesel is decidedly average and the petrol just plain thirsty. Chrysler claims the manual 2.4 returns 29.1mpg (26.9 mpg with auto), but we reckon 20 mpg is more likely. The diesel does a claimed 40.9 mpg, and that's probably on the optimistic side as well. CO2 emissions are also high (231g/km and 251g/km for the 2.4 manual and auto respectively, and 185 g/km from the diesel) so you'll be out of pocket to the taxman should you choose to run one as a company vehicle. Servicing costs are fairly competitive, though there are not that many Chrysler dealers out there.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Chrysler PT Cruiser
wrote on 11 09 2007