2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser

Travel a few miles in city traffic and chances are a PT Cruiser will join you. The retro-charming four-door with the multi-functional interior plucked a heartstring across generations, giving the under-$20,000 customer something to love. Given the PT Cruiser’s spirited image, the next logical step was, or I should say is, a convertible. Chrysler opens up the roof and more possibilities for 2005. Does this new drop-top compromise the selling points that have made the sedan so successful, or does it build upon them? Read on.

The Good News
This Cruiser Convertible is not just a truncated version of the sedan. It was built from the ground up sharing less than half the sedan’s parts, Chrysler says. This is a good sign since convertibles present unique challenges, especially the need for enhanced structural stability for better ride and handling.

Chrysler engineers have done a great job here, refining and reinforcing so this Cruiser exhibits barely a hint of the shimmies one fears in economy ragtops. That lack of twisting and bending affects everything from how smoothly it rides and steers to how many rattles you can expect over the years.

Part of this stability comes from what Chrysler calls the “sport bar” positioned just behind the front seats. The term is nice spin for the old reinforcing roll bar added to replace some of the structural integrity normally supplied by a hard top. The sport bar remains in place, bisecting the PT Cruiser’s profile with the top down but providing nice support with it up. Top down, the look is similar to the old Volkswagen Rabbit.

Chrysler also invested quite a bit of time and dough to deaden sound in and around the cabin, top up or down. The result is a remarkably insular ride, again considering the price. The quiet also contributes to a feeling of quality in this convertible and affords what Chrysler refers to as “picnic” noise levels with top down. If a sedan interior aims to mimic conversational acoustics around a dining table, conversation in an open convertible should be like sitting around a picnic table. Cute.

The Convertible offers three engines: a base 150 horsepower 2.4 liter 4-cylinder, a 180-horsepower 2.4-liter turbo on the Touring Model and a 220-horse High Output 2.4 liter turbo on the GT I tested.

The base engine allows Chrysler to boast that this PT Cruiser Convertible is available under $20,000 ($19,995 to be exact, with destination), but the focus was really to make this car as fun to drive as it is to look at. Two turbocharged engines are testament to that. I can’t speak for the other two powertrains, but the 220-horse GT with automatic transmission impresses me as the perfect fit for this car. The only improvement would be the Getrag 5-speed manual transaxle, an option.

Still, this is not a racecar, or even a sports car by true definition. But it gets on with the business at hand in a fashion that makes it a pleasure to pilot.

And how many sports cars at this price give you 84.3 cu.-ft. of space, real seating for four adults and 13.3 cu.-ft. of pass-through luggage volume? The front and rear seat retain the popular elevated positions as the sedan with extraordinary rear legroom (40.9 inches vs. 30.1 in a VW Beetle Cabriolet) and the seats can be configured in nine different ways, one of which allows you to store two golf bags.

The top is fully automated once you turn a single handle mounted above the rear-view mirror. It accordions back into a shelf that preserves the Cruiser’s minimal trunk space and can then be covered manually by a boot.

Entry and exit to the back seat with only two doors is made easy with a passenger seat that automatically glides forward.

The bad news
Just as the PT Cruiser sedan’s out-of-the-box design isn’t for everybody, neither is this Convertible. It received a surprising number of disapproving wrinkled-up noses from onlookers during my test drive.

But the sedan has already proven a lot of somebodies love this car. The Convertible won’t change that.

Gas mileage
EPA rated at 20 mpg city/25 highway

Price
Manufacturer’s base, $27,565;
Price as tested, $29,495

Is it worth it?
Chrysler has done a fine job translating this hot rod into a drop top. What concerns me is the non-turbo Touring model starts at $22,900, and the GT I drove retails for almost $30,000. That price buys an extensive package, but it may be beyond the average Cruiser-lover’s budget.

Still, it didn’t bother Volkswagen. New Beetle Cabriolet buyers haven’t flinched at mid-$20,000 prices.

This tells me we can look forward to even more PT Cruisers on the road with the addition of this Convertible. Like that city traffic, the volume is bound to rise.

During her 16 years reviewing new vehicles, Beth Stein has written for Nashville's dailies (circ. 185,000), national magazines and BestStuff.com. She appeared coast-to-coast on-air for Road Test Magazine, Car And Driver Television and Motor Trend Television.