When I took my family on holiday this last summer to Florida, and after checking in through immigration upon arrival and attending the Dollar Car Rental desk to collect the pre-booked hire car, the hire company representative said that we were to be upgraded on the allocated class of vehicle. This was, as I found out later, because we had spent a previous holiday in Florida, 3-years ago, and had booked the whole accommodation, flight and car thing through Virgin Atlantic on that occasion as well. Anyway, I thought nothing of the additional privilege, as having ordered a ‘compact’ car, as in something the size of a Ford Focus, I was anticipating we were to get something that would be comparable with a Mondeo or Vectra.

If anyone reading this has been through Orlando International Airport on their inbound journey to the States they will know, if using Dollar Car Rental as the car hire company, that when you have been allocated your vehicle at the main desk within the airport building, you have to exit via the glass doors behind you and walk across the road to what really is a big concrete multi-storey car park to get your keys from a kiosk. I had done this before and so knew the drill. The rather non-plussed female keeper of the keys (one of two of them on duty) wrote on some papers without speaking, and then handed me some keys and a yellow card, telling me to check the vehicle for damage, note anything I found on the card, sign the card and bring it back to her. I was also told within which row and what bay number in the car park I would find said vehicle.

So, off I trot, with wife, son and suitcases all in tow, and upon reaching my allocated vehicle I found that my upgrade consisted of a Ford Mustang! Now, unlike his dad, by son is completely cold where cars are concerned. He couldn’t give a monkey’s, but to my surprise he uttered the word, “Cool,” when he realised what we had. I expect you all are thinking the same as you read this, but there comes into it the issue of practicality doesn’t there? How are we going to cope with a strapping 13-year old lad in a car that effectively has no rear seat legroom? Not going to happen, so back to the non-plussed lady I go and explain that whilst I am not ungrateful, actually the Mustang is no good.

The Ford Mustang Was No Good

A woman of few words this one, because without saying anything, she started rummaging around on the computer screen, sucking on her teeth as she did so and making all sorts of little noises that give the impression I am obviously causing a problem now. But, I just stand there quietly and wait. She then says, rather sheepishly, “We have a PT Cruiser?” “That’ll do,” says I enthusiastically. For the first time there is a change in the expression on her face, as she now raises her eyebrows and has a sort of sideways grimace on her. “You sure?” she asks, and as I confirm my approval her next questions is, “Do you know what a PT Cruiser is?” I had to almost promise that I knew what the car was and that I would take it without putting my solicitor onto her before I was asked what colour I wanted (as if I cared) and handed the keys.

Whilst I knew full well what a PT Cruiser was, and the fact it is built by Chrysler, I had never actually driven one, neither had I been closer to one than perhaps walking by an example in a car park, but without paying it any attention. I had certainly never looked for one, nor in one, but now, through a quirk of fate, I was driving one, and this was a 2.4-litre petrol with auto transmission.

Having arrived at our allocated holiday home I later got to thinking about the manner in which the keeper of the car keys at the hire car company had looked at me when I accepted the car. What’s wrong with a PT Cruiser?” I thought. It seemed to drive okay from the airport to the Davenport Lakes area where we were staying, and as the holiday progressed, and I got to drive it more, I actually liked it. The suspension was reassuringly taught, it drove smoothly, quietly, responded well to requests to change direction, accelerate and brake, and was really comfortable. It even handled that horrible slip road with the kink in it, right by the advertising hording as you go from Highway 192 onto Highway 27 towards Haines City. All-round visibility was better than in many cars I had been, it was roomy, good boot space – sorry, trunk space, and although it wasn’t blessed with a high level of equipment, it was adequate for our needs as a family.

The Chrysler PT Cruiser Is Seen As a Joke

Sitting by the pool one day, the pool maintenance man called round to do the service. We got talking, as you do, and when I thought the moment was right I asked what the American people think of the PT Cruiser. At this he just started chuckling, and when I probed him for information, he explained that the car was seen as a joke, no one took them or anyone who drove one seriously and that it was not the kind of car you wanted to be known for owning. No wonder the hire car company lady had been looking at me strangely, but what a silly prejudice to have. When I asked what the car of the moment was in people’s eyes in that part of the world he announced it was the Chrysler 300, especially the Magnum version. Now I have to agree there, as that is one mean looking machine, and if I lived in the states, that would be what I would go for – diesel of course.

Strange isn’t it how the people of different countries have different views of what their cars should look like and be like. Americans don’t like hatchbacks, for instance, as the Ford Focus out there is a completely different car to that of the European version, as theirs is a biggish 4-door saloon, or should I say Sedan? The original style Focus, the Mk1 that we’re used to seeing over here, did seem to make it’s way to the States, as we saw plenty of them, but over there they are nearly all the 4-door saloon option, which over here was not popular. Americans don’t like diesels either, which is strange given the amount of miles you can potentially cover on that huge continent, and the diesel engine having greater longevity too. A recent survey discovered that diesel powered cars, taking into account pick-up utility vehicles and SUV’s (4x4’s to us), only make up for less then 2% of US car sales, and whilst petrol is cheaper there than in Europe, you would think that any opportunity to save on fuel, no matter what it pump price, was a saving all the same. Yes, when it comes to cars, the American people are really quite fickle. However, what we did notice was the vast amount of alternative fuel cars driving about, and I don't just mean the Toyota Prius either. We British tend to stereo-type the US people as all driving gas-guzzling V8's, but the style is changing it seems.

So, if you are like me and have never given the PT Cruiser a second look, then I would suggest that you could actually be missing something, and for no good reason other than it had never crossed your mind to take it seriously, because it is actually a very capable vehicle.

In the UK they seem to come in 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre petrol engine sizes, and a 2.2-litre TDi. Also, on the used car market, they are incredibly cheap to buy. I was quite surprised when I began looking around the websites, but if you do consider a car that has such a low resale value, always remember that when it comes to the day you want to sell it on then you can’t expect to get much in return. However, if you want to buy a nearly new car, and run it until is owes you nothing, this car could make economic sense. For the quality of ride, the driveability and overall solid all-round performance, you could do far worse. Of course you are better off with the diesel version and with manual transmission (that would be my preferred options anyway), as the petrol variants are a little thirsty. Have a look at some of the used car prices, and see what I mean.

The Chrysler Is a Good Second Hand Buy

Would I buy one as my own car here in the UK? That's a good question and one that I would have to begin answering by saying that the choice of a PT Cruiser would be down to circumstances. If I needed a car, and didn't have a great deal of money to spend, and I wanted a car of medium size that offered good value for money, but from the cheaper end of the price range, I know wouldn't buy a Citroen or Renault. I wouldn't buy Ford or Vauxhall, but that would be because unlike the French examples I have just given, they hold their price better, and not having much to spend, I could not expect to get anything good enough to be worth having. If that were my situation, yes, now that I have experienced one, I would look at a PT, as I think it is a very underestimated car.

I can see that the PT Cruiser, some time after Chrysler have stopped making them, is going to become something of a cult car. This is a 1950's Ford Pop in modern form and come the day when you can get one for only a few pounds, the creative youngsters are going to get hold of them and put their own personality into them. I can see it now, all over the covers of the custom car magazines, pictures of PT Cruisers in various art forms and being proclaimed as The car to be seen in on a Saturday night. I think this rather retro, somewhat quirky looking vehicle has a lot more to show us yet and has bags of potential to surprise.