'Not rod' heats up

The PT Cruiser may look good, but its performance has been disappointing. DAVID LINKLATER reports on Chrysler's efforts to rev it up.

You could say that Chrysler almost blew it with the PT Cruiser. When the retro-look wagon was launched back in 2000, the press and public alike were struck by the hot-rod-inspired styling detail and MPV-like versatility, but the PT's anaemic four-cylinder engines were less impressive.

American buyers got a 2.4-litre unit that hardly made for sparkling performance, but right-hand-drive export markets had it even worse, with a measly 2-litre powerplant borrowed from the lacklustre Neon sedan. Some unkindly referred to the new Cruiser as a "not rod".

Despite this, the PT has been a success for Chrysler with 340,000 sold worldwide since February 2000, but American sales are now slowing.

In New Zealand, the car never really took off. Despite an initial flush of buyer enthusiasm, Chrysler sold just 78 Cruisers in the car's first full year on sale - less than 25 per cent of the number forecast at the car's New Zealand launch in September 2000. Clearly, the car needs a boost.

Now, Chrysler really has blown the PT Cruiser - but in the best possible way. At last week's New York Auto Show the company unveiled the production PT Turbo, which boasts 160kW - or a useful 56kW more than the present Kiwi-specification PT.

The PT Turbo goes on sale in America in September/October. Will it come to New Zealand? The official statement from Chrysler at the New York show was that it is "exploring other markets but no decision has been made yet".

However, the company is much more serious about right-hand drive these days than in the past, and it must be aware that the PT Turbo would be a valuable image-builder in lucrative markets such as Britain and Japan.

It's a fair bet that the new car has been engineered from the outset for right-hand drive, which may have a knock-on effect lower down the range. If the PT Turbo gets the green light for export, then the same engineering could presumably be applied to the standard 2.4-litre model.

"Obviously we'd be interested in the Turbo, but it's too early to talk details," said Chrysler Jeep NZ national product manager Brett Aspden. "There's an international product-planning meeting in Detroit in May which New Zealand will be taking part in for the first time. We may have a clearer idea about the vehicle after that."

The new PT Turbo is identified by new body-colour, front, side and rear mouldings, 17-inch alloy wheels with 205/50 tyres and a larger-diameter exhaust pipe. The cabin features silver-face gauges, sports front seats and a unique trim.

Chrysler says the PT Turbo engine is much more than a bolt-on job. It features a redesigned cylinder block assembly, head assembly and crankshaft. Racing-style oil-squirting mechanisms help to cool the pistons, while special acoustic dampeners on the intake system are designed to eliminate the whine traditionally associated with turbo engines.

The turbocharged engine drives through a heavy-duty five-speed manual transmission derived from the European 2.2-litre diesel PT, but with different gear ratios. A four-speed automatic with the AutoStick manual control function will be optional.

Chrysler claims that the manual PT Turbo sprints to 100km/h in about 7.5 seconds - still not supercar material, but pretty brisk compared with the 2-litre model's 10.3 seconds.

The Turbo rides on performance-tuned suspension with four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes.

Chrysler says that it's too early to confirm production numbers or pricing for the hot Cruiser, which will be built at the maker's Toluca assembly plant in Mexico. In New Zealand, the PT Cruiser 2-litre sells for $44,900 in Classic form and $53,900 as the top-spec Limited.

"Pricing always comes to down to the exchange rates," says Aspden. "All I can say is watch the dollar."