PT Cruiser side and rear view

May 10, 2005 2:55 AM

Does anyone have any experience with driving a PT cruiser, specifically a 2001? I've seen some reviews mention that the side and rear views aren't the best due to large rear pillars and side mirrors with not quite wide enough range.

I need a new car and my brother and sister want me to take my recently deceased father's PT Cruiser. I'm afraid of not getting enough money out of it if I trade it in or try to sell it. The side/rear view is a concern because I live in Minneapolis and drive thru the Crosstown Commons every day, which means I have to do a right-hand merge into a center lane in a short distance with lots of other cars trying to merge into the center lane from both the left and right hand lanes. I need good side and rear views. Is the view in the Cruiser manageable or something you got used to?

Don't care about what the car looks like or the image it might project, just that's it's free, but not might be the safest car for me. What do you think?

posted by marsha56 to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

I have a 2002 model*, and I have not experienced any problems with visibility. After more than 40k miles, I still love mine. My SO feels the same way about hers, although she doesn't do freeways because she just doesn't like them.

*I seem to recall reading somewhere that they made the rear seat headrests smaller from 2002 on, possibly to improve rear visibility. I don't know what they're like on a 2001, but I'd guess mine are maybe 3" tall. If they're taller on your late father's car, that's the only potentially relevant difference I'm aware of.

Feel free to e-mail me (see profile) if you want to discuss, although I'll be unable to respond until tonight.
posted by pmurray63 at 4:10 AM on May 10, 2005

I rented one a couple of years ago (I think it was 2002) but I couldn't say what model year it was. I thought the visibility was terrible. Lots of blindspots. I remember making my passengers move around so I could see past them and bitching incessantly about this problem.
posted by leecifer at 6:52 AM on May 10, 2005

I had the same experience when I got my 1994 VW Golf. I found the pillars blocked the view as did people in the back seat. I got used to it after three weeks to a month and now it's not an issue at all. The same can be said from when I got to drive a tank with hatches down. All this to say that although it may be an inconvenience at first, you'll soon be comfortable with the vehicle and the space it takes on the road. Your extra vigilance will soon become reflex.
posted by furtive at 7:04 AM on May 10, 2005

If they can pull all the way out, you could remove the rear seat headrests to improve rearward visibility. If someone tall enough to need them rides in the back, you can just put them back.
posted by zsazsa at 7:13 AM on May 10, 2005

I live in Mpls and used to drive a 2001 Cruiser. Great car (the lease expired so I am on to another vehicle.) I agree with furtive that you will soon get comfortable with the view.

The rear seat headrests do block visibility a little, but since I do a lot of hauling, I pulled and stored them. Besides, you have to pull the headrests in order to flop the back seats down (or remove them).

The Cruiser is a great car, with an incredibly well-thought-out design, esp the interior. Go for it!
posted by omnidrew at 7:29 AM on May 10, 2005

My sister-in-law, who normally drives an Acura Integra, ended up with a rental PT Cruiser and loathed it. Poor pedal placement, poor steering wheel position, lousy door latch location, etcetera. Generally poor ergonomics all around. And, yes, she is a normally-proportioned sort of human being.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:29 AM on May 10, 2005

BTW, the correct way to position side mirrors is thus, according to the guy who invented them:

Position the seat in your normal driving position. Place your head against the left side window. Adjust left mirror so that you do not see your car. Place head toward the other side, above the centre console. Adjust the right mirror so that you do not see your car. [vice versa for backwards countries, natch]

Yes, you will find it quite disconcerting to not see your car. But a properly-adjusted side mirror leaves you with no blind spots. That's pretty much invaluable, and well worth getting used to.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:33 AM on May 10, 2005

This is probably overkill, but there are aftermarket wireless cameras that can be mounted and connected to a small b/w lcd panel on the dash. I have a friend with terrible mobility in the neck due to arthritis and he was looking into this.
posted by mecran01 at 8:02 AM on May 10, 2005

And if you don't want the free car, I'll take it, even though PT cruisers always felt like midlifecrisis-mobiles to me.
posted by mecran01 at 8:03 AM on May 10, 2005

I'll second what fff said above, and with that in mind say that the blind spots will be the least of your worries with the PT (based on my limited experience with it and its sibling, the Neon).
posted by adamrice at 9:08 AM on May 10, 2005

marsha56, from this thread you can see that there's not much middle ground regarding the Cruiser. One either loves it or loathes it.

Re maintenance, I had few problems with my 2001 -- the power seat lift mechanism broke at about 20K miles & the dealer could not fix it. The tires were terrible; I had a number of flats, slow leaks, etc. Those were the only problems I experienced in 35K miles.
posted by omnidrew at 9:15 AM on May 10, 2005

I drive an Isuzu Amigo which has some unbelievably large blind spots due to the convertible top. Might I suggest a little cheapo $5 blind spot mirror for your passenger side mirror?

I use mine allllll the time when changing lanes and swerving through multiple lanes when trying to negotiate poorly laid out Austin roads.

The scale of the reflection takes a little adjusting to, but once you've become used to it, it's like a 2nd set of eyes.
posted by FearTormento at 9:58 AM on May 10, 2005

FWIW, I found the gas mileage in my parents' 2001 PT to be terrible. Then again, I drive a Prius now, so I'm probably a bit biased.
posted by me3dia at 10:08 AM on May 10, 2005

you have to pull the headrests in order to flop the back seats down (or remove them)

That would seem to confirm what I've heard about 2001 models, then, since that's unnecessary on 2002+ models. But yes, you might be able to simply pull them completely out and leave them in the back in case you need them.

I understand people just not liking the looks, since that's so subjective, but the few complaints about ergonomics and reliability in this thread truly surprise me. Even Consumer Reports -- historically no fan of Chrysler products -- gives the PT exceptionally high marks for reliability in their owner surveys. And I've heard the same from other, um, well-placed sources.

As for fuel economy ... well, it might not be as good as you'd think. But I've also found that your freeway speeds make a big difference; it's much thirstier at, say, 70 mph than at 60 mph.

Oddly enough for an FWD car, the rear brakes can wear out first on the PT. Not sure what's up with that.

The worst thing I can say about mine is that I wish it had a remote hatch release.
posted by pmurray63 at 3:43 PM on May 10, 2005

Thanks everybody for the great input. It sounds like everybody who has driven the car for some time eventually got used to compensating for the visibility problems. I'll probably end up taking the car. Thanks especially for the advice about removing the rear headrests and to five fresh fish for the advice on how to adjust the mirrors. I'll give both suggestions a try.
posted by marsha56 at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2005

As free cars go, why not just take it, but if you were looking for something specific then it depends on what you want. I hated how cramped the back seat was and since I want to drive a lot and therefore, throw passengers back there, I didn't think anyone would enjoy being cramp in the tiny back. Not much room in a car that looks kind of big.
posted by toftk at 7:49 PM on May 10, 2005

My sister-in-law, who normally drives an Acura Integra, ended up with a rental PT Cruiser and loathed it. Poor pedal placement, poor steering wheel position, lousy door latch location, etcetera. Generally poor ergonomics all around.

A lot of this stuff is just differences from what your used to. I know I find the first hour or so driving a new car a fustrating as hell experience compared to my PowerWagon. High/low beam switches are on a stalk not the floor; steering wheels are small in diameter and fat; the wheels spokes are huge blocking the guages; horn button isn't in the centre of the wheel, headlight switches are divorced from dashlight dimmer, A pillars are large blocking forward view, etc. etc.

This isn't nothing new either; for example when Chrysler had push button transmissions it was a real love/hate kind of thing. Chrysler started phasing them out before SAE set a shift standard that banned them because they were so hated by Ford and GM buyers.
posted by Mitheral at 6:09 PM on May 11, 2005