Chrysler Crossfire Test Drive

Casey's List:

The Good

Styling
Can't wait to see the convertible
Easy enter/exit

The Bad

No lumbar (what can I say, I'm spoiled)
I can't spell Chrysler without a lot of thought
Spraypainted interior
No cupholders

Two-seater Lover

I didn't drive this, I just sat in it at the dealership (after hours--I love when they don't bother to lock the cars). My first impression was that the seats were small. They had big bolsters and not much give, but were fairly comfortable. They were also really far back giving a LOT of legroom. The seats are power so I couldn't adjust them, but it looks like they have normal adjustments, front/back, up/down, etc. No lumbar, however, and the seat backs felt very straight. I'm pretty demanding about my lumbar support, so these probably wouldn't work for me.

Looking around the cabin was easy on the eyes, until you started focusing on things. The climate control switches looked and felt like spray painted plastic, and I couldn't find a cupholder anywhere (that's not very American!). The doorsills almost made up for it, though, with their brushed aluminum look and Crossfire logo. There's a random pop up piece in What is this? the center consol that I still haven't figured out the use for, and a storage compartment under the armrest. The airbag off switch is in a bizaare place: you have to open the passenger door and user your key in the panel that's covered when the door is shut. Not exactly convenient, but I guess they didn't mean it to be.

The view from the driver's seat is nice, with a good looking steering wheel and great looking white numbers on black guages. The steering wheel itself wasn't as nice, however. The stitching was actually rather sharp and uncomfortable on my fingers. The steering wheel also has a ledge which made it not quite fit my hands--but the thickness of the wheel felt just right.

The model I sat in had all black interior, but there was another that had a really sharp black and orange leather interior--sounds rather hideous but looked fantastic.

Exiting the car was made really easy by a higher than expected ride height. The car looks low, so I expected getting out to be as diffcult as Chris' Corvette, but it was quite the contrary. I just stepped out much like I would in my Audi.

I think the Crossfire is a neat little package, and hope it drives as nice as it looks. I love two seater cars, and hope this does well for Chrysler. Do you really want to have to drive everyone around, or would you rather drive the car you want and let your friends find their own way? ;-)