Chrysler Crossfire 2004 Review

What we liked
>> Long, lusty power delivery
>> Slick gearchange (manual)
>> Striking, unique style

Not so much
>> Steering feels dulled
>> Rear spoiler noisy
>> Tiptronic gearbox is slow

OVERVIEW
The Chrysler brand carries plenty of cachet, both in North America and Australia, mostly from muscle-bound coupes of the 1970s. The company, which staved off bankruptcy in the 1990s by merging with the German giant Daimler-Benz, is chasing a new road to success, and one that relies heavily on returning to the core values that make classic Chryslers so sought after.

Chrysler says the Crossfire is the first sports car it has ever produced, and the first to show Chrysler's newfound enthusiasm for products with passion. It's a corporate line similar to the Zoom-Zoom philosophy that worked wonders for Mazda, and one Chrysler (and DaimlerChrysler) execs hope will reap a similar reward. If you build it, the customers will come.

The Crossfire Coupe and Roadster break new ground for Chrysler, not the least because they're built outside the USA, but also because Chrysler doesn't build them. The distinctive Crossfire duo of Coupe and Roadster are put together by German coach builder Karmann in Osnabrueck, down the road from the DaimlerBenz's Sindelfingen factory, which supplies nearly 40 per cent of the car's components from existing Mercedes-Benz parts.

In fact, the only components made in the United States by Chrysler are the 'Chrysler' wing badges front and rear. Kinda deflating for anyone who considers it a true Chrysler product.

FEATURES
Keenly priced, the Crossfire range starts with the coupe at a very competitive $69,950, with the soft-top Roadster only a $6000 premium over the Coupe. At its launch Chrysler executives indicated that the Roadster would be a $10-15K premium over the Coupe. Crossfire is slightly smaller than Nissan's 350Z, measuring 4.06m tip to toe (compared to 4.31m) and 1.77m across the beam (1.81m). It's a low slung coupe, sitting just 124mm off the ground and topping out at barely 1.3m.

An annual production run limited at 20,000 by Karmann means just 3000 will find homes outside the greedy US market, and Australia's share of the $69,990 coupe -- for the first full year -- is around 400. Chrysler has sold 134 Coupes until the end of July and expects that the Roadster will take the majority of sales for the rest of this year. Crossfire is powered by a 3.2-litre V6 engine, and Australians will choose between a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission as a no cost option.

Those used to a full spec-sheet will be pleased with what they find. As delivered Down Under there's acronyms aplenty, with the complement including: front and side airbags, stability and traction control, ABS, brake assist, heated electric front seats, leather interior, cruise control, climate control air-con, big alloys and Michelin rubber, fast glass, keyless entry, alarm and imobiliser, CD stacker and premium sound system.

The Crossfire adheres to the tried and tested sports coupe and roadster formula which dictates front engine, rear wheel drive. In this case we're talking about a new body on Mercedes-Benz's SLK roadster architecture and drive-train, which makes it strange that Chrysler didn't slot the new 3.7-litre V6 or even a 4.3-litre V8 under the deeply straked bonnet. There is a supercharged version in other markets, but local Chrysler executives doubt that they can make a business case for right hand drive. They say that Japan, South Africa, UK and Asutralia have to band together to make the case, but don't hold your breath.

Crossfire Coupe doesn't bother with a back seat, not even a token 'parcel shelf'. Any and all luggage from handbags to golf clubs will have to go in the boot/hatch which is roomy enough for a weekend away.

The Roadster has a reasonably sized boot when the roof is up, but that soon disappears when the roof is lowered and two carry-on airline bags filled it up completely.

COMFORT
Everything about the Crossfire smacks of comfort and attention to detail, earning the two-door more of a grand tourer reputation than hard-edged fighter. The plush leather seats are comfortable and cushy and had electric adjustment for both the driver and passenger. The steering wheel adjusts for reach, but surprisingly not tilt, so you'll have to adjust the seat height instead.

All dials and controls fall readily to hand, and the most commonly used of these are tactile and friendly. Climate control air-conditioning makes it easy to dial for degrees, though the lowest 'on' fan setting still pumped too much air for our liking. Access to the Coupe's luggage area from the front seats is extremely limited and difficult, and there are few cubby-holes in the cabin area. The Roadster boot is only accessible from outside the vehicle.

SAFETY
Traction control and electronic stability programs are standard on Crossfire. Traction control reduces wheelspin under power at the rear, while ESP analyses steering, pedal inputs and wheel speed to keep the car on the correct line. The system is switchable, but as on Mercedes-Benz cars, off isn't really off; it just raises the intervention threshold.

Mechanical stability is a Crossfire strong suit, big 18inch Michelins up front and 19inch rears -- specially designed for the Crossfire Coupe -- provide masses of grip. The car's natural balance is to understeer gently at the limit, and it takes a real nutter to provoke any rear end slides. The Roadster has slightly softer compound Continental ContactSport tyres better suited to its boulevardier image.

Under power the engine simply isn't strong enough to break traction unless you dip the clutch or deliberately rattle the steering. Under brakes the Crossfire's surefooted stability belies its relatively light 1380kg body; it is rock solid and reliable, pulling up quickly and easily from speeds over 100kmh.

Chrysler made much out of the Crossfire's 'incredible' body rigidity at the launch. It's twice as strong, they said, as a Porsche Boxster -- which is after all a roofless convertible. They said it's as strong as a Porsche 911 coupe, and 1.5 times better than any previous Chrysler effort. Certainly there is no sign of scuttle shake in the Roadster and the Coupe feels like it has been hewn from a solid billet of steel.

Three point seatbelts with load limiters are fitted to Crossfire, as well as dual front and side airbags. The headlining in front of the driver is designed to cushion if impacted, and a knee bolster is situated on the lower edge of the dashboard beneath the steering wheel.

MECHANICAL
The Crossfire relies heavily on Mercedes-Benz for its major mechanicals. The engine is the 3.2-litre single cam V6 that is still used in a number of Mercedes-Benz cars, including the CLK320 coupe and SLK320 roadster. Mercedes-Benz is phasing out the 3.2, replacing it with a newer, more powerful 3.5-litre V6 in its own models, though the company will continue to build the old 3.2-litre for Crossfire.

Chrysler adapted the engine to the Crossfire, changing the intake and exhaust system both to fit the package and to realise what it calls "the car's unique soundtrack". The exhaust note of the Crossfire has a deep basso sound that is just made for window or top down motoring. There's no extra power or torque over the SLK version, however.

The engine produces 160kW of power and 310Nm of torque -- hardly impressive numbers, but well suited to a chassis tipping the scales at just 1380kg in Coupe and 1420kg for the Roadster in manual form. The auto transmission adds another 16kg to the totals. Chrysler claims the six-speed manual Crossfire can accelerate from rest to 100kmh in 6.5 seconds, on its way to a claimed top speed of 242kmh.

At the world launch in Germany CarPoint saw 260kmh on the clock, which, even allowing for speedo error, would seem to validate Chrysler's claim. Great, but really a moot point on the heavily farmed revenue roads of Australia.

Crossfire is fitted with the SLK's 60-litre fuel tank, which is likely to be too small for mostly urban driving. Chrysler's own figures suggest a 15.4litres/100km fuel economy around town, dropping to a miserly 7.6litres/100km in highway conditions. Over the government approved combined cycle, this equates to 10.4litres/100km; the five-speed automatic is slightly better at 10.3.

Crossfire wears 18in alloy wheels and tyres on the front, and wider 19s on the rear, which accounts for the marginal increase in track width over the SLK. Wheelbase is identical at 2400mm. Chrysler says the disparate front and rear tyres give the Crossfire crisper steering at the front without sacrificing 'power-down' at the rear.

Suspension is straight from the SLK, with independent double wishbones at the front and five link, independent rear. Chrysler engineers -- with the help of DaimlerChrysler techs in Michigan -- tuned it slightly to suit the Crossfire.

COMPETITORS
To define the Chrysler Crossfire in its simplest form, think of a performance two-seat coupe or roadster with prestige appeal. It's more than likely a second car and epected to attract twice the number of males buyers as females.

Nissan 350Z and Mazda RX-8 will challenge the Crossfire for sales, and both easily have its performance measure as well as a hefty price advantage. The Audi TT and Honda S2000 also fit the bill, though we prefer the Chrysler's more accomplished handling package ahead of the German and the torquey 3.2-litre V6 ahead of the high revving Japanese soft top.

The second tier of the slugfest widens to include BMW 3-Series coupe and Z4, Mercedes-Benz's CLK/SLK duo and the Alfa Romeo GTV Coupe and Alfa GT.

ON THE ROAD

"Refined performance" is how Chrysler spokesman and project manager Art Anderson describes the Crossfire. Refined it certainly is, but performance is a promise only moderately fulfilled. The engine tries, it really does, but fails to really ignite the coupe. The chassis on this car so far outperforms the engine that we can only hope someone at Chrysler notices the supercharged version of the 3.2-litre V6 and thinks "what if?"

Mechanical grip and chassis stability is the Crossfire's forte. When driven in a spirited fashion the coupe exhibits more grip than a condemned man, and without the wrenchingly abrupt let-go. The Crossfire is a sweet, easily controllable car on the limits of adhesion, though it is sometimes hard to feel the edge through the somewhat detached steering.

Wheel weighting is firm and consistent, but not quite transmitting front wheel effort. At times, and in patchy conditions, it's a challenge to keep yourself in touch with the amount of grip on the road surface.

The steering is really the only less than bright spot in all the controls; the six-speed manual gearbox is a gem, with a short, sharp throw that's never less than 100 per cent accurate. Both the throttle and brake pedals are up to the task, almost invisibly linking the driver to the mechanicals.

The five speed automatic -- with side-to-side tiptronic manual mode -- is also surprisingly good, though a bit slow on both up and down shifts. In manual mode the gear is shown in the instrument cluster, and the driver can quickly and accurately drop a couple of gears with the 'autoshift' function. Tap the gear lever right or left to change up or down, or hold the gear lever far left when entering a corner and the box will automatically choose the right gear ratio to maximise drive out of the corner. Works well, too.

One niggling and annoying feature of the Crossfire is the automatically deploying rear spoiler. It raises noisily out of the bodywork above 90km/h, not only to increase rear end stability but also improve air separation at the back, thus reducing drag and improving acceleration. That's good, right?

Problem is, the electric motor is too noisy, too whiny. Chrysler spokesman Art Anderson suggests overriding the system via the dash mounted switch, though he does admit a fix is on the way. "We're thinking of raising the threshold to 100km/h."

Put in perspective, the steering is a minor gripe that takes a little of the shine off an overall competent and highly desirable package. The engine's performance is capable of exciting, but again feels a little underdone, and the spoiler spoils cabin ambience from time to time.

This is the best built, nicest driving Chrysler we've ever driven and we'd have no trouble recommending it to anyone keen for a refined, dramatically styled sports tourer.

The diminutive coupe was launched in January and heralds what's claimed to be a new era for the US icon brand. While it won't exactly be swamped in showrooms by a rush of new Chrysler models until late 2005, it is a flag bearer and advance guard for a marque keen to re-invent itself -- a marque that now shares vital DNA with Mercedes Benz.

It's a stylish beast in the metal and has great road presence. In this tester's eyes it looks equally smart in its five available exterior hues (Alabaster, Black, Blaze Red Crystal, Graphite metallic, and Sapphire Silver metallic). A true two-seater (there's room under the hatch for a golf bag and a few boxes of balls but little else, and no 2+2 seating) the Crossfire is compact -- at 4059mm on a par with Mercedes-Benz's truncated SLK. There's a surprising amount of room too -- my driving partner topped six feet and wasn't complaining.

Inside, SLK owners will find themselves most at home. Though the Crossfire does have its own low-roofed, letterbox-slot windscreen ambience, there's plenty of familiar Benz-style switchgear and layout. Nothing to be ashamed of particularly given the Chrysler undercuts its Swabian cousin by the price of an imported hot hatch.

What was noticeably different from Benz's finest was the presence of a few squeaks and groans on the test cars. A rear hatch rattle was traced to a misaligned latch. Room for improvement here...

The local drive threw us at the sinuous Great Alpine Drive from Milawa in wine country, above the tree-line over Mt Hotham and via Dinner Plain and Omeo back to sea level at Metung on the Gippsland Lakes. At around 300km, the route offered great scenery, but better still delivered a real opportunity to get a handle on the sporting credentials of the new car.

Any suggestion that the coupe is just for poseurs was quickly dispelled. It's no Boxster with suspension settings biased towards comfort rather than outright speed, but the car delivers far more driving pleasure than its Yankee badge would suggest. Indeed, though handling defaults to understeer and the steering is a little wooly, when prodded the Crossfire is a well-balanced car.

The Crossfire's Benz-sourced 3.2-litre V6 produces 160kW and claims a 0-100km/h time in the sixes. It's not the sweetest spinning mill -- and already being phased out in Benz models -- it nonetheless provides good urge and a much more engaging aural signature thanks to some judicious exhaust and inlet tuning.

It's a shame, however, some magic wasn't worked on the automatic gearbox. The steep climbs of the test route did little to mask the big jump from second to third gear in the five-speed self-shifter and the semi-manual mode -- dubbed AutoStick, but same as Benz's Tipshift -- managed to shift gears when unwarranted and then hold them when you least expected.

By all accounts the six-speed manual is the pick of the bunch -- pity just 10 per cent of the 400 Crossfires Chrysler Australia wants to sell each year will arrive so equipped.

The Crossfire Coupe has not generated the level of sales that Chrysler hoped (134 so far this year) and big hopes are pinned on the just launched Roadster. There is no doubt that the Coupe is a stunning looking car that draws envious looks, the Roadster if anything looks even better and I particularly liked the racing style fairings behind the roll over bars. . Chrysler expect the Roadster to take the majority of the 300+ Crossfire sales they're aiming for in the next twelve months.

There's no sacrifice in interior space and comfort by cutting the Coupes roof off. It's luggage capacity that suffers though from the roofs folding mecahnsim.The equipment list is identical and what you get for the additional $6000 is a nifty electric folding roof an opportunity to hear the sonorous exhaust! The electric folding roof requires manual unlatching to take it away from the fully trimmed header, once this is done it retracts electrically into the boot in about 22 seconds. A persistent rattle from the wind blocker that is mounted between the twin alloy roll over hoops marred an otherwise enjoyable drive. Each Roadster we tried had this rattle and Chrysler need to have a close look at its mounting.

Chrysler launched the Roadster on some great driving roads outside Adelaide and I'm glad they did. On a demanding drive route through the Adelaide Hills the Roadster demonstrated that it's lost none of the surefooted nature of the Coupe. There is a hint of understeer at the limit but the Roadster can be steered on the throttle accurately and confidently. If you turn the stability control off you can have a bit more fun, but like all DaimlerChrysler products it is never completely off. Any thought s that the Roadster is just a show pony are soon dispelled once the road gets windy.

Our Roadster for the majority of the launch was one of the rare six speed manual versions. It's so far ahead of the auto that its not funny. The auto delays up and downshifts when using the 'autostick' and this delay and indecisive ness spoils the fun when you are having a go. Also the auto will change up at redline whether you like it or not. The manual in comparison is mated to a slick changing shifter matched up with a spot on set of ratios. The free revving nature of the 3.2 litre V6, its glorious sound and more than ample grunt deliver real driving pleasure. The Roadster has excellent stability under brakes, but we experienced fade after some spirited driving. There is little body movement or roll and considering the size of the tyres the Roadster has a surprisingly supple ride. The Crossfire Roadster's draw dropping looks, equipment, a strong engine and high levels of grip make it a surprisingly effective and addictive package.

BOTTOM LINE A real attention-getter, more grand touring sports coupe than raw-edged sportscar.

Frustrating is the only way to describe the Chrysler Crossfire -- an absolute pain in the proverbial to drive in traffic. Why? Because its striking body has a magnetic effect on other cars, creating a kind of moving gridlock that works so well protecting kick-returns in grid-iron, but drives you insane on the road.

Gaps disappear as family sedans roar alongside, with mum, dad and 2.5 kids glued to the windows, ogling and drooling. Wannabes in sports cars duck and dive through traffic, dropping in six inches off the rear bumper, ready to chase if you so much as show a blinker. Rev-heads in late-model Commodores with too-dark tints constantly bait you, racing past before dropping back to do it again, hoping you'll respond.

Ok. Look at it, admire it and then bugger off! After three near collisions between gawkers in one afternoon I gave up counting. Gave up driving, and parked it outside a cafe. Thought of posting an ad in the paper so all of Melbourne could come, look, get it out of their system and leave me alone.

Oh, poor little baby, you're probably thinking. Gets to drive all these fancy cars and doesn't like the attention. What a sook. Yup. I prefer your BMW M3 or Audi S4 kinda sports car, a real sleeper. Gimme a hot Holden Commodore with all the go and none of the show and I'm as happy as a porcine in poo. Let's leave the showy cars to those who want, perhaps even crave, the attention. And if that's you: Chrysler has your next car.

Getting past the superficial and under the skin, the Crossfire delivers on the sports coupe promise. It's a really good coupe to drive, whether tootling around town, on the highway, or chasing corners in the hills. It's not as sharply honed or a raw as, say, a Nissan 350Z, but then it's much more comfortable.

Crossfire's firm ride won't shake your kidneys into a paste over Australia's less than perfect roads. It's got enough compliance to deal with the rough stuff, though there's no doubt it's a sporting car that follows the road's contours, rather than gliding over them.

It's also surprisingly quiet and refined in the cabin, with little wind noise or tyre noise, despite wearing hefty 18s and 19s front and rear. The engine note is a subdued burble on part throttle, wicking up to an addictively rorty howl when the boot's buried. Americans do know how to tune an exhaust.

I was disappointed in the power, however. The Crossfire's not a six-second screamer, smashing you into the horizon like a bear with a sore head. It's more a strong, forceful building of speed that leaves the Crossfire a few kilowatts short of true sportscar status. Oh, it'll still gallop along at a frenetic pace, and will venture up around 250km/h -- as we found out on the first drive in Europe -- but, like we said before, it lacks raw aggression. Maybe a supercharged six-cylinder version will do the job.

It's a similar feeling with the Crossfire's steering, which dulls communication with the front-end. The pedals, particularly the throttle, have a long throw before anything happens. This is typical of Mercedes-Benz (Crossfire drivetrain is from Mercedes-Benz SLK) and takes a while to acclimatise to.

On the practical side, the Crossfire is pretty sparse. There's few areas to stash your mobile phone apart from an awkward reach into the centre bin between the seats, and the narrow hatch opening makes boot packing a challenge -- though once in, there's a decent amount of room. No problem with the seats, however, or the driving position, which is flexible enough to accommodate most drivers. Headroom is going to be a problem for six-footers -- our 5ft 9in (1.75m) body left maybe an inch or two at most below the ceiling.

There's a definite quality feel to the whole car, a feeling of strength and solidity, though the chintzy cabin -- centre console mainly -- is a letdown, as is the no frills sound system. Other than that, and the hordes of onlookers it attracts, there's really very little reason not to own a Chrysler Crossfire.