2005 Chrysler Crossfire Preview

Stepping into the Cross Fire

Chrysler has its first sports car in ages and, thank heaven, this isn't your great uncle Ed's 300M.

Should You Buy This Car?

Here's where all the "buts" come due. Although we find the Crossfire a kick, it's loaded with warts as well. Please, please, please, if you're smitten by this car, go for a test drive and back up, just once. Notice that you'll see very little out the back window. The small side mirrors don't aid the aft view much at all. Now imagine yourself in a grocery store parking lot, as I was, with a shopping cart on your left, next to the minivan in the adjacent spot (I parked at the end of the row) and a motorcycle parked directly behind, parallel to the grass and curb and directly behind you.

Now try to back out. You can't even see the motorcycle, and you really can't be sure how close the cart is. In the end I had to get out, move the cart, then inch out gingerly, get out again to be sure the motorcycle wasn't smack behind me, and then finally inch away.

This keyhole-size rear view is going to lead to a lot of fender benders. Worse, the deployable rear spoiler (automatically pops out at about 60 mph) blocks even more of your field of vision out the rearview mirror, so you really have to be careful to use your side mirrors when passing.

Other warts: The side vent fins (just behind the front wheels) are just made of plastic. How long before these get broken off? The rear brakes are drums, not discs; that's a fairly big sin in the sports car world and the pedal feel suffers as a result. Steering is via recirculating ball, not rack and pinion, and although it feels quick enough at high speeds it's very sluggish when tooling around town and also doesn't communicate with the road as well as the steering in the BMW Z4 the 350Z or the Infiniti G35 Coupe.

Yes, we had fun in the Crossfire. Yes, it's a good effort by Chrysler to get into this market. But anyone who drives it against the faster competition is going to come away less impressed. Looks? Amazing. But you're the driver, not the spectator, remember? And with the BMW Z4 and G35/Nissan 350Z twins so much better at both everyday driving comfort and amazing performance we can't see why you'd buy the Crossfire instead.