Jason on Cars

This is the Chrysler Pacifica. Or, the MiniVan of Dreams. It’s a four-door van with several forward-thinking features. It’s got a power-lift gate. Normal windows for the rear passengers to roll down. A center console between the backseats. About a hundred different seat configurations (some up, some down, some hidden or taken out), and a multi-media mavens dream.

Featuring the UConnect, it allows you to speak commands to the car without taking your hands or eyes off the wheel/road. It sounds fantastic, but I never got it to work (although, I barely gave it the college try, and didn’t read the manual… But I stick by my guns that I shouldn’t have had to.). Did I mention forward-thinking features? Well, it also has the most backwards thinking feature I’ve seen in a long time. Instead of putting the navigation and rear-camera display in the center dash like everyone else in the world, they put it inside the instrument cluster. This makes it almost impossible to look at while backing up (when you’d actually need to use a rear-mounted camera), and extra impossible to use when you’re turning the car while backing up, as your arms and hands and steering wheel all server as obstacles to look past. If you’re going to go through the trouble of putting in these features (camera and nav), please put them somewhere where I can see them, and my passengers can view them. It’s great to have my co-pilot watching the navigation and telling me what to expect, but when it’s out of their view, and ultimately, out of mine, it’s worthless.

By the way, that photo above? DEFINITELY a ’simulation.’ The video doesn’t look anywhere near that clean.

2005 Chrysler Crossfire Limited Convertible

Price as tested: $41,195

Likes: Good power at low speeds, very unique design, aesthetically pleasing interior

Gripes Most uncomfortable car I’ve ever driven; ridiculously short seating area left my 6′1″ body cramped and hurting. Had poor power when passing at highway speeds, terrible visibility, and I hit my head on something every time I tried to change lanes.

Verdict: Every time I drove this car I was in a hurry to get to wherever I was going and get out. While I’m not short, I’m not very tall either, and I was completely cramped and uncomfortable in every way in this car. My elbows almost touched the bottom of the steering wheel when at 10 and 2, and my knees were cramped and smashed against the bottom of the dash. The visibility was so bad that I tried to never change lanes, and when I did I always paid the price by straining my neck and hitting my head on the low ceiling. I am happy to be back in the daily-driver comfort of my Accord. For this price I expected much more.

2 Stars