Chrysler Crossfire Coupe

The Chrysler Crossfire is a Mercedes SLK sports underneath with a flashy American suite,designed by A British car designer and built in Germany at the Karmann factory.This is no bad thing really,Geman reliability,European handling,cheap Chrysler servicing in the UK and top value for money.

Ours was a 2004 model,bought for my wife,in black with two tone grey leather interior,large standard German Ronal 19" alloys at the rear and 18" at the front with low profile tyres.These hold the road really well,aided by the ESP (Electronic stability program) ABS (antilock brakes) and that party piece rear spoiler that pops up over 63mph and stays up above 30mph,folding back away flush when cruising around at urban speeds.This is not just for show but helps with down force on the rear.Super safe too with airbags and side impact protection.

They are a tight 2 seater coupe with a reasonable boot but a bit high and narrow for loading shopping etc into.Its not the easiest car to park as the view out the back is poor but being quite a smallish car and not a big bouevard cruiser like most American sports cars this was not a big issue.Being based on the baby Mercedes sports meant small and light,rear wheel drive,coupled with a 3.2 V6 twin overhead cam engine makes this a seriously quick car in the Audi TT,Porsche Boxter,Nissan 350Z class at half the price!

Tyres are about the most expensive thing on these at about £450-£500 per set but servicing costs were reasonable with an A service at around £150 for oil & filter,with fluids and more thorough B service cost about £250.No cambelt,just a heavy duty duplex chain that needs inspection at about 150,000 miles and spark plugs need changing every 100,000 miles so these machines are built to last.

Its a group 19 insurance car so not for the under 25's unless Daddy is a rockstar.Over 40s expect to pay £350 / £400 or so per year,not bad for a car like this.Tax for 6 months was £134,again pretty good because USA emissions are so strict this car scores well down on the pollution tests and you will not have to feel guilty driving it as your carbon footprint will be quite low.

It handled quite well,firm ride,corners well,quite lightish power steering but ours being the 5 speed auto tiptronic could be used like a manual without a clutch meant fast changes.Being light and 215 BHP meant 0-60 in just over 6 seconds and 150 mph top speed,as good as most in this class that cost twice as much.They are not a common sight on our roads and it really turns heads.Often people at the petrol station and around town would say what a nice car and what is it?

Suprisingly it returned 28 mpg! Thats mixed urban driving too and on a long run it would be close to 40 mpg,thanks to its light weight this V6 hardly ever has to try hard.Service intervals are around 10,000 miles,determined by the onboard service indicator and your driving style.

You can find a good one now in 2010 with few owners and service history from around £6-£7K and the convertable version for around £9 -£10K,the super hot version with supercharger is a corker with 300 BHP but will cost considerably more if you can find one.They are a real bargain fully loaded with all the usual toys,premium sound system,airconditioning system that if looked after properly will outlast us all.

Small update-When car developed a slight missfire just after having a standard oil and filter service by the garage I decided to remove and clean the spark plugs myself.I have the correct tools for the job and it was difficult!
There are 12 plugs in this V6 engine and access is tight on at least 10 of them,but after a good Sunday afternoons work removing and cleaning up the plugs all was well and it ran perfectly.Thats the problem when the manufacturer makes claims like in this case plugs last 100,000 miles,its true but they still need maintenance.

Over all its a great car and I would highly recommend to all.