My car, my race car, my fountain of youth, my living the dream car. My *******. The Mercedes folks deny it's heritage, the Mopar folks deny it. Alone in the world. But what a car. I can tell you that the racing crowd in Puerto Rico knows all about Crossfires. WTF is that has changed to plain ole WTF!

Les

 

Les, you said it best buddy...I have nothing but muscle car friends, had Camaro's/Vette's...and yes, some of them new...the ZO6 was new, the camaro Z's were all new...in fact, the XF's are the first used cars I have owned in awhile. Mainly because who would pay a new price, when my Chrysler dealer buddy warned me they weren't selling, and dealers were getting stuck. He wouldn't have a new one on the lot at the time. And, wouldn't even look for one for me. But who cares, most underrated car out there, still the best bang for the HP buck going...but, the new Camaro is tempting me, ZL1...I would imagine the srt's would kick it's butt though...just enjoy them gentleman, destined to be something special someday...my enjoyment is knowing I own two for less than the price of that ZO6 that I was afraid to drive, or get a scratch on ...I'm driving these...

 

Hello all.. I must make a confession... I am normally a truly dedicated GM or Ford person. My daily driver is a GMC truck. I've had other Chrysler products that turned out to be major disasters aka my 95 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 that spent more time in the shop then on the road and ohhhhh... I forgot my POS 81 Dodge Omni 024 with its bad transmission and oil leaks from day one and one fairly decent 75 Plymouth Duster with the un-kill-able slant 6 but that one the "A" frame rusted...lol. When I started looking for a cool little 2 seater sports car and since I didn't like the new Ford Thunderturds and a Corvette was out of my price league I test drove a Saturn Sky and a Pontiac Solstice first and was NOT impressed with either, they where tinny and underpowered, so a friend of mine told me to come take a ride in his Crossfire Roadster, I did.. and don't forget I'm a die hard GM or Ford fan. The difference in the 2 other cars was unbelievable! He nailed that instant gratification pedal and we few away ever so smoothly. I was hooked big time. Needles to say I bought my 05 Limited Roadster just over a year ago and cannot wait to hear that exhaust come to life every time I turn the key. Its a feeling that indescribable. I love my Crossfire.

 

my favorite one was when i took the graphite out to gas it up around christmas of last year. as i hopped out to pay inside, one girl asked "i'll trade you!," when i got back to the car another girl across the pump asked "is that the new porsche?". of course i told her "no, it's a chrysler!".

 

When our Gatesway group pulled into a Cuba MO BBQ the waitress shouted "You're the guys driving all them Porsh cars."

I corrected her and said "Porsh-ah;... Porsh-ah"


roadster with a sstick

 

I like to tell them it is a very rare Mercedes.

 

As someone who drives his car day in and day out, I guess the specialness of this car has partially left me. I understand that it's rare and that it looks amazing. And if you bought one when I did, towards the end of the run for these cars, you could get an awesome deal. But I have to say, these cars don't drive any better than most european cars out there in the US market. I've spent lots of time in various BMWs, several Porsches, a couple of Audis, and a bunch of VWs and there is a certain German quality that the crossfire shares with all of these cars. It's a bank vault tightness and serenity at speed that isn't matched by most domestically engineered cars and many Asian vehicles.

When people talk about how much more refined this car is than all the Ford, Chevy, and domestic Chrysler cars and trucks they've owned in the past, it doesn't surprise me. Domestic cars of the past (not quite so much any more) have always been engineered according to cost not to an ideal. The crossfire was one of the first products with a domestic nameplate, IMO, that used engineering based on the latter approach.

Despite all the good DNA in this car, there's no doubt in my mind that Mercedes screwed over Chrysler on this project. Are you kidding me with no adjustable intermittant wipers? Only 215 hp out of a 3.2L V6 and it get awful gas mileage to boot! How about the lifeless steering--I could run over a cow in the road and not feel it. And valve gaskets that often leak before 20k miles? MB couldn't find a way to engineer this out before the engine was placed in the crossfire?

What bothers me about the crossfire is what it could have been. It really could have been a much nicer car if not for the obvious budgetary constaints (guess you can't totally escape this when it comes to a domestic branded car!). It was essentially a way for Mercedes to recoop the development costs of the original SLK. It's certainly an interesting car and it's unique, which are two things I value in a car. But I also value an involving driving experience and certain communication with the road that is not present in the Crossfire.

I have no clue how much longer I'll be in possession of my car (it could be 6 months or 6 years) given several upcoming eventualities/practicalities, but the crossfire has represented a solid upward trajectory in my automotive history. Looking back, I probably would have kicked myself if I didn't pull the trigger on this car when it was offered. But I am also aware that it's about 90% of what I'm looking for in a sports car. It's not anywhere near as bad as many people outside these forums make it out to be, but it's really not as complete a package in terms of being a sports car as many here would suggest.

 

Many good points and I agree with you, but sports car - not so much.
I do not consider it a sports car at all, too many comforts and too heavy as a result. It's more suited for the open road and long distances. GT class more like it, but maybe that's my biased British background showing.

 

Damn it! I finally have to agree with 180 on something....and liberty, you are right as well. I like mine over the other sporty rides I have owned because of the cost mostly. It is a little different and the SRT version is a little rare, so it adds to the mystique. But I haven't found much it can't stay with and it is 6 yr old engineering, older if you look at the chassis set up and motor design. And yes, MB, took the cash out of Chrysler and flew the coop....

 

Thats the perfect answer! I feel like Im making excuses when I tell ppl the usual, uh...MB really but a chrysler sort of...

I still have people think its brand new. Just a few hours ago I was getting in it and an older guy was finally figuring out what it was as they walked by told his wife yeah, thats a crossfire. I cant wait to debadge it!! Even once had a lady ask us if it was a ferrarri.

 

I couldn't agree more--it's definitely a GT. And I think that's what confuses people, admittedly myself as well initially. The problem is that for the price, it competes with cars like the 350z which was a bit clumsier in some respects, but also had more overall performance.

If the large tires didn't intrude upon an otherwise smooth ride, the XF would make a very decent long distance car. I'm sure the SLK is probably like this, but everytime I see an R170, I'm happy I went with the crossfire.

 

I have always looked at mine as a GT car that was competent on the track. Not great, but competent. A better car than I am a driver. I would call it a sports car, but there are flavors of sports car. Every year I put a 2 week driving trip on it. Every year I put it on the track at least once. Yeah it could have had more power. Rack and pinion would have been nice. but all in all I am glad that I paid full boat for it and could not really replace it for less than 40K. Wish I could talk myself into an interior rework and a new paint job. For this year I have got the track day reserved and the 2 week trip planned. If you think this car draws looks you should have been here 7 years ago.

 

I pulled the 6 out of the garage last weekend for a "race" to the hardware store with a friend. It had dust all over it from sitting over the winter. I couldn't believe all the eyes looking at the car...dust covered black and all.

 

Find the Sports Car


_______________braking from 60__from 80__skidpad g's__slalom mph___

Lotus Elise________115'__________203'________1.03_______ 72.6
Viper SRT-10______112'__________197'________1.02_______71.4
05 Vette cp._______110'_________194'_________.98________70. 2
EVO VIII MR_______114'_________197'_________.92________70.0
Honda S2000______115'_________206'_________.91________69 .7
04 Crossfire_______114'_________199'_________.89_____ ___69.6
Ford GT___________117'_________199'_________.99________ 69.5
Boxter____________113'_________199'_________.91___ _____68.6
Mazda RX8________110'_________193'_________.89________68 .4
WRX STi__________111'_________193'_________.88________ 68.4
Mazda Miata_______125"_________219'_________.87________6 7.9
Porsche 911 Turbo__119'_________208"_________.96________67.8
BMW Z4 3.0i_______110'_________196'_________.92________67 .4
350Z 35th. Anniv.___114'_________202'_________.89________67.3
Audi 3.2 Quattro____118'_________209'_________.86________66 .7
Acura NSX_________117'_________215'_________.91________6 5.8
VW R32___________117'_________206'_________.83_______ _62.3

Oh, and only one doesn't have rack & pinion steering.




Statistics taken from Road&Track Road Test Review 2005

 

That just goes to show that numbers don't tell the whole story. But if you were going for the numbers approach, I'd be more impressed with some lap times. I mean a Cobalt SS turbo pulled some amazing numbers when it ran the VIR for the C&Ds lightening lap--much faster than cars twice the price with more hp. However, the key to a sports car isn't so much numbers as it feel and balance. I'm not a huge miata fan, but if I'm honest, the subjective qualities of the miata are exactly what make it an excellent sports car and the MUCH faster Cobalt SS turbo just a quick sports compact.

You take something like the SL63 which without a doubt will be faster than a miata in pretty much any performance category and it's still more GT than sports car.

 

Thanks Euro, if I ever feel the need for a "real" sports car, I'll give ya a call.

 

Bad gas mileage? I get 32 mpg. Did a long highway road trip and I documented it...

Not sure that I agree with all euro on all his points. I went against a new Audi tt once. Not sure if he let me beat him.... But I was able to keep up at 130 mph. He finally gave up and slowed down. Don't know to many camaro or mustangs or any domestic vehicle that could handle 130 for a long period of time and not break a sweat... And still feel like it has more to give.

 

I consider it a sport coupe, GT seems like it should be more luxurious i.e. Maserati GranTurismo

 

Yes, you might want to do that--though my rates aren't cheap!

 

Unless you were taking a 15 hour road trip at 55 mph the entire time, I don't believe you. I have a 30 mile commute each day and rarely drive over 60 mph and have never gotten over 24 mpg and i've had the car since new. The car runs as it should, without any type of check engine lights.

There's no way a car with as high a highway mpg as 25 (only for the automatic, which I don't have), consistantly gets near 32 mpg on a regular basis with a standard mixture of highway and city driving that most people do. Unless you're some extreme hypermiler, which makes me wonder why you even own the car if that's the case.

A new TT isn't saying all that much considering the standard model has 200 hp and if you were running with him from highway speeds then it's totally believable. If it was a 3.2L TT, it's a bit less likely unless the guy was in the wrong gear. But hey, I did pretty well against an Audi B6 S4--the V8 powered sports sedan based on the A4 with like 340hp. Was the guy really racing me? I have no idea. And I was able to beat on a current civic Si, which like the early mkII TT cars is a fwd ca with 200 hp.