So I recently came into a few different car magazines that features the SRT6.
One was Car & Driver "First drive of the Crossfire SRT6", the other one was Automobile Magazine "Driven - Chrysler Crossfire SRT6". The third one was a German Magazine named Auto Bild and it had probably the most detailed, technical oriented and informed comparison between the Mustang GT, SRT6 and the Corvette C6.
​​​​​​Besides some cool photographs all three had less than favorable opinions on the SRT6. The American magazines seemed almost like as if they didn't really drive the vehicle and just took the specs sheet from Daimler Chrysler and ran with it. Nobody but the German Magazine even questions the 330 hp output, while being the same vehicle as the Mercedes SLK32 AMG which as we know was listed with 349 hp (354 ps).

Car and Driver seemed to enjoy the torque performance of the Crossfire but as most, criticized the plastic interior, felt the car was cramped for people over 6 foot (I'm 6"3 and never had an issue in neither Coupe nor Roadster even though I do like that the roadster has a few more inches above my head).
​​​​​Of course the lacking steering wheel rake adjustment was brought up and they felt the trunk was too small and had nothing to tie down the goods (what??).
One of their biggest cons was that the ride felt stiff, and a nightmare on uneven pavements or country roads.
THat opinion I do not share at all. My NA Coupe was more of a grand tourer, comfortable ride. Felt almost like an E or C class. The SRT6 is, as one would expect, more sporty and more tight and therefore has a better feel to the road. I would not say it's stiff or uncomfortable in any facet. It's my daily driver and never had an issue.

Automobile Magazine found that the Crossfire "lacks a compelling character unless you're absolutely smitten with the styling"...interesting as I find the styling to be one the biggest strong suits of the Crossfire.
They did however compliment the engine and Kompressor while at the same time complaining about the high price point that put it in the same range as Porsche Boxster S, SLK350 and Corvette.

The German Magazine felt that it's difficult to load the trunk and that the Crossfire seats were too hard and too uncomfortable for long rides. They also criticized the blinds spots, which according to them makes parking a guessing game.
In the end, they felt the Mustang GT won between Corvette and Crossfire mainly due to its legendary image and V8 engine for a price that's quite cheaper than both C6 or SRT6.
They found that the SRT6 should have come with a V8 and that all around it felt too European for an American Muscle or Sports Car. What exactly that means and how that's a bad thing, I'm not so sure.

Of course the classic like the recirculating ball steering, the bad look of the wing and the fact that the vehicle doesn't come with a manual tranny were also mentioned here and there.

I remember reading several similar articles about the NA Crossfire. It seems like the cars never quite received the respect they surely earned in my book.
I would bet all those magazine spoke highly of the Merc 32 AMG just a few year earlier.
It's funny how the plastic interior always gets torn apart. For me I have always felt more comfortable in the Crossfire than the SLK320. Never been a fan of that wood trim of the Mercedes and the steering wheel looks much more modern in our cars, too.
I still think the door handles are a thing of beauty and the mirrors are hands down the most beautiful mirrors I have ever seen on ANY vehicle. The exciting shapes, angles and curves from the Crossfire are unmatched and even the SRT6 was worth the price. What's your take and have you read any favorable articles on our cars?
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they were backed by biden and we were backed by the other guy,, lol

 

Will agree that is is not a good only car but is a great fun car. Think I have the best, a SLK320 retractable and a Crossfire Coupe. Only thing I prefer about the SLK interor is the white background on the gauges. Do think it helps to have both.

 

*. The torque…….it’s sure footed confidence in turns…….the resistance to withstand high G forces……it’s tensile strength (rated highest of any car in that era)

* The styling


If one considers mentioning the plastic dash in the same breath. Well…..there you go.

 

At least the plastic does not disintegrate like GM cars. Ever notice how American cars always have many buttons, *****, and switches ?

Of course being neither fish nor fowl (neither Chrysler nor Mercedes dealers want to see it) does not help, they never really had a sponsor.

ps took my 07 in for the airbag recall. Took almost six months to get everything fixed and only because I took a picture of the dash with all lights off when dropping at dealer).

 

If you go back even further and find reviews on the first generation Mercedes SLK you will find reviews that liked the Mercedes version.

 

Dunno, I have both and like both, are just the best ones for me, a coupe and a retractable.

 

All the cars today except the high priced ones all use plastic, it’s cheap to shape in designs impossible in to do in wood. The NA was underpowered. Everyone got on the wagon to run it down. The SRT was not enough to get the car back on track. Many of the detractors got something wrong with the specs or something else. I doubt some of them even sat in the car or even saw one in person, they just typed out the lines they were expected and sent it in.

 

They all love a car or hate a car. Their opinions from one magazine (web site) to next does not vary, Mob Mentality.
Compare the interior of the xfire to other cars of the time period and it is actually pretty nice. The so-called ugly wing on the SRT6 has drawn me in since the first time I saw it.
I think I will go out in the garage and stare at SRT6 and dream of warm weather.

 

Also writers tend to like what they have and what they want. Everyone talks about and wants an early Shelby Cobra (in 1966 a fried bought one for $1995 and then it was an AC Cobra, yet another Euro car with a honking American V8 like the Facel-Vega (don't have a bucket list any more but an HK-500 with dual-quad Hemi & Pont A Mousson was onnit). or Cad-Allard.(were also American Cars with a big honking V8 like the Fordillac and Studillac but Euros were smaller and sportier..

Have had many (when friend picked up the Cobra, I acquired a Devin Jag built on a triple carb, gold head XK-150s. With a set of D type cams and 48COE Webers, the Jag had the most beautiful exhaust note ever heard (rivaled at the time only by a Novi or a Corvair on trombones) and was faster on the skinny tires of the time.

For me the only fault of the R-170 cars is a lack of a voltmeter (easy) or oil pressure gauge (harder) and must admit that having lost a lot of weight I do fit better.

So need to remember that magazie writers are usually paid by the word and takes less knowledge to criticise than to praise.

Can say I never met a car I didn't like (deprived yout) but two come close: a 60 Ford Galaxie and Daimler SP-250 .


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Bingo!! Reading those articles truly made me feel like I'm reading about a different vehicle, an u familiar one but surely not my SRT6.
Funny part is that the author of the German Auto Bild preferred the Mustang over the Corvette and SRT6 mainly due to it having a V8 and valued at half the price of the other two. In the earlier sentences they had criticized the cheap plastic interior but then spoke highly of the Mustang. That interior (and the Corvette's) is the absolute best example of cheap plastic there is! They look dull and boring, black on black, no contrasts, just nothing special. Something the Europeans always complained about when comparing the German manufacturers to the American.

Oh well, if anything positive came from it, it's that these cars are sleepers and imo the cheapest to purchase in that class and yet for me hands down the best looking of it's class and most fun to drive of that era and still today.

 

Those in the KNOW, KNOW.

 

Yeahbut those who know can rarely write in clear English others can understand. Guess what a magazine editor values more ?

 

That was meant to reference the owners that know, not the writers that have never been near a Crossfire, much less driven one.