Good morning! I’m back, well-rested, and only a little sunburned. Huge thanks to Peter for holding down the fort while I was away, with a surprise guest appearance by David. You guys rock. Today, we’re going to look at a couple of little runabout wagons. They may not be the most thrilling things to drive in their own right, but they can sure take you to some fun places.
I’m going to do a roundup of Peter’s picks tomorrow, but for now, let’s take a quick look at yesterday’s results. The choice was between two roadsters that will always play second fiddle to the mighty Miata. The Pontiac Solstice didn’t build enough excitement to overcome the Toyota MR2’s better reliability and mid-engine cool factor, despite a much better presentation in its ad. The majority of you chose to spend an extra three hundred bucks for Toyota reliability.
I’ve never actually driven either of these, but I have a feeling I’d prefer the MR2, mainly for the seating position. The Solstice looks like it has the same problem I have with Firebirds and Mitsubishi Eclipses: you sit too far down in them, like you’re peering out at the world over the rim of a really deep bathtub. I like to sit a little higher. Besides, owning a mid-engine car is on my bucket list, and an MR2 is probably the most reliable option.
Our trip to Jamaica was very much like the last two trips, but I did discover an affinity for two new things: beef patties, and the Toyota Probox. Jamaican beef patties are kind of like empanadas, and kind of like Cornish pasties, but not quite the same as either one. It’s a pastry shell filled with spiced ground beef, and it’s delicious. I need to find a recipe and try making them.
The Toyota Probox is a small car I was familiar with, but I didn’t realize just how much it had taken over Jamaica’s roads in the ten years since I was last there. Proboxes represented roughly every third car on the road between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, about half sporting taxi livery, and nearly all being driven like bats out of hell. It’s so beloved in Jamaica there’s even a song about it. It’s the kind of no-nonsense, high-utility vehicle we all say we want automakers to sell here. But I was thinking about it earlier, and it occurred to me that we have vehicles like that here. You just have to know where to look. So today, we’re going to look at a couple of them.
2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited – $2,950
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.4-liter DOHC inline-4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Longview, WA
Odometer reading: 61,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Yep, it’s the car so many of you love to hate: the Chrysler PT Cruiser. This little wagon keeps coming close to having a redemption arc, but it never quite seems to get there. Personally, I don’t think it needs redemption. It’s a weird little car, sure, but it’s surprisingly practical. I think it was a little underhanded of Chrysler to have it classified as a light truck to bring up its CAFE numbers, but other automakers have done way worse to fudge their numbers.
You could have some fun with a PT Cruiser if you chose the right drivetrain; three levels of horsepower were available, and two transmissions. This one falls somewhere in the middle, with a 180 horsepower turbocharged engine and an Ultradrive automatic transmission. The UltraDrive had some problems early on, but by 2006 it was pretty reliable. Keep building something long enough, and eventually you get it right. This Cruiser is barely broken-in anyway, with only 61,000 miles on the clock. It’s being sold by a dealership, so don’t expect any history, though.
Chrysler facelifted the PT Cruiser in 2006 to tone down the weirdness, but it also got cheaper-feeling inside. I like the original interior better. The Limited trim level adds some goodies like heated leather seats and a CD changer. It’s in good condition, as you would hope for such low mileage, and the seller says the air conditioning works great.
One thing that does annoy me about PT Cruisers is that so damn many of them are silver. They look good in silver, but Chrysler offered at least a dozen more interesting colors. The chrome alloy wheels are part of the Limited package, and I think the rear spoiler is too. It looks like it might have a couple of scrapes and dings, but I don’t see any rust.
2008 Scion xB – $3,250
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline-4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Longview, WA
Odometer reading: 227,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Scion xB might be the closest thing to the Toyota Probox we ever got in this country. Based on the Japanese-market Toyota bB, the first xB was a happy little box on wheels with a tiny engine, much like the Probox. This second-generation xB strayed from the mission a little bit, growing in size and weight significantly, but it’s still a practical car. And of course, being a Toyota, high mileage is no big deal. Good thing, too; this xB is well past 200,000 miles.
In place of the original xB’s 1.5-liter engine, this one has a 2.4-liter shared with the Camry. It’s a hell of a bump in displacement from one generation to the next, but this car is also about seven hundred pounds heavier than the original. As you might guess, its fuel economy is nowhere near as good, especially with an automatic transmission as this one has. It runs and drives great, but this one is also being sold by a dealership, so you’d be wise to do a careful pre-purchase inspection. Yes, even on a Toyota product.
The automatic and a couple of different stereos were the only options available on the xB; everything else was standard equipment. I have no idea which stereo this one has in it. The seller says those are leather seats, but I have my doubts. I can’t find any record of leather upholstery being available on this car. I’m guessing they’re covers, and probably vinyl. If we’re lucky, they’ve been on the seats since the car was new, and the seats are in like-new condition under them. I doubt it, though.
Like any Jamaican Probox worth its salt, this Scion xB has non-standard alloy wheels on it. I think they might actually be Camry wheels. The paint is a nice aubergine color, and it’s in good shape, with just a few blemishes. Someone added a silver mesh grille to it, which might be an aftermarket piece, and might just be silver mesh from Home Depot. The taillights aren’t original either. Hopefully they work like they’re supposed to; some of those aftermarket lights are just awful at actually illuminating and signaling.
The more I look at these two cars, the more similarities I see. They’re close in size, they have similar drivetrains, and they’re both watered-down versions of earlier cars. The biggest difference seems to be that one has nearly four times the mileage on it. Does that matter? Is it better to start out with something mechanically younger, or stick with a known-durable brand, even with a few deviations from stock? You tell me.
If I had to, the xB because it’ll be more reliable.
PT could be justified as a manual and/or convertible. It’s a Neon underneath, so handles better than it would let on.
And the xB isn’t the xB that made it popular. Also, saddled with an automatic. It was better as a boxy Yaris.
Had two 1st gen xB’s, never got into the 2nd gen (this is the first year and easy to tell by the solo reverse light in the left corner that all my friends hated).
But I will always pick an xB over a Chrysler. Even the 2nd gen.
I’ve seen a few PT Cruisers here in the uk, where they look even weirder.
I’m happy in weird cars, but only authentically weird cars, not cynically retro weird.
If PT Cruisers were all silver, 2nd-gen xB’s were all purple.
Not true. Had a friend with a white one, traded for the release series that came in orange. Another friend bought a red release series. And an ex GF had a black one.
If the xB had been a first-gen example without that ugly wart of a front end, I would have voted for it twice.
Always liked the concept of a simple box on wheels, minus retro styling cues. A simple way to carry stuff around.
For me, the automatic transmissions disqualify both, but if I’m taking what’s offered, I’ll go Toyota today. Which is not usual for me.
I bought a PT during the height of the Covid mess. I was very happy with the front seats – I have a bad back – and I was able to take the back seats out, which is the feature that allows Chrysler to classify it as a van. It’s been reliable, and it’s great for ferrying a handicapped friend around, we can put his stuff where the back seat used to be. Took my wife to the mountains for our anniversary and we had plenty of room and decent fuel mileage. It’s not a completely fun-free car, you can toss it around mountain corners until the speed sensor in the passenger seat starts to complain.
But painful as it is for one who owned a few 70’s and 80’s TorqueFlites to admit, Chrysler automatics of this era were junk. But not enough to overcome that horrible Scion, Even though I always wanted a Scion box, but I can’t get over the mods and the mileage. IRL I’d walk away from the choice, but here I vote PT.
I”ll go for the TP Cruiser. (Not a typo). Had one as a rental once, was not the worst vehicle I ever drove.
The 2AZ-FE in the xB, first Generation tC, Camry, and Rav4 is know to have oil consumption issues at higher mileage; Toyota reliability or not.
I still voted that way, as I’d much rather be bored in a weird Japanese Appliance, than a Chrysler product of that vintage. 4 oil changes wroth of Valvoline Restore and Protect MIGHT just free the rings up enough to stave off the oil use, and until then I’ll just check it every week or so.
Wrong generation xBox plus auto, owner mods and high miles have me reluctantly choosing the PT. Very reluctantly.
Dare I say it, the Chrysler seems like a good deal with the low mileage, near showroom condition, and high level of equipment. As for style, well maybe its retro is now retro — something from 20 years ago trying to look like something 60 or 70 years before that. The circle of life.
I’ll take the Cruiser. Cheaper and a quarter of the miles? Easy choice.