Amazing, isn't it? A company consistently creates a dreary series of mediocre, brick-shaped cars, and the next thing you know, that same company up and seizes the mantle of design leadership for the entire domestic automobile industry.
Every time Chrysler steps up to the plate these days, the ball appears to go over the fence. And it appears wholly probable that the all new Cirrus is going to keep the hitting streak alive. It is got the right stuff.
This goes well beyond looks, of course. As a '90s car buyer, you're recognized by business analysts as having more savvy than ever before. You're informed on safety, you know value and you have high expectations for reliability and durability.
But even so, it helps a lot if that new car also happens to look good, right? Of course.
Well, you do not need us to tell you that this all-new car looks even better than good. Along with its twin, the Dodge Stratus, the Cirrus stole the 1994 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and our test drive travels made it plain that it's one of the very few midsize sedans with enough visual horsepower to earn second and third glances from passersby.
Styling may not be everything in this enlightened automotive age, but it's still an excellent starting point.
The Cirrus falls more or less into the middle of the midsize range, a little bigger than the
Honda Accord but smaller than the
Ford Taurus. It is a tad shorter and lower than the
Toyota Camry, but it's also wider, with about a 5-in. advantage in wheelbase.
A long wheelbase and wide track are key elements in Chrysler's cab-forward design technique, which moves the wheels out toward the corner of the car to create more space inside. This approach isn't really exclusive to Chrysler - Honda, for example, uses a similar technique - but it's undeniably effective.
Besides the usual positive effect of a long wheelbase on ride quality, keeping more of the car's mass centered between the front- and rear-wheel centerlines pays off in more balanced handling.
High-chassis rigidity is another key element in responsive handling, and Chrysler has made a virtual religion of this in its recent cars. The big LH cars - Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, Chrysler Concorde - set new chassis-rigidity standards when they came along a couple years back, and Chrysler claims that the Cirrus is even better in this regard.
Chrysler has also applied some of the lessons learned with the LH sedans to its Cirrus manufacturing process. As a result, the Cirrus has fewer parts than its competitors, and production tolerances are tighter than the initial LH standards.
Judging by our test car, this attention to detail is paying off. Besides its purposeful good looks - low, wide and elegantly aggressive - our Cirrus was well assembled and nicely finished, inside and out.
For 1995, at least, the Cirrus will be offered with only one engine - a smooth 2.5-liter V6 supplied by Mitsubishi - and one transmission, an electronically controlled 4-speed automatic.
The Cirrus comes in two flavors: the basic LX, with an attractive array of comfort and convenience goodies, and the posh LXi, which we tested.
Cirrus pricing starts just a wink under $18,000, including destination charges. The basic Stratus should be less expensive, probably under $16,000, and a Plymouth version will join the family for the 1996 model year.
