General Comments:
I primarily use this car to commute about 35 miles a day to and from work. It is very comfortable with plenty of power for passing and accelerating up on ramps. The stick feels very precise. A flick of the wrist is all that is needed to change gears.
I average 29-30 miles per gallon on the highway.
The car will handle corners fairly well. It does not handle as well as my old 1987 Trans-Am WS6. However, it is also a much more pleasant ride. The car provides a good road feel without being harsh. A much more refined ride than my old car.
The car is reasonably quick for a 3 liter six cylinder. It will easily outrun a 6 cylinder mustang, camaro, firebird. It was dead even with an older boxy style 5.0 mustang a couple weeks ago. I was quite impressed.
The interior is spacious with above average back seats for a coupe. The dash is will laid out with everything within easy reach. The only negative is the location of the cup holders.
The infinity sound system is probably the best factory system I have ever heard. The 4 disk in dash compact disk changer is easy to use and quite useful.
Overall this is a great car for the money. It looks great, handles well, and has plenty of power.
20th Mar 2004, 13:47
I recently acquired a similar stratus also with the five speed and 3 liter. I unfortunately did not take as much interest in it. I'm surprised by your comparison to your "old 87 Trans Am WS6". My sister owns an 88 firebird formula with an original 5 liter and five speed. Even with seventy thousand odd miles on the car, the car is a much better ride. Sure the stratus has a good feel and looks sharp. I just think for an R/T, its too mild. The formula at least had some spunk, which really fooled me. Both cars ride smooth and calm at lower rpms, a distinction between average cars and these so called sports cars. But when I would let out the clutch and sunk my foot into the gas with the formula, I didn't feel so bad because the car moved! The stratus doesn't give me the same feel. I'm sure the performance numbers on these two cars are similar. But for me, there is nothing like having v8 power at the rear wheels, even if it is scraping to push 200 hp. I live in a family of v8's, and in each, the power reverberating in the frame of the car, steering wheel, and shifter gives you a feel of what you can put those wheels without stepping on the gas. It will make you hang on when driving, quite literally. The stratus is quite respectable in it's own right. It just doesn't put up the same fight. I guess to each his own. Have fun with your stratus, I'm sure mine will grow on me eventually.