I purchased a 2004 Dodge Stratus SXT 4-door sedan in October of 2003 at Tom Addis Dodge in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. A coworker of mine has a 2001 Stratus and I was always very impressed by it's aggressive exterior styling. Once I looked inside I was equally impressed at the refined layout of the dash. When it came time for me to get a new car, I went looking for a Stratus. This was a difficult decision for me. I am a lifetime Ford fanatic and have never had much affection for anything from Chrysler. I have to say though, their entire current lineup is pretty solid. Quality improves noticeably every year, as does styling.Anyway, back to the Stratus. In my opinion the exterior is the sportiest and most aggressive sedan in it's class. No disrespect to Toyota or Honda (they'll get their props later in my review) but my deep red Stratus with tinted windows is a real head turner, while Camrys and Accords probably get lost in parking lots alot. I am impressed with the fit and finish of all the exterior panels and the paint is deep and shiny. The interior has the look of a more expensive car, unfortunately not the feel. Don't get me wrong, the materials are quite acceptable but your freinds won't think you bought a Lexus or anything. The seat fabric is standard Chrysler parts bin stuff, and the plastics feel like a little lower grade than on other cars I've driven.
The engine choice in my SXT is the 4-cylinder. This is a noisy little 140hp thing that only gets about 24 mpg. Not terrible I know, I just would have expected better. It has plenty of power for merging into traffic or passing other cars when necessary. The automatic transmission shifts smoothly and when expected. I especially like the standard floor shift with redundant PRNDL below the speedometer.
My only real complaints with this car are:
1. Should get better fuel economy
2. Interior plastics, while good, do not measure up to Camry or Accord.
3. Cabin is very noisy at freeway speeds (this is by far my biggest gripe. It's noisy to the point I'm going to get it undercoated and also put that foam stuff the stereo guys use to deaden sound in the doors.)
All in all, is it as good of quality as Camry or Accord? No. But I still think it's got them beat in the looks department and I know it has them beat in price. You'll probably get hurt on the resale for the first few years though. Chrysler is certainly on the right track with this car and I recommend anybody in the market for a midsize sedan at least give it a test drive. At the rate they're going, Stratus may soon even be mentioned in the same examples of quality and refinement as Camry and Accord!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: SXT 4 cyl A/T
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