The same improvement applies to the interior finish. The leather package, in particular, has a rich appearance, given the Cruiser's price, with suede inserts in the doors and along the lower cushion edges.

The front seats have a reasonable amount of bolster to keep driver and passenger from sliding side to side in the three lower-line models, but the Turbo gets more padding in its side bolsters. This is to keep you firmly held in the seat during quick corners.

A unique bonus of the tall Cruiser is its upright seating position, with a fairly high, commanding view ahead, much like a sport-utility vehicle or minivan. And with 120.2 cubic feet of interior volume, there's no premium on space in the PT Cruiser. The government's standard for defining a large car, like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Lincoln Town Car, is 120 cubic feet.

All that space is largely a function of the Cruiser's height. Its roof rises toward the rear, and its rear seat bottoms are higher than those in front are. The industry calls this "theater seating." The front seats are mounted on tall boxes, leaving plenty of room for rear passengers to stretch their legs underneath. We tested a six-foot, nine-inch passenger who fit comfortably front or rear, and, no, he wasn't an NBA star.

Chrysler claims the PT Cruiser's cabin can be configured 26 different ways. We didn't count, but there are clearly a lot of options. This flexibility stems from three features: a 65/35 split rear bench that can be folded flat, tumbled forward or removed, a movable parcel shelf, and an available front passenger seat that folds flat. The rear seats are anchored with quick-release attachments, and fitted with suitcase-style handles for lifting and steel wheels for rolling. The smaller section weighs 35 pounds, while the larger section weighs a hefty 65 pounds.

The load floor measures 40 inches between the wheel wells. With the front passenger seatback folded flat onto the bottom cushion, there's a table next to the driver and in front of the rear passengers. Even better, there can be more than 8 feet of flat surface between the dashboard and the tailgate. So the Cruiser can accommodate a tall stepladder or a load of two-by-fours within its cabin.

The PT Cruiser has a thorough complement of safety features. Front passenger side-impact airbags are standard on the Limited Edition and optional on the other models. Seatbelts should always be worn, however, and the PT Cruiser comes with three-point safety harnesses at all positions, including the rear seat's center position. The front belts have pyrotechnically charged tensioners, just like luxury cars, to keep the belts tight during an impact. The rear bench is equipped with child-seat tethers.