1995 Chrysler Cirrus LXI

Chrysler designers left the boxy K-car '80s-think behind when they penned the striking, cab-forward Cirrus. Along with fellow cloud car {{{Dodge Stratus}}}, the Cirrus embodied Chrysler's new focus on "team concept" platform development when it debuted for the '95 model year.

Starting with a fresh slate, engineers dissected numerous competitive vehicles, extracting the best qualities from 300 items that consumers interact with, and adapting them to the new model range. Although these new cars were built to be ultracompetitive in the compact-sedan class, which includes the Ford Contour and Nissan Altima, they proved virtuous enough to cull sales from the larger Ford Taurus and Honda Accord.

The Cirrus' combination of design, value, comfort, and performance earned it the coveted Motor Trend 1995 Car of the Year award. Following tradition, we ordered a Cirrus for a year-long evaluation of the latest car to receive our highest accolade.

Skipping past the base LX model, we set our sights on the uplevel LXi, featuring standards such as dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, AM/FM/cassette stereo, power windows/locks/mirrors, foglamps, remote keyless entry, rear-window defroster, intermittent windshield wipers, electronic speed control, aluminum wheels, and rear climate-control ventilation ducts. Our first addition to the Cirrus' $17,435 base price was Customer Preferred Group 26K. This $2105 package included the LXi trim, premium six-speaker AM/FM/ cassette stereo, eight-way power driver's seat, security alarm, sport-tuned suspension, and leather seats, steering wheel, and shift knob. Because compact discs are becoming the music format mainstay, we upgraded to the premium CD-player system for $122. The space-saver spare tire was replaced by a conventional full-size tire for $95, and an ashtray/lighter combination was dealer-installed for a mere $15. Once the discounts and charges were tallied, the window sticker totaled $20,234.

We took delivery of the metallic-red Cirrus LXi at our Detroit office, where we logged a few hundred break-in miles before driving it cross-country to Los Angeles. During the 13 fuel breaks on our roundabout 2856-mile journey, we recorded copious notes in the logbook-when we could bring ourselves to pry our hands from the leather-wrapped steering wheel. The most frequent comment was praise for the driver's seat, an item whose standard cloth-covered counterpart has received lukewarm reviews. Equally praised, the Cirrus' sophisticated double-wishbone suspension provided a compliant ride on the open highway.

Upon its arrival in L.A., we ran the Cirrus through the regular circuit of city driving, freeway romps to the track, and weekend canyon cruises. Circling our 200-foot skidpad, the Cirrus managed 0.81 g of lateral acceleration and darted through the 600-foot slalom course at 63.1 mph. These numbers place its handling abilities on a par with its compact and midsize competition. However, the Cirrus' sport-tuned chassis, with unequal-length upper and lower control arms, coil springs, and anti-roll bars front and rear, provides a more refined ride than many of its MacPherson-strut-equipped competitors. Surveyed owners recognized the merits of this configuration, as 93.6 percent rated handling above average. One owner wrote, "The Chrysler Cirrus is like driving a cloud in heaven." A few owners, however, found the suspension settings to be overly taut, sacrificing some comfort for improved handling.