The problem with the PT apears to be towing capacity (1,000 lbs), not
the 4 cylinder engine. The PT Cruiser Turbocharged GT has more
horsepower than most V6 pickup trucks. The 4 Cylinder PT Cruiser has
practically the same HP as the Ford's F-150 V8... that's V-EIGHT, not
V-SIX !!!
Ford F-150 with a 4.6 L V8 has 231 HP
PT Cruiser GT with a 2.4 L 4 cylinder has 230 HP

The F-150 has more torque (293 vs 245), but the PT Cruiser GT still
beats the torque of most 6 cylinder pickups, including the Ford Ranger
with it's upgraded 4 liter V6.

Torque comparison (from Edmunds.com):
Ford Ranger 3 liter V6 - 180 lb-ft @ 3950 RPM
Jeep Wrangler 4 liter inline 6 - 235 lb-ft @ 3200 RPM
Dodge Durango 3.7 liter V6 - 235 ft-lb @ 4000 RPM
Ford Ranger 4 liter V6 - 238 ft-lb @ 3000 RPM
PT Cruiser GT 4 Cylinder 2.4 liter Turbo - 245 ft-lb @ 2800 RPM
Ford F-150 8 Cylinder V-8 4.6 liter - 293 ft-lb @ 3500 RPM

I still don't think the PT would be good for towing a big boat, but
don't assume 4 cylinder means low power.

"Bryan" wrote in message
...

"Dene" wrote in message
. ..

"Bryan" wrote in message
. net...

"Dene" wrote in message
. ..

My two bits. I'd rather put my trust in a company that is trying
hard
vs.
a
company that is resting on it's laurels. SeaRay comes to mind, in
that
respect.


Ouch!

Bryan
Sea Ray 185 Sport

Don't mean to pinch. Sea Ray's are fine boats but I don't believe they
are
the best bang for the buck.

-Greg



Pinch away. Right or wrong, my boat means time on the water with my kids
and you can't put a price on that!

Agree. I have a '92 18 foot Reinell 181 for that very purpose, namely
putting my six kids behind it on a sea biscuit and scaring the tarnation out
of them. Probably not a highly rated boat when I bought it in '94 but I've
taken good care of it, dry storing it except in use. She's never given me a
lick of problems and even more important, she's all mine.

Unlike this Maxum 2400 SCR I'm "buying" for 28k this week, assuming it
passes the survey.

http://tinyurl.com/c6orm

This boat is a year round mom and pop boat, interest tax deductible as our
2nd home. Kids are allowed, but only for 15 mins. ;

Name of the boat will be, "She Said Yes." (in more ways than one). ;

-Greg

wrote:

The GT has a nice tight suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control,
and a powerful 215 HP turbo charged engine which will leave the
Forrester in the dust.

Not likely with the 230 HP Forester XT.

http://forums.autoweek.com/thread.js...4744&tstart=75

"Dene" wrote in message
...

Agree. I have a '92 18 foot Reinell 181 for that very purpose, namely
putting my six kids behind it on a sea biscuit and scaring the tarnation
out
of them. Probably not a highly rated boat when I bought it in '94 but
I've
taken good care of it, dry storing it except in use. She's never given me
a
lick of problems and even more important, she's all mine.

Unlike this Maxum 2400 SCR I'm "buying" for 28k this week, assuming it
passes the survey.

http://tinyurl.com/c6orm

This boat is a year round mom and pop boat, interest tax deductible as our
2nd home. Kids are allowed, but only for 15 mins. ;

Name of the boat will be, "She Said Yes." (in more ways than one). ;

-Greg

My intro to boating has put me on the same track: imagining our next boat
that my wife and I can use for overnighters. Good luck with your survey!

Rick,
I don't know where they get 5.5 sec for the Forrester XT. Motorweek
has the XT at 6.2 seconds, and the PT Cruiser at 6.7 seconds.
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2210a.shtml
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2250.shtml

The Forrester was tested with a 5-speed manual transmission, and the PT
Cruiser was tested with an automatic transmission. A manual
transmission should take at least 1/2 second (maybe 1 second) off the
PT Cruiser's time, bringing it down to about 5.7-6.2 seconds. Those
times were all for the older 220 HP engine. The newly tuned 230 HP
engine should brings the PT Cruiser GT on par with the Forrester XT.

They both have 230 HP, but the PT Cruiser hase 245 ft-lb of torque to
the Forrester XTs 235 ft-lb. The PT cruiser GT weighs 3152 lbs. The
Forrester is at 3315 lbs.

Of course, the PT Cruiser costs about $6,000 less than the Forrester
XT, but the Forrester has All Wheel Drive.

I will concede that the PT would not leave the Forrester XT in the
dust. I was thinking of the standard Forrester.

wrote:
Rick,
I don't know where they get 5.5 sec for the Forrester XT. Motorweek
has the XT at 6.2 seconds, and the PT Cruiser at 6.7 seconds.
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2210a.shtml
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2250.shtml

The Forrester was tested with a 5-speed manual transmission, and the PT
Cruiser was tested with an automatic transmission. A manual
transmission should take at least 1/2 second (maybe 1 second) off the
PT Cruiser's time, bringing it down to about 5.7-6.2 seconds. Those
times were all for the older 220 HP engine. The newly tuned 230 HP
engine should brings the PT Cruiser GT on par with the Forrester XT.

They both have 230 HP, but the PT Cruiser hase 245 ft-lb of torque to
the Forrester XTs 235 ft-lb. The PT cruiser GT weighs 3152 lbs. The
Forrester is at 3315 lbs.

Of course, the PT Cruiser costs about $6,000 less than the Forrester
XT, but the Forrester has All Wheel Drive.

I will concede that the PT would not leave the Forrester XT in the
dust. I was thinking of the standard Forrester.

My sister just bought a new 2006 Forrester XS Premium with leather
upholstery, sunroof etc. and it's rated to tow about 2500lbs.

Don,
That's agrees with what I was saying, it isn't always the engine size
that determines towing capacity. The PT Cruiser has a much more
powerful engine than the Forrester X (230 vs 173 HP), but the PT only
has a 1,000 lb towing capacity.

Please don't misunderstand what I was saying before. I don't think the
PT Cruiser is good for towing big boats. I was just saying that it
wasn't the 4 cyl engine that was the problem. The lower powered
Forrester with 4 cyl has a higher towing rating.

Or maybe the manufacturers arbitrarily select the towing rating, and
the Forrester will burn out fast towing 2500 lbs. ???

Here is some information I got from another site regarding the PT
Cruiiser and towing (it probably applies to many small cars with high
HP and turbo):

Many big rig trucks have turbo-diesels, but a turbo diesel is a
different animal than a turbo gasoline HP engine. One is designed to
work under heavy loads for long periods of time, the other for short
bursts of power.

While HP is good, low-to-midrange torque is what pulls the trailer.
Comparing typical full load numbers isn't the best way to check for
this. These numbers are from a dyno pull with a load at full throttle.
Sounds good, but this is very short term. It doesn't match a long hill
at speed.

Weight and size make good tow rigs. The PT Cruiser could have 800hp and
900 lb/ft of torque and it would still suck at towing. It doesn't have
enough weight/mass to control anything with weight.

You also want something with lots of cooling and brakes. These are not
areas where the PT has a surplus.

The suspension and driveline must be able to support and pull the load.
The PT suspension isn't designed for big loads, and while a few might
disagree, RWD is the best way to tow. A frame is good, but not
necessary. Unfortunately, darn near all unibody cars are not designed
with a real strong rear area to attach tow equipment.

"Bryan" wrote in message
. com...

"Dene" wrote in message
...

Agree. I have a '92 18 foot Reinell 181 for that very purpose, namely
putting my six kids behind it on a sea biscuit and scaring the tarnation
out
of them. Probably not a highly rated boat when I bought it in '94 but
I've
taken good care of it, dry storing it except in use. She's never given
me
a
lick of problems and even more important, she's all mine.

Unlike this Maxum 2400 SCR I'm "buying" for 28k this week, assuming it
passes the survey.

http://tinyurl.com/c6orm

This boat is a year round mom and pop boat, interest tax deductible as
our
2nd home. Kids are allowed, but only for 15 mins. ;

Name of the boat will be, "She Said Yes." (in more ways than one). ;

-Greg

My intro to boating has put me on the same track: imagining our next boat
that my wife and I can use for overnighters. Good luck with your survey!

Survey passed. Bought. Now I own 3 boats. Any interest in my previous 25
footer. ;

-Greg