When I first saw pictures of the Chrysler PT Cruiser, I immediately thought of the Wacky Races and the Ant Hill Mob's car 'Chugga-boom'. What? You've never heard of that classic cartoon? Anyhow, back in the early 1950s, the Ford Prefect was the chic car of the day and it looked very like this Chrysler. Its near vertical tail, headlamps in the front wings and upright narrow grille are seriously retro. The PT (Personal Transportation) Cruiser was styled by young American designers to look like a hot rod and that's just how many of those old Prefects ended their days - with V8 engines and wide wheels. These two particular hot rod attributes don't extend to the PT Cruiser, though I did like the chunky five-spoke alloy wheels fitted to my test car. Under the bonnet, instead of a V8, beats a rather ordinary 2.4-litre engine or a 2.2-litre CRD diesel. Oh well, you can't have it all. This is the latest version of the Cruiser and there are new round front foglamps and revised tail lights as well as a body-coloured spoiler for PT Cruiser anoraks to spot. Inside, you don't need to be an anorak to notice the differences. The cabin has a much more up-market look and feel in comparison to the previous version which quite frankly felt cheap. The dash has larger gauges, rotating airvents, a Chrysler signature' analogue clock and a new stereo, mounted higher for easier access. The centre console has a sliding armrest (replacing the previous fiddly seat-mounted armrests), houses a deep storage bin, a powerpoint to charge your mobile 'phone and has two neat, fold-out cup-holders for rear seat passengers. There are new seat trims and fabric choices too to complete what Chrysler hope is an 'individual feel. Nostalgia might be fun, but Chrysler hasn't lingered in the past for too long with the PT Cruiser - the high roof and an upright seating position combine with the flexible seat and load space arrangements to make sure the PT Cruiser suits the need of today's buyers.

Inside, there's plenty of room for four adults, as well a tonne of luggage. In fact, five could squeeze in without too many moans and groans, but the rear seat is a bit short of width. The car's ideal if you have the average 2.4 children. The seating layout isn't as flexible as a Renault Scenic's, though. Rather than three individual chairs and a variety of mounting positions, you get just two split 60/40 which can be folded three ways, though Chrysler claims 26 different permutations of seats and luggage are possible. However, the seats can be completely removed with help from nifty built-in rollers. You can also fold the front passenger seat flat to carry an eight-feet long load which will be handy if you regularly carry surfboards, ladders or grandfather clocks. I also liked the clever parcel shelf which you can position several ways, including vertically to divide the load area, and which doubles as a picnic table. I didn't find any under-floor bins but there is a load restraining net in the boot plus clever net oddment holders in the front seatbacks.

The driving position is comfortable. The switches, levers, air conditioning and stereo controls are easily reached. There's more headroom in the cabin than most will ever need (all 6' 4" of my husband cleared the roof with room to spare). This, together with the glassy design, gives a feeling of spaciousness that's pretty rare in a mini-MPV of this size. On the road, the PT Cruiser sounds, rides and handles much like a Chrysler Neon: not that excitingly, but then I don't aspire to be a racing driver. Rest to 60 takes about 10.6 seconds on the way to 121mph, so it's fast enough. The 2.4-litre petrol model's fuel economy is reasonable at around 30mpg though it drops alarmingly if you pay £800 extra for the rather jerky automatic gearbox. Engine noise is not very well suppressed in the manual model I tried and it's worse, apparently, with the auto. If you need better fuel economy, the car to go for is the 2.2-litre CRD diesel.

As an alternative to a Scenic, the PT Cruiser isn't quite as practical. Having said that, those 1950s hot rod looks definitely win me over. My test car didn't come with a rear-parking sensor, which would have been a useful because the styling makes judging the corners a bit tricky. So, give me a sensor, add in a footrest for long hauls and the Cruiser and I could well live happily ever after.