Excellent engine, roomy interior, easy to operate gadgets, awesome looks (better than the 2001, in my opinion), FUN TO DRIVE!!

yes...CUP HOLDERS in the front...what is suppose to fit there, a pea cup that is found at the doctors office?? location of the battery, what i like to do is open the hood b4 i race and people come over to see what i have under there and i ask them, dude...i run without a battery...they are like NO WAY!!...funny :)
for my type, a major weeakness, which isn't related to Dodge is the after market, yes...some products are finally available but they are kind of pricey compared to the rice after market stuff...but hey, to beat those rice cars which this and to see their face is WORTH IT!!

After reading all the complaints, i guess i am really lucky to have bought a used 1998 Dodge Stratus, 2.4L DOHC. So far, i have had to replace the rotors and pads and that's it. I love the design of the car, in my opinion the car looks better than the Cirrus and the Breeze, the snout is more appealing on the Stratus. I use to have a 1997 Plymouth Breeze, but I totalled it (i'm a lead foot 20 yr old). The 98 Stratus is awesome, decent pick up for a 4 cylinder heavy car, interior room is spacious and i am a big fan of cab-fwd design. I am currently in the process of making it an after market car, with all the goodies to literally smoke the rice cars (import cars). I have an intake on it, in the process of having custom titanium exhaust system, high flow cat-back, 2.5 inches to 3 inch piping starting from the manifold all the way to the high performance muffler. The car is low, but i want it lower so i'm going to drop it and put some nice 17's on it. Dodge is terrible with those ridiculous 14's that come stock..yuck!! For the money, a 1998 or up Dodge Stratus is a very good car. I am totally for American cars, i don't care about the resale value; i'm going to use my Stratus until i bascially total this one as too (i race, a lot).

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i dunno...i bought this one cause i liked it...bottom line, take car of the cars and they will work...after all its a machine...

ultimate goal for my stratus, to make it a 11 second car...soon

Nice interior, comfortable drive, easy to reach dashboard, nice cupholders in the back, big console, faster than most sedans in its class, big trunk, "storage" space under radio is big

Can not pump gas into car without holding the pump a certain way, LOUD acceleration, not the best gas mileage, shocks have squeaked from day one, head gasket problem at 65,000 (ABSOLUTELY buy the extended warranty - I hear the transmission can have problems, too),hard to see behind the car when in reverse

This car has the best interior I have ever seen - not just looks, but feel and convenience, too. The seats are very comfortable, the radio is easily accessible, the vents are easily accessible, and the console is big/convenient. My worst situation with the car was the head gasket. I was out of a car for 4 whole days - and thank goodness I had a warranty because the costs were astronomical. The biggest weakness in this car, except the head gasket problem, is definitely how loud it is. When accelerating, the engine just gets really loud - sometimes it'll drown out a conversation. But overall, this is the best car I have found comfortability-wise. It just drives so nice.

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Smooth ride and quiet. Comfort in the driver's seat. Back seat roominess.

Cup holder location for front passenger.

Awesome! Great look (and gets lots of looks and compliments), handles great, smooth ride, quiet. Best car I have ever driven. Good sound system. Love the pick up and go from off-ramps. The driver's area is comfortable. Nice trunk size, especially with the option of fold-down seats in the back. It is a true pleasure to drive! I drive everywhere I possibly can.

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In comparison to my last car (93 Pontiac Sunbird coupe), this is a dream! I've never actually driven anything I can compare to this R/T.

Roomy and sporty. The cab design competes well with some of its more expensive competetors in its car class such as the Toyota Camry.

Front end assembly is unreliable. I have had to replace wheel bearings, tie-rods and lower control arm assemblies. This should not happen in a car with under 58000 miles on it.

Although I have enjoyed the roomy and comfortable ride the stratus has provided and can't make a recommendation to buy the car. Reliability and durability is important to me. If I have to spend money on a car that has under 100,000 miles I consider the product sub-par. The 1998 stratus has cost me over $1000. in less then 8 months of driving time. I have had to replace the lower control arm assemblies (wheel bearings) tie rod and wheel bearings.

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Toyota Camry I found the interior roomy and comfortable but the trunk is too small and the cup holders are poorly designed. The AC is poorly implemented.

Handeled well, the 2.4 got good fuel economy when it was running........

It went into the at least once every 60 days. The only good thing was the Dodge dealer, they get a lot of practice fixing things so they always got it back on the road! We had electrical problems, engine problems, recalls, you name it. Total junk. Cured me of buying cars that dont have good reputations.

Nice looking car, drove well. Bought when it was one year old. Had a choice bettween a Ford Contour and the Dodge. The Dodge had a much better back seat for the kids.

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Traded it on a new Honda crv, 25000 miles later, no problems.

Comfort, highway driving, good gas mileage, nice stereo, excellent handling, and amazing snow traction

2 Head gaskets in 50,000 miles, one tranny within 2 months of ownership (bought used in 98), paint peeling, stereo died, power windows stopped working 4 times (4 motors later), ignition coil failed, replaced top of dash due to reflection in the window, poor headlights, and more. I could go on, but basically the car is very poorly built and contains poor quality components. Poor resale value due to this.

A nice design that needs some serious quality improvements. Could be an Accord/Camry fighter if it wasn't such a piece of junk.

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Sold it 1 year ago for a 2000 Accord. 30,000 trouble free miles later...

excellent frontal impact

didn't come with ash tray

this is the 2nd stratus that i had i bought my first 6cyl. and was in a major headon collison. needless, to say other than suffering neck & back problems i walked away from the accident. I would recommend this car to anyone. the police couldn't even believe that there wasn't any serious injury's.

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reliable and great on gas runs very well suts all my neads

at 71000klms i had a new sensor replaced in the trans for the car was not shifting up into 2nd and 3rd gears

this has been a great car the 2.4 go's like a v8 handles well lots of room looks sweet rides nice at all speeds at nite you can see far down the road just fine with the good headlights they have provided and most of all its very reliable

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i had older fords so they dont come near the stratus sorry ford

Handling, and initially appearance...althought my opinion has changed on that issue.

Poor Build Quality, and Debris in the Paint Job
Poor Quality Components
Severe Climate Control Problems whch were Very Expensive to Fix
Constant Oil Leaks
The Electrical System Failed From time to time
$700.00 to replace timing belt at dealer!
Chrysler Cared nothing about Fixing Any Problems..they had gotten my money...they were happy.

This car was nothing but a disappointment from the beginning. The A/C failed on the way home from the dealership...with 7 miles on the odometer! It was in the shop five times for oil leaks, 4 times for electrical problems and twice for body integrity issues. It handled well, and got reasonably good mileage, but the quality was abysmal. I traded it in at 56,000 miles on a 1997 Toyota Camry which now has 115,000 miles with NO repairs...only maintenance. The Stratus could have been a serious competitor for the Japenese sedans, but Chrysler Corporation totally failed it's customers by producing an extremely un-reliable vehicle. If you are considering one of these cars, I recommend you look elsewhere.

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I have driven Toyotas otherwise...the is no comparison. I have driven 3 Toyotas in excess of 400,000 in total, with no mechanical problems...this Dodge never went farther than 5,000 miles before some sort of problem.

Excellent steering precision and handling, a joy to drive, very good driving comfort, very good head lights, very good interior looks and room.

Only average to below average gas milage, rather high road noise, average ride comfort on bumpy roads.

This car has excellent precise handling on winding country roads, which makes it fun, easy and relaxing to drive especially on going to work each day which is a 52 mile round trip on rather bad roads. I didn't know how good this car was until I had to give it to my daughter while her car was being fixed, and during the last 2 months I have been driving my other daughter's 99 Toyota Camry, and a 99 Malibu and 2000 Mercury Marquis belonging to relatives. The Mercury and Malibu had power seats, and they were very difficult to find a comfortable position. The Camry has good seats, but I am tall and couldn't find a comfortable position for my right leg, since the gas pedal pushes down to easily to rest my foot on it. So I end up adjusting the speed with cruise control even in non-cruising situations. The Mercury and the Camry have only average steering precision, which makes them tiring to drive on country roads, because to much attention must be constantly given little steering corrections to keep the car on the road. The Malibu is a little better, but it is still not nearly as good as the Stratus. Both the Malibu and Mercury have rising protrusions under the front seat which makes it uncomfortable to rest my feet next to the seat when using cruise contro. The Camry has the best ride by far, with the Mercury next and the Malibu and Stratus next. The Camry was by far the quietest, with the Mercury, then Malibu and the Stratus last. The Camry (4 cylinder) averaged 34 miles per gallon, the Malibu with a V-6 averaged 32 miles per gallon, the Mercury 29 and the Stratus with automatic trans. got 28, even though it has a 4 cylinder.
The Stratus has the best interior looks compared to a Chevy Malibu and 99 Camry. And it has a more comfortable driving position than the others. The Camry has the best air-conditioner by far, the others are about equal.
The Camry (4 cyl.) was $21,000 new, while I paid $14,900 for the Stratus because it was a demo. model. The Camry would be the best for a city car because of its quietness, very smooth ride and powerful air-conditioner.
The Stratus has the best lights by far at night both for low beam and high beam. The Camry's light were not good on low beam for country driving, high beam was OK.
I have had little trouble so far with 37,000 miles. The brakes warped and needed turning, but the Camry's are also warped at 49,000 miles, but not as bad. A speed sensor went out once, which prevented the transmission from shifting to high gear, But it was fixed under warrante in 1 hour.
Even though the Camry has a much smoother ride, and is much quieter and more economical I would much rather drive the Stratus because of the excellent steering precision, which makes it a pleasure to drive on the back roads and highways, more comfortable driving position, and excellent lights (for the 99 model anyway).
The Malibu would be my next choice because of the next best steering precision, then the Camry then the Mercury.

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Chevy Malibu has better fuel economy than the Stratus, but handling only fair, driving comfort worse, also has creaks and rattles, Stratus has none.
Toyota Camry has best ride, quietness, excellent fuel economy, but average to poor highway handling (steering precision) & cramped driving position and poor lights which makes it rather unpleasant to drive, esp. at night on back roads.
Mercury has good ride, quiet, good lights, but only average handling, which makes it tiring to drive on back roads.

The Stratus is the only car I enjoy driving to work and back because of the excellent steering precision, handling, driving position and comfort and good head lights at night. The other cars are more of a burden to drive and not something I look forward to driving like I do with the Stratus.