Our Intrepid milled about Los Angeles, but received a reprieve from the traffic-laden sprawl by taking a couple of short jaunts north and south to Lancaster and San Diego, respectively.

Drivers' impressions of the exterior were favorable. The stance was said to be aggressive and different, and the smooth, flowing lines do a good job of disguising the car's ample dimensions. We did notice again that the low front and lengthy rear overhangs make the car quite easy to scrape. Suggested one driver, "Shorten those overhangs - every time I drive and hear that scraping, I have flashbacks to the dentist's office!"

Once inside the Intrepid, drivers marveled at the copious interior space. Said a new driver: "Upon entry you can't help but be in awe of how much interior space is available. I must admit that the cab-forward concept is a good one that more manufacturers should adopt." Front seats easily accommodate the 6-feet-and-up crowd, and three passengers can sit in the rear without a crunch.

Interior materials were another story, where drivers' once-awestruck faces turned to mild grimaces. That stark black decor again did not go over well with our staffers, who wished for some variety to break up the monotony. However, the automatic climate controls took the bulk of the interior criticism this month. We found that the buttons all look the same and have relatively small markings to help you discern their function. Give us some big dials, will ya? More annoying than the questionable layout is the loud "whoosh" incessantly emitted from the system when the fan speed is set to anything but the slowest setting. One driver first thought the car suffered from massive amounts of wind noise, but later learned that most of the noise could be attributed to the fan. With the controls set to "auto," and despite the absence of any windshield moisture, the system thought it best to blast air out of the upper vents in order to keep cabin temperature at 72 degrees. We think Dodge could come up with a better system to circulate cabin air sans all the racket.

City driving didn't prove to be an enthralling experience. Some found the suspension on our ES test car a bit too stiff for city roads. Also, the brakes don't inspire a great deal of confidence in stop-and-go traffic, which in L.A. means routinely mashing the brake pedal to the floor as traffic inexplicably grinds to a screeching halt. Parking was a chore due to overall size and a front overhang that scrapes on even the lowest parking blocks. Changing lanes was far from a snap, as one driver describes, "This must be done with great caution for two reasons: one is the overall length, and two is the extremely wide and obtrusive C-pillars."

Cruising was another story entirely, and drivers beamed at how well the car behaved during highway jaunts. All found the transmission smooth, the engine torquey, the road noise minimal, and the seats supportive. Said one repeat driver: "I'm constantly amazed with how solid this car feels at speed. Slicing through traffic on the 14 freeway as it wound into the mountains was a snap. The torquey motor kept me moving up the long grades with ease." And canyon driving proved to be enjoyable despite the car's large size. The Autostick allowed us to keep the engine in its sweet spot as we transitioned to and fro, and we were pleasantly surprised by the Goodyear's bite.

Our most significant drivability complaint was issued about a nagging intermittent vibration coming through the steering wheel. At first we thought that it was an imbalanced wheel, but after 15 minutes or so the vibration went away. This leads us to believe that the culprit is something which is heat dependent, perhaps a tire tread pattern anomaly or even a half-shaft issue.

For $25K, this package still seems hard to beat. The blending of attractive styling, decent fuel mileage, a massive trunk, and torquey engine bode well for Intrepid sales figures. Now Chrysler just needs to spice up the interior.

Current Odometer: 34,455
Best Fuel Economy: 18.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 17.3 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Intermittent vibration coming through steering wheel.