The other thing to consider is you are probably coming up to the point of needing the timing belt done. If you do the work yourself it shouldn't be too expensive. From what I've heard it's fairly labor intensive tho.
The PT is a great car and if I baby mine my mileage isn't too bad. I normally get about 25-27 mpg/tank but that's imperial. That's between 21-23mpg US. That normally includes a healthy amount of romping, can't have carbon in the engine!
On a road trip I averaged 36mpg (30mpg US) with a best tank of 39.7mpg (33.5 mpg US). You should do better with a five speed.
I've hauled a ton of stuff in my car. I have a computer cabinet that I loaded in without a problem. I hauled four 36" super swamper tires for my brother's truck with the seats out and they fit with room for a 4" lift kit and a set of hedders. Just recently I went to the tire shop with a set of 26" tires for my quad. They fit in the car easy with no air, but got really big when inflated. The guy there laughed at me when I popped the back to put them in.
"You have too small of a car for those huge tires, you NEVER fit them in there!"
I laughed, shoved my sub to the side, flipped the seats forward, and loaded the tires. He gave me a weird look!
I've also slept in the car on a road trip. It makes a very comfy bed if you fold the seats down and bring a mattress.
The PT is a VERY practical car, and it sure looks better than a Focus. I think you'd enjoy it, the only thing is the fuel mileage might be just a bit less than you'd like.
Ben
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2001 Red PT Cruiser Limited, 16" OEM alloys, Airaid CAI, Screamin' Demon coil and Livewires, some shiny stuff inside, Alpine deck, Alpine four channel amp, Alpine PLT5 sub, Hertz speakers in 4 corners, Keystone ram air hood, 6000k 55w HID high beams, 6000k 35w HID fog lights, new stone chips every day to add character.
2007 Suzuki King Quad 700 4x4 for when the road gets bumpy.
