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1998
Dodge Stratus

Starts at:
$14,965
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New 1998 Dodge Stratus
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Available trims

See the differences side-by-side to compare trims.
  • 4dr Sdn Base
    Starts at
    $14,965
    27 City / 37 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sdn ES
    Starts at
    $17,790
    21 City / 30 Hwy
    MPG
    5
    Seat capacity
    Gas I4
    Engine
    Front Wheel Drive
    Drivetrain
    See all specs

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Expert 1998 Dodge Stratus review

our expert's take
Our expert's take
By
Full article
our expert's take

There is not a tougher segment of the automobile business than the affordable family sedan.

From Camry to Saturn, Accord to Taurus, Altima to Malibu, manufacturers are locked into bruising market fights to grab significant numbers of buyers who have from $15,000-$22,000 to spend on a new car.

Profit margins are thin in this arena, when compared to sport-utility vehicles and minivans. Yet potential sales are huge: Toyota, Honda and Ford will sell nearly a million Camrys, Accords and Taurus sedans this year.

Though not at the top of the heap, Chrysler is out there pitching for those middle-class dollars with its Plymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Cirrus.

It’s a three-prong strategy in which Chrysler takes essentially the same platform and offers it in basic (Breeze), sport (Stratus) and luxury (Cirrus) flavors.

Consider the Dodge Stratus ES: Based on interior room, equipment, performance and price, it’s quite an attractive alternative to the ubiquitous Taurus, Camry and Accord.

Start with styling and interior room, two elements that are linked in the Chrysler philosophy.

Stratus (and its siblings) use cab-forward design that Chrysler touts heavily. Simply put, cab forward means the front and rear wheels are pushed out as far as possible, leaving more room between the axles for the cockpit.

With perhaps the exception of the Taurus, the cab-forward design makes the Stratus one of the most attractive family sedans on the road. It certainly gets high marks for not being mistaken for every other sedan on the road.

The exterior design translated into a very roomy interior, with a significant amount of rear-seat leg room. This is especially true when compared to leg room in Ford’s Contour, which is close in price to Stratus.

Nonetheless, three-across seating is strictly an in-a-pinch proposition, which is also the case in a lot of competitors.

There is a standard full-length front center console, a pass-through from the rear seat to the large trunk, coin holder and rear-seat cup holders.

The front seats are firm and provide good lower-back support. There is a good manual adjustment lever that raises and lowers the seat — a nice touch that should be on all cars, regardless of price.

The instrument panel provides full gauges, and the stereo and air-conditioning controls are well positioned in the center of the dash.

Power comes from one of three available engines: a two-liter four with 132 horsepower, a 2.4-liter four that produces 150 horsepower, and a 2.5-liter V-6 rated at 168 horsepower.

A five-speed manual transmission is available with the standard two-liter four, while the 2.4-liter four is available only with a four-speed automatic.

With the V-6, Dodge installs a four-speed automatic with Chrysler’s sporty AutoStick system. Like the Porsche Tiptronic, AutoStick has two modes — regular automatic operation and a clutchless manual shift.

In the manual mode, AutoStick oper ates similarly to a motorcycle gearbox: Tip the shift lever from side to side to go up or down in the gears.

Combined with the punchy V-6, the AutoStick can make a family sedan feel much more like a sports car.

Acceleration is very zippy — 60 mph comes up in just eight seconds — and the AutoStick allows for first-, second-, or third-gear starts on slippery surfaces.

One puzzling design flaw exists, however. The shift action involves moving the lever from side-to-side. The natural motion would be up and down, which would seem to be an easy fix for Dodge to make.

Brakes on the test car, a Stratus equipped with front discs, rear drums and an anti-lock system, seemed a bit spongy, which runs counter to the car’s sporty nature. Discs on all four wheels would be a great improvement.

Nonetheless, the Stratus is a car that is easy to like — a lot.

The fit and finish is very good, interior noise levels are low, and materials used on the interior provide a richer look han the price tag would suggest.

A base Stratus starts at about $15,500, and an ES model kicks off at a little over $17,000. Fully equipped with the V-6, AutoStick, compact-disc player and a host of other options, a Stratus will list at only about $20,000.

That’s well within the affordable sedan ballpark, and the Stratus provides style and features not found on many competitors.

SPECS
Base list price: $16,785

Price as tested: $19,745

Major options: Candy-apple red metallic paint

Engine: 2.5-liter V-6.

Horsepower: 168.

Transmission: Four-speed automatic, AutoStick system.

Weight: 2,955 pounds.

0-to-60 mph: 8.0 seconds.

Truck capacity: 15.7 cubic feet.

Mileage: 22-27 mpg.

Safety: Dual front air bags, anti-lock brakes, side-impact door beams.

Competition: Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Taurus, Nissan Altima.

1998 Dodge Stratus review: Our expert's take
By

There is not a tougher segment of the automobile business than the affordable family sedan.

From Camry to Saturn, Accord to Taurus, Altima to Malibu, manufacturers are locked into bruising market fights to grab significant numbers of buyers who have from $15,000-$22,000 to spend on a new car.

Profit margins are thin in this arena, when compared to sport-utility vehicles and minivans. Yet potential sales are huge: Toyota, Honda and Ford will sell nearly a million Camrys, Accords and Taurus sedans this year.

Though not at the top of the heap, Chrysler is out there pitching for those middle-class dollars with its Plymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Cirrus.

It’s a three-prong strategy in which Chrysler takes essentially the same platform and offers it in basic (Breeze), sport (Stratus) and luxury (Cirrus) flavors.

Consider the Dodge Stratus ES: Based on interior room, equipment, performance and price, it’s quite an attractive alternative to the ubiquitous Taurus, Camry and Accord.

Start with styling and interior room, two elements that are linked in the Chrysler philosophy.

Stratus (and its siblings) use cab-forward design that Chrysler touts heavily. Simply put, cab forward means the front and rear wheels are pushed out as far as possible, leaving more room between the axles for the cockpit.

With perhaps the exception of the Taurus, the cab-forward design makes the Stratus one of the most attractive family sedans on the road. It certainly gets high marks for not being mistaken for every other sedan on the road.

The exterior design translated into a very roomy interior, with a significant amount of rear-seat leg room. This is especially true when compared to leg room in Ford’s Contour, which is close in price to Stratus.

Nonetheless, three-across seating is strictly an in-a-pinch proposition, which is also the case in a lot of competitors.

There is a standard full-length front center console, a pass-through from the rear seat to the large trunk, coin holder and rear-seat cup holders.

The front seats are firm and provide good lower-back support. There is a good manual adjustment lever that raises and lowers the seat — a nice touch that should be on all cars, regardless of price.

The instrument panel provides full gauges, and the stereo and air-conditioning controls are well positioned in the center of the dash.

Power comes from one of three available engines: a two-liter four with 132 horsepower, a 2.4-liter four that produces 150 horsepower, and a 2.5-liter V-6 rated at 168 horsepower.

A five-speed manual transmission is available with the standard two-liter four, while the 2.4-liter four is available only with a four-speed automatic.

With the V-6, Dodge installs a four-speed automatic with Chrysler’s sporty AutoStick system. Like the Porsche Tiptronic, AutoStick has two modes — regular automatic operation and a clutchless manual shift.

In the manual mode, AutoStick oper ates similarly to a motorcycle gearbox: Tip the shift lever from side to side to go up or down in the gears.

Combined with the punchy V-6, the AutoStick can make a family sedan feel much more like a sports car.

Acceleration is very zippy — 60 mph comes up in just eight seconds — and the AutoStick allows for first-, second-, or third-gear starts on slippery surfaces.

One puzzling design flaw exists, however. The shift action involves moving the lever from side-to-side. The natural motion would be up and down, which would seem to be an easy fix for Dodge to make.

Brakes on the test car, a Stratus equipped with front discs, rear drums and an anti-lock system, seemed a bit spongy, which runs counter to the car’s sporty nature. Discs on all four wheels would be a great improvement.

Nonetheless, the Stratus is a car that is easy to like — a lot.

The fit and finish is very good, interior noise levels are low, and materials used on the interior provide a richer look han the price tag would suggest.

A base Stratus starts at about $15,500, and an ES model kicks off at a little over $17,000. Fully equipped with the V-6, AutoStick, compact-disc player and a host of other options, a Stratus will list at only about $20,000.

That’s well within the affordable sedan ballpark, and the Stratus provides style and features not found on many competitors.

SPECS
Base list price: $16,785

Price as tested: $19,745

Major options: Candy-apple red metallic paint

Engine: 2.5-liter V-6.

Horsepower: 168.

Transmission: Four-speed automatic, AutoStick system.

Weight: 2,955 pounds.

0-to-60 mph: 8.0 seconds.

Truck capacity: 15.7 cubic feet.

Mileage: 22-27 mpg.

Safety: Dual front air bags, anti-lock brakes, side-impact door beams.

Competition: Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Taurus, Nissan Altima.

Safety review

Based on the 1998 Dodge Stratus base trim
NHTSA crash test and rollover ratings, scored out of 5.
Frontal driver
3/5
Frontal passenger
4/5
Side driver
3/5
Side rear passenger
2/5

Factory warranties

New car program benefits

Basic
3 years / 36,000 miles
Powertrain
3 years / 36,000 miles
Roadside Assistance
5 years / 100,000 miles

Certified Pre-Owned program benefits

Age / mileage
6-10 MY and / or 75,001-120,000 miles
Basic
3 Month 3,000 mile Max Care Warranty
Dealer certification
125 point inspection

Consumer reviews

3.9 / 5
Based on 13 reviews
Write a review
Comfort 4.2
Interior 4.1
Performance 3.9
Value 3.7
Exterior 4.1
Reliability 3.6

Most recent

  • Still have it after 20 years.

    Was looking for a Ford Tempo. Test drove this and fell in love with it. I live on tne fringes of the Cascades, and do a bit of mountain driving. This car with its 2.4L engine takes them in stride. After 20 years, it gets 32 mpg on the highway and 17 in town. Routine maintenance, batteries, tires and breaks is all I had to do so far. My only complaint is the headrest does not come forward enough for me. I find this is so in most US cars. When we bought it, we expected 10 years or so. I would not hesitate to buy another if they were still in production.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Transporting family
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Best first car that Dodge makes

    Honestly love this car so much. Good styling and features and I only have the base model. Es model has much nicer features so I would recommend looking for an ES. Great gas mileage and a pretty perky engine. The styling of the exterior is amazing and the interior has a nice flow to it.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Very nice car's but way too much for me

    I'd buy it if I could afford it, even the parts are too much ! It's a luxury car and it handles great! Having insurance is too much
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 1.0
    Exterior 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • very reliable, well maintained

    great car, body in excellent condition, starts right up, never stalls, recent tune up and air charged
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Transporting family
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Make 1 repair and think you're done, think again.

    I bought this car in 2009. It is reliable and has never broke down on me but It basically started looking a project car or "handy man special". I always needed repairs. But only once/twice a year. I guess because it is used it always needs maintenance. And all that can be expensive. And the warranty's you can buy for a used car are just as bad. I had to pay for power-steering rack and pinion and tie rods. All the rest was maintenance. Brakes 3 different times. Drums cylinders. Bearings, control arms axles you name it! It is reliable but once you make one repair and think you're done, think again.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 3.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 4.0
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  • never changed timing belt, motor runs like new

    great car never had any major problems, transmission not very good. but thats from unproper care. love to drive feels very comfortable. engine is great reacts pretty quickly just the transmission isnt good so that messes it up.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 3.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Great Car

    I bought a 98 Stratus in 2002 with 37129 miles. I traded the car in with 120K in December 2007 and never replaced the radiator, waterpump, trans, engine, starter, fuel pump, alternator, radiator. All parts were still original. The car drove great on the expressway and got great gas mileage. I ended up buying a Mazda and sold it after 8 months and went back to a Dodge. If you are looking for a car for your College kids, I would recommend this car.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Word of Caution

    I bought a car exactly the same from this dealer about 2 years ago. I hate the car. The transmission went out a week after I bought it. So I ended up paying double for this car. I will never buy a Dodge again or go to this dealer again.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 2.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 2.0
    Value 2.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 1.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • take a gamble indeed

    for infosaur, i have a 98 plymouth breeze i bought new. there part of a trio called the cloud cars. the plymouth breeze was the less costly and was targeted for young buyers. the dodge was the middle and had more features, and the chrysler cirrus was the luxury and came with even more features. i like the breeze the most for the exterior but could use some chrome moulding from the cirrus. i like the cirrus because of the features. i would say good for you in trying to get another stratus or any other cloud car for that matter.
    • Purchased a New car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Not so reliable!

    We bought this car about a year ago thinking it would be a good work car. It ended up being pretty rusted out ( hidden under the dealers paint job) and then through the timing belt and had to be towed home. This was after just having to buy two new tires due to a blow out. We fixed the belt and now the compression is bad in one cylinder. Never ending money pit.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 2.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • My 98 Stratus

    this car is amazing i bought it in 2008 with less tehn 20k miles on it. runs great and is decent on gas. not a sports car but ill get over it
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 3.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 3.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • My Trusty Stratus

    I bought this car in 1999 with 32,000 miles. What I really enjoy about it is the way it drives: comfortable seats, steady stearing, and tight turning radius. Today it has 129,000 miles and still gets over 30 mpg on the highway. No major repairs, only routine maintenance. The engine starts readily and runs quietly (no ticking or knocking noises when cold). The transmission is still flawless in its performance. Holds an alignment well and doesn't chew up tires like my wife's Mustang. The AC still works, but not that well on really hot days (>100). The head light lenses are cloudy now and need to be replaced. The left side power door lock actuators don't always work and need to be replaced. It is my daily driver which I still enjoy driving.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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FAQ

What trim levels are available for the 1998 Dodge Stratus?

The 1998 Dodge Stratus is available in 2 trim levels:

  • Base (1 style)
  • ES (1 style)

What is the MPG of the 1998 Dodge Stratus?

The 1998 Dodge Stratus offers up to 27 MPG in city driving and 37 MPG on the highway. These figures are based on EPA mileage ratings and are for comparison purposes only. The actual mileage will vary depending on vehicle options, trim level, driving conditions, driving habits, vehicle maintenance, and other factors.

Is the 1998 Dodge Stratus reliable?

The 1998 Dodge Stratus has an average reliability rating of 3.6 out of 5 according to cars.com consumers. Find real-world reliability insights within consumer reviews from 1998 Dodge Stratus owners.

Is the 1998 Dodge Stratus a good Sedan?

Below are the cars.com consumers ratings for the 1998 Dodge Stratus. 69.2% of drivers recommend this vehicle.

3.9 / 5
Based on 13 reviews
  • Comfort: 4.2
  • Interior: 4.1
  • Performance: 3.9
  • Value: 3.7
  • Exterior: 4.1
  • Reliability: 3.6
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